• If you have bought, sold or gained information from our Classifieds, please donate to Muzzleloading Forum and give back.

    You can become a Supporting Member which comes with a decal or just click here to donate.

  • This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

WITHDRAWN Southern Mountain style rifle by John F Bergmann

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bergmann

40 Cal
Joined
Aug 8, 2021
Messages
114
Reaction score
102
Location
Granville TN
For sale: New Southern Mountain style flintlock rifle! #0751. Figured Ash stock. Breech plug tang extends almost to the butt-plate. 7/8"x .50 x 42" Colerain barrel. Davis double set triggers. L&R Bailes lock. Stainless steel touch hole. Patch box with push-button release. Trigger reach; 13 3/4" Rear sight at 10" from breech. weighs 8lb 5oz. Rifle has had a preliminary sight in (see Pic's) $2500.00. Price includes shipping. DSCF1172.JPGDSCF1171.JPGDSCF1169.JPGDSCF1168.JPGDSCF1135.JPGDSCF1126.JPGDSCF1124.JPGDSCF1125.JPG
 
Aesthetics? Maybe they thought it strengthened the wrist? Interesting…
It's not really substantial enough to do much strengthening. Only thing I've ever considered is maybe it had a purpose in combat; like if they had to bash someone in the mouth or over the head with the butt. Might prevent a dent from a too hard head or teeth marks? Some of the one's I've seen actually extend to under lip of the butt plate!
 
I commissioned John to build a 32 Full Dress SMR. He is without a doubt the epitomy of a true gentleman. His skill at turning the customer's desires into a fine tool is remarkable. To be honest, after examining a piece of his work, I thought that I'd see cnc machines and perhaps a few little elves toiling away. Not what happened, it's all John. He worried that a worm hole in the buttstock might send him on a search for another blank. We decided to leave it- it turned out to be an interesting facet. When I picked the rifle up- I was speechless. He used a Hoyt barrel that measures 3/4 inch across the flats. The whole rifle feels more like a conductor's baton than a full grown rifle. Anything that you purchase from John will bring you joy for a long time to come.
 
It's not really substantial enough to do much strengthening. Only thing I've ever considered is maybe it had a purpose in combat; like if they had to bash someone in the mouth or over the head with the butt. Might prevent a dent from a too hard head or teeth marks? Some of the one's I've seen actually extend to under lip of the butt plate!
That was my first, and still strongest, suspicion. The second would be strengthening to resist breakage from being dropped on rock from an elevation... They are, after all, Southern MOUNTAIN rifles, and this might provide more strength w/ less weight than leaving extra wood... Hmmm... perhaps that would also be a practical advantage of iron mounts over brass...
 
That was my first, and still strongest, suspicion. The second would be strengthening to resist breakage from being dropped on rock from an elevation... They are, after all, Southern MOUNTAIN rifles, and this might provide more strength w/ less weight than leaving extra wood... Hmmm... perhaps that would also be a practical advantage of iron mounts over brass...

TENNESSEE RIFLES
By Robin C. Hale
A paper presented at the Fall, 1970 meeting of the American Society
of Arms Collectors at Houston, Texas

This view (fig. 17) of the top of the rifle shows the extremely long tang, which extends up and over the comb to within a couple of inches of the buttplate. Long tangs of this type were at one time thought by others to be used exclusively by the Bean and Bull families of gunsmiths. Although they are sometimes found on rifles
bewing Bean and Bull signatures, I have seen as many or more rifles by these men which had tangs that
didn't extend beyond the comb. Willhelms, Lawing, and the Gross's also utilized the extremely long tangs.
I speak from personal experience when I say that they are the 'L~ry devil" to inlet into the stock, and I
can't imagine them being put on rifles simply because they look good on the guns. I think that the principal
reason for these long tangs was that they were intended to impart atrength to the wrist of the stock. Some
tangs are fastened between the comb and butt plate with screws or pins and tenons as well as along the
wrist.

From
TENNESSEE RIFLES
By Robin C. Hale
A paper presented at the Fall, 1970 meeting of the American Society
of Arms Collectors at Houston, Texas
 
Back
Top