This is sad.

L

Licensed to kill

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
Location
Peace Country Alberta
20 years ago I was a voracious ML shooter. I shot a LOT. Took the family to week long the Heffley Creek Redezvous every fall where we would camp in Primitive with my Folks. Then, in 2005, I quit my job of 25 years and started my own business, one which occupies pretty much our whole summer all the way into Oct. We did do Heffley one more time in 2006 but that proved to be costly in lost work (LONG story there) so have not been able to go back since. So, since then, with nobody around here into ML's, for the most part, all my ML stuff has just been collecting dust. Absolutely shameful. I keep threatening to get out and make some smoke but it never seems to happen. There IS a bright spot, however as two of my grandsons (7 and 9) are eager shooters and, last summer, I started them on a little .45 cap lock that I bought for my son when he was that age and they LOVE IT. I also bought a little Mossberg 20GA pump for them and the 9 YO is quite the clay buster. My Dad passed away in 2017 and I got all his ML stuff, ( I gave some of it to my son) my brother got all his suppository stuff. In that is a half stock that he had made in Germany with a Whitworth bore (.45 cal) that he used for moose. I have been PLANNING to take it for elk but so far, work keeps getting in the way. Anyways, just thought I would lament about it here so y'all can feel sympathy for me :p;)

 
Yes, it's sad when life gets in the way! But, on a positive note, you still have your arsenal & accoutrements, so, the possibility is there!!
Get back on that horse!!!
 
oldrodder said:
Yes, it's sad when life gets in the way! But, on a positive note, you still have your arsenal & accoutrements, so, the possibility is there!!
Get back on that horse!!!
Click to expand...
Yup, I also have over 50 pounds of GOEX and enough lead to sink a battle ship is no excuses there. With the grandkids coming up, that should give me a swift kick in the butt to make some smoke with them.
 
I can both relate and sympathize. I had much the same problem prior to retirement. Now, the weekends are seven days long and I decide what the day will hold. The grandkids can certainly be a strong motivator. Take advantage of it.
There appear to be a couple of nice double flinters in that impressive arsenal. I would appreciate seeing a few more pics of them.
 
I haven't competed in a primitive match for many years as things just went a different direction .
However I still enjoy shooting my cartridge guns and my Fraser River Hawken occasionally and plan to hunt with it next Fall for my 70th birthday.
Cat
 
B_noser said:
I can both relate and sympathize. I had much the same problem prior to retirement. Now, the weekends are seven days long and I decide what the day will hold. The grandkids can certainly be a strong motivator. Take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
I have no plans to ever retire unless my health or the government makes continuing too difficult. I am semi retired anyways as I don't work from Oct to May and I like to spend too much to retire LOL.
There appear to be a couple of nice double flinters in that impressive arsenal. I would appreciate seeing a few more pics of them.
Click to expand...
I would not describe the double flinders as "nice" but they are what they "OK". The one on the left is one I brought in from England perhaps 20 years ago. It is a circa 1790 20GA that had a drum/nipple conversion done to it. I converted it back to flint by fitting a couple L&R "Bailes" locks that were almost a direct drop in (just had to make a slight wood removal to clear the mainsprings) and making SS touch hole liners to fit the exsiting threads so that I can put the original locks and drums back in at any time and retain the guns history. I have carried it a few time for grouse but never had the opportunity to swing on a bird which is just as well as the stock is VERY straight and I can't hit $hit with it. The one of the right is one that I made from a set of 12GA barrels scavenged from an old Belgian gun. I breezed the barrels for flint and used L&R "Late English" locks which I felt compelled to cut the pan/frizzen section off and lower about 1/8" as the L&R version as cast was not pleasing to my eye and not suitable, IMO to an English double. I stocked it in English walnut and all other parts I made including all screws and ramrod hardware which also includes the wad puller. Unfortunately, I chose to go with a recessed breech hoping to narrow up the lock region a bit (12GA is NOT a good choice for a sxs flint) but the locks were not conducive to this arrangement........but I did it anyways. This Belgian barrels are rather hefty so the while thing is WAY too heavy and unwieldy but it was fun to make. Here are a couple pics I have from just after I finished it (the first time). Not too long after I striped it and stained the stock. I can get a couple pics of the 20 GA if you like or if there is anything else on the "club" that you would like to see. Just let me know.



 
Sort of in the same boat as you are, I bought a muzzle loader from a fellow 3 yrs ago. When I aquired the thing it had been used/hunted in some inclement weather it seemed, the lock and the triggers were all seized up & unoperable so I did the complete teardown & repair thing, got her all working but have never shot the thing Gonna change that this coming spring.
 
those double flint shotguns definitely had me drooling. I have one that I converted back to flint but need to rework the left lock. My abilities are far short of yours

cheers mooncoon
 
Not sad, fortunate. You have something you were passionate about and good at, put life’s priorities first, and now you have grand kids to share all that experience with for a negligible cost. Coolest grandad ever by the sounds of it.
 
B_noser said:
Thanks for the descriptions and pics.
Building a double flinter is not for the feint of heart and it looks like you did a great job. Did you do the engraving?
Click to expand...
Yes I did the engraving. I did everything but make the barrels and locks. In fact, I just learned that another member here is a long lost friend from "the good old days" (mooncoon) who I learned refinishing composite barrels from although my results fell considerably short of his. His ability to make the pattern pop was/is nothing short of inspirational. I was gearing up to make another (proper) double but, unfortunately lost interest before getting too far along. I ALMOST finished the locks, only needing to make one more main spring and the sears springs and finish the sears which I had only roughed out. I bought the lock plates from Peter Dyson along with the cocks, top jaw and frizzens and made the rest. Even though the locks were not finished, I already engraved them (because I liked to engrave). I have a sweet set of 20GA barrels and a couple VERY nice walnut blanks suitable for a sxs flint. This is as far as I got with the locks. One of those "someday"projects. If I never get back to building guns I have at least one grandson (he's 9) that likes to work with his hands and if he decides to try unbuilding I can teach him whatever I can remember and he can finish up the locks and the gun......again...someday. Most of the original engraving on the lock plates was faintly visible so for the most part I just recut it.

 
Your engraving is first rate. Those are very interesting and elegant looking locks. I cannot say I have ever seen anything quite like them - internally or externally. I can see they would post-date 1770-1775, but would like to know more about them.

Never say never. I have one rifle here that sat around as a partly finished project for close to 30 years before I finally got around to finishing it.
 
Those locks are by William Smith and I am guessing circa 1810-20ish. This style of lock was o the vast majority of shotguns by him and was also subsequently used by his sons Samuel & Charles after they took over the company. I do not know the actual reason for the swept forward pans but have long suspected that it was so that the pan would be relatively horizontal when shooting elevated at flying birds. Tis is PURE speculation on my part and this conclusion is based mostly on the fact that while researching Smith back then, of the MANY guns made by him, I only saw ONE with this lock that was NOT a shotgun and that was a pistol. Every other pistol and every rifle that I ever came across by Smith had a more traditional style pan arrangement. You can see that the distance between the pan and the frizzed pivot is longer than what we typically see in a rifle lock. This arrangement was used by most (all?) gun makers of the day that adopted the recessed breech. The recessed breech was designed to bring the pan charge closer to the main charge AND to allow the locks to be mounted closer together minimizing the width of the gun through the locks panels. The long "throw" of the frizzen meant that when it opened, it opened almost straight up and out of the recess clearing the barrel rather than relatively forward allowing the recess to be much deeper. On the inside, you cab see that the tumbler has a long "spur" curving forward. This spur was designed so that, when cocking, the spur would rotate forward under the end of the mainspring and stirrup. This was a "safety" catch so, should the strip or end of the main spring break, the spur would catch the spring preventing it from crashing out the bottom of the lock mortice. These locks were my only attempt at making lock internals from scratch and I quite enjoyed the challenge. The most challenging and therefore most satisfying part was making both locks symmetrical so that both hammers sit exactly alike in the full and half bent positions as well as making the roller frizzed springs so that the frizzens "broke" (over centred) at the exact same (and proper) point in the frizzers opening. Some day I will Finish these. It has been a LONG time since I have given this stuff much thought and it is taxing my memory but at the time that I did those locks I was doing a LOT of research and was becoming fairly well versed on fine English SXS flints in general and Smith's work in particular. I am finding that I have forgotten much more than I recall. Another thing that is rather sad.
 
Thanks for that great explanation. I was wondering about that long spur on the tumbler. Having seen stock damage due to a mainspring breaking loose, it makes perfect sense.
 
where are you located? i'm always looking for a shooting buddy. I'm working on a .62 English rifle currently. Heffley was canceled this year due to fire danger. I was really looking forward to it, but I went to Montana for a long range blackpowder cartridge shoot instead.
 
I am in Northern Alberta, just south of Peace River. You mention a .62 English rifle, I have a 42", .62 swamped barrel inlet into a piece of walnut that I was going to make a long barrelled, full stock Jeager hunting rifle from, also, I separated a set of Belgian 12 GA twist barrels that I intended to make a cased English .62 rifle by lining and rifling one barrel and leaving the other smooth and fitting both to the stock for an interchangeable .62 rifle, 12GA smoothbore, 2 barrel set. If I live to 100 or so maybe....LOL.
 
Its not sad...... its history...and it pulls in your energy when it can and it pulls you back into it when you are able. How empty would your life be with out the exposure to it..... bask in the energy and life it gives back. Your life is better for it in many ways, family history experiences and knowledge. Enjoy and keep trying to pass it on. A few will appreciate and a few will not. But it will all still pass on to someone new... family or not. Nice pictures. thank you for sharing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom