Flintlock Rifles

These are three flintlock rifles that I have built or in the process of building. The pelt for the bear rug was donated by a Black bear who was shot in Northern California in 2009. I didn't shot the bear but the person who did had no use for the pelt so I paid to have it tanned and ruggified. It used to reside in the living room but the wife didn't approve so it's now in the wine cellar. The rifles from top to bottom are the styles from Lancaster Co., Penn. (Federal period); York Co., Penn, (Colonial period); and Lehigh Valley, Penn. (1800).




This is the Lehigh Valley rifle after a few months of part-time work. It has a .50 caliber swamped barrel with a stump cut very nice piece of curly maple. This is also the first rifle I have built where I starting with a hunk of lumber. The fellow from whom I purchased the wood (Ronald Scott) and I band sawed out the rough shape. To my eye the Lehigh/Allentown style of rifle is the most pleasing and this one is following the general character of the type built by Herman Rupp.




A closer view from the sideplate
towards the butt. The carving style is the incised style of the period Lehigh Valley rifles. I plan on using a sliding wood patch box. Primarily because I feel a brass patchbox would hide to much of the wood's character.