This is something a little out of the ordinary. What you see in the pics is as far as I got for a customer who wanted a close copy of a long-barrelled halfstocked flinter built in Texas, about 1840. The customer ran into some difficulties and the project never went forward, and I have this blank cut to fairly close finished profile, inletted for a Colerain "C" weight swamped barrel, that I know I will probably never make use of. Halfstocks to me are utility guns and the odds of me getting another order for a gun this stock would work for -- or of investing out-of-pocket in a $200+ barrel for a "what the hell" project -- are slim to none. However, someone else might see this and realize it's the basis for the gun they've always wanted.
Dimensions were taken as closely as possible from two photographs of a Gustavus Erichson rifle featured in Chris Hirsch's "The Texas Gun Trade". The original had, IIRC, a 43" swamped barrel in .52 caliber and a lock bearing a strong resemblance to L&R's "English" or "Leman" flint model with the double-throat cock. In every way except its being a halfstock the Erichson rifle was a very fine example of a circa 1840 flint longrifle, and being a bona-fide Texas-made gun makes it something a bit special. It's just not a project for me to do, is all.
Specs:
Wood, obviously, is fairly plain walnut, very good grain direction for strength in the wrist, potential for some nice figure but no color contrast to speak of.
Forend length, from breech of barrel channel -- 16 1/8".
Barrel channel tapers from a slight "oops" over 1 1/16" to a hair under 15/16" at the end of the forend. What I attempted to show in the second pic is where the router did a little shimmy and took out a tiny bit more wood than I intended, on the lefthand edge of the barrel channel at the breech. This would be an easy and almost unnoticeable fix but on a stock intended for use with an expensive swamped barrel any flaw no matter how small needs to pointed out.
Ramrod groove and hole have been routed and drilled for a 3/8" ramrod. Owing to the taper of the barrel the web of wood between the bottom of the barrel and the ramrod hole also tapers, from 1/4" thick at the nose of the forend to right at 1/8" where a forward lock bolt, if used, would pass through the stock.
A length of pull of about 14 1/4" can be easily accomplished -- close to 1/2" more if a buttplate without much curve to it is used.
Breechplug tang inlet is 2 3/8" long, tapering from 1/2" to 5/8" from front to rear, and about 1/4" deep.
Drop at heel will work out to approximately 3 1/4". Wrist height is presently 1 1/2" ahead of the nose of the comb, with a thickness of 1 7/16".
Butt dimensions are 4 1/2" x 1 1/2" -- measured straight down from the heel and not along the slant cut at the end of the butt. Wood has been left for either a squared "Kentucky" style of cheekpiece or the beavertail style becoming popular at about the time the Erichson rifle was built. There is about 1/4" cast-off for a righthanded shooter.
Asking price is $60, shipped, but a reasonable offer is liable to catch me in a receptive mood.
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be may some day I get to the point of building fine rifle
When you feel that time has come, take my advice and make your first build a fairly plain fullstock rifle. Along with being a style of gun suited for any time period between the late 1600's and the mid-1800's (depending on the exact type you build), the fullstock is usually a very simple piece to construct. You can make one as elaborate and complicated as you choose to, but simplicity is always historically correct and a huge advantage on a first build.
Halfstock rifles for the most part tend to be anywhere from a little to very tricky, since the most common examples built these days will have hooked breechplugs, set triggers, barrel retaining wedges instead of simple pins, and other details that add to the difficulty of such rifles as first builds. Owing to the shape of the barrel required for use with the stock I have pictured, above, any project involving this piece of wood would be additionally difficult, since the attachment of an underrib to a swamped barrel is a process that even I wasn't looking forward to. Anyone with reasonable mechanical skills, who knows what needs to be done (and just as importantly what NOT to do on a barrel of this type), can do it, but like I say it would add difficulty to all the challenge that goes with simply attempting one's first build.
Very few of us who build that first rifle stop at just one. It's highly addictive and there is always the feeling that the next build will be such an improvement over the present one that you just HAVE to go ahead with it. So, starting with a fairly simple project doesn't mean missing out on the satisfaction of doing some fancy work. It just means you'll build a rifle or two or several in the process of working up to your masterpiece. thmbsup
The price is right but I'm a left(y) or else I'd take it, but I'll pass this along to the other folks in my shootin' club though.