Who else polishes their brass over the winter?

No polishing for me :thumbsup:

Yours looks nice, but personally, I let time just keep aging mine.

No brass no polish.

Tis a shame it tis ta be letting tha nice patina ya worked so herd and delicately ta put on yer piece go ta waste like tha!

Iron mounted Southern LRs and Hawkens look correct and can be things of beauty, but most or nearly all Pennsylvania LRs which are the majority of "old" original guns have brass hardware. Brass is a nice looking metal if allowed to tarnish or if it's artificially "aged". This kind of brass doesn't require much more care than preventing rust on iron hardware.....perhaps less. I like both brass and iron, but have only made one LR w/ iron hardware....an early Virginia.....Fred

Oh, I figure after a few trips to the range it'll be well on the way to a nice patina. I do very much like the look of it once its been in contact with a little fouling.

I didn't figure there were many of you gents that polished them. I'd just redone an oil finish on the stock and figured I'd start from scratch on the brass, too - bit of a makeover.

Oddly enough, the only brass I ever polished in the Army was in my dress uniform belt buckle, and I can count on my fingers the amount of times I had to wear it. Guess I never got burned out of it haha!

Fred, thanks for posting that picture. The early Birginias are among my favorite types of rifle! That's an interesting looking brass

I agree with this. I prefer the plainer, iron-mounted guns. I do have some brass on my pistols and I let it take on the natural patina of shooting.

The only brass I polish is the front sight. Makes them easier to see in low light hunting conditions.

No polishing - I prefer the mellow look of aged brass...

Well, the TC Hawken I refinished and added some decoration to I keep polished but all my other "working" rifles are just kept clean and never polished so I guess I do both. :grin:

If I lived on the frontier in the time period of your persona, I personally think one of the last things I would have time to do is polish brass on my Rifle Gun. Even in winter and at night, there are other things a bachelor would have had to have done.

I am not sure if my next point would have mattered to your persona, but I think it would. I would not want something that shiny to give away my position to either hostile European Immigrants or Native Americans. For the most part, anything that shines in the woods is alien to the woods. Actually, I think I would have used vinegar, some types of foliage, or something else to make the brass less shiny ”“ especially in winter when there is less foliage to cover something shining in the woods.

Now, MAYBE I might shine the brass if it was for the Quarterly Militia Assembly inspection. However, I doubt that would have made the gun “unserviceable” if the brass was not shined and caused me to be fined. In one Virginia Militia Assembly during the period, the Inspector found Corn in barrel of one Militia Man’s Gun. Though I’m sure he was read the riot act or at least caused to be the butt of some scorn and/or ridicule, the quote didn’t mention he was fined.

Gus

Sgterv:

I have finished my first season of shooting this last Oct. And yes i polished everything, rifle parts and accoutrements. Even saddle soaped the shooting bag. So much for newbie!

I'll polish brass in the winter also. I want to look sharp for the Memorial Day parades. During reenacting season, not so much. Back to looking like a farmer/militia.

Fred, that is truly a beautiful rifle. I love the carving. I wish I had the guts to try carving one of my rifles but I just have too many doubts about my abilities to give it a try. I don't want to mess up a stock that I paid $200 for. So, I'll just have to admire the beauty of the talents of other folks like yourself.