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Half Stock Flintlock Match Rifle

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Joined
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Here is another of my half stock/pistol grip match rifles I just finished today. It has a 36" long .40 caliber Rice Match barrel and a Kibler SMR lock. The trigger is a Bivins single and is very crisp and light. The wood is grade #3 maple that has been stained with LMF Honey Maple and has many coats of various finishes. The rear sight is adjustable.

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Not meant to be traditional. ;) It was built to win matches. I did borrow from the designs of many similar rifles, which I would call traditional. The English and Swiss have many very similar. Some of our later American rifles were not that far off either. We had flintlock half stocks that while they may not have had the pistol grip, they had trigger guards that closely followed these lines.

Thanks for the compliment.
 
Yeah, that gun is a little weird -- but I do like the style you achieved.

I'm curious, though ... What kind of "matches" is it intended for? What's the twist on the barrel?
 
This rifle is very similar to the Rigby and the Gibbs. They work(ed) for their intended purpose very well. I borrowed from them what works for me and added a flint lock.

I can shoot almost any NMLRA match except for Primitive and of course the musket, military and smooth bore types with this particular rifle It would be legal for Primitive if not for the adjustable sight. It would be legal for Sighted Smooth Bore with the right barrel. I do have a similar build with a fixed sight for those Primitive aggs. I have shot Territorials and never have to change guns for the different aggs. I shoot in the percussion matches with these flintlock rifles regularly.

This rifle has a 1-48" twist for round balls.

I have studied the builds of some of the top shooters and find that many tend to be a little "weird", if you look closely at them. I lean towards this stock design because for me it is very comfortable to shoulder, get a good solid stance and sight picture. I prefer the single trigger (if built right) because I have better control and there are less moving parts to go out of adjustment.
 
Very nice rifle. I'm in the process of building one for 25 yard off hand matches. Rice .40 that will probably finish around 39", Virgina style stock and hardware, grade 3 maple, it's fitted for both percussion and flintlocks. The rear sight will be an adjustable Thompson, with a blade front.
 
Another beautiful rifle Bruce. I had the Colonial I got from you out to the range last Sunday and was thinking “I wonder what Bruce is building these days”. Guess I have my answer. The Colonial shot fine with PRB and I tried some Lee REAL bullets I cast recently and it appears the Colonial really likes them. I just might have to launch one of those big slugs at a deer one of these days.
 
Thanks guys. I am really liking this stock profile, so I will be building a few more in the future. Right now getting the quality parts has become a little hard. My next one is going to a little racier as in globe front sight and maybe an Redfield International rear peep for the AMS matches. Otherwise it will be the same.

Dart, I am using the Kensight rear sight and they are pricy. I hope to find a quality rear sight that is more affordable in the future but I am not optimistic.

Timberwolf, glad that rifle is working for you.

Buffalo, my wife made me do that. I almost always use aquafortis on my maple stock builds. She asked what one would look like without aquafortis?
 
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