Let me preface by saying this is not a school rifle.....i like iron southerns and needed a utilitarian hunting rifle for any game North America could offer and built to handle any inclement weather or heavy load i could throw at it. Circa 2013 Mike Lange had a good stick of maple that had already been hogged for a 1" straight barrel and it worked perfectly for my utility build. Rice 42"x1" straight .62 round bottom rifling 1/66 twist. Davis triggers (fires set or unset for hunting) and Davis Twigg lock. We used the widest buttplate we could find for recoil and still have a southern appearance (1.5"+). Minimal cast off in case a left hand shot was necessary and 14" LOP. Mike put it in the white then i had a local big bore Hawken specialist (Tom Watson) do all the finishing. Breech bedded and bedded air gap behind tang (2 sheets of paper.....not gaping hole) to address any potential issues from heavy loads or bad weather. Just a hansome workhorse, no more. Hits its sweet spot in the 80-85 grain 2F range with .018 PT and .610 ball. Maybe even better with .020-.022 patch but never tested it. Ragged holes at 50 yards (longest I have local) and front sight still needs some more filing (still low). I've got around 40 shots down the pipe and its been very reliable and soft recoil up 100 gr or so. Not as heavy as it looks at 9.2-9.4 pounds on digital bathroom scale but in a .62 i wasnt wanting a lightweight. $1350 shipped.
