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Achilles

Started by wattlebuster, January 09, 2013, 05:24:52 PM

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wattlebuster

Hey All...Here is a 12 ga smoothbore I finished a few weeks back. I name all my guns and this one is Achilles after the legendary greek warrior. I built him to turkey and deer hunt with in the thickets. He has a 32 inch oct to round 12 ga colerain barrel that has been jug choked by danny Caywood. The lock is a Chambers round faced english. The trigger is a simple single made by Davis. The furniture is brass and it came from TOTW. The sideplate I made myself as you can see. The stock is a plain maple from pecatonica. They inlet the barrel channel and drilled the ramrod for me and I did the rest. I installed a rear sight and it really improves the ball groups. The barrel and other metal is browned with lmf.  I stained with 2 coats of ferric nitrate then sealed it with 3 coates of lmf sealer. I put 6 coates of Chambers oil finish. I installed a sling on it also. Im happy with the roundball groups out to about 50-60 yrds and what few shot loads I've had a chance to shoot has been very good. Im also happy with the gun except for the buttplate that I messed up badly on but it is what it is now so I will just have to live with it. Here is yall a few pics. [conf]






beowulf

very nice  thmbsup and that plain map
le stock aint all that plain ! hows it shhot ?

Hanshi

Dang nice gun, IMHO.  I just don't see the butt plate problem, though.
Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.


wattlebuster

I tried quiet a few different roundball loads and have settled on a 100 grn of Fg puching a self molded 690 ball patched with a 018 pillowtick patch lubed with mink or bear oil.  At 30 yrds or less its as accurate as any rifle and on out to around 60 yrds I can get softball sized groups. Now thats with a prop of course. I have not shot beyond 60 cause I did'nt build it to be a rifle. I just want it for a short range deer getter in these thickets on the land I hunt. I have'nt had a chance to do much shot load testing. I'll do that after deer season is over which is jan 31 for my neck of the woods [conf]

wattlebuster

Hanshi thats cause I didnt show it. I had never inlet one of those long top english fowler buttplates and will never do another. It was a pain in the buttplate. I got it some off center and there is some gap where I took off too much wood as I inlet in and down hdslp. Its not that big a deal but I should have done better

mongrel

#5
Those buttplates are a challenge. Too many dimensions to work with all at the same time. The fancier French and jaeger plates are by far the worst, to the point I won't build a gun that requires either. Better to do a plainer thing well, than to bugger up something fancier, IMHO.

wattlebuster

Mongrel its a good thing I build for myself and not trying to sell Achilles cause it would have been a piece of firewood. Luckily the only ones to suffer over this boo boo is me and then my grandsons when I go under [conf]

Rebel

Well if you are really concerned with the way it turned out i can PM  you may address and i would love to take care of it for you. blah As for me i think it is right nice looking fire lock. thmbsup

Chiefs50

I like it very much.  Pecatonica always seems to furnish better than expected wood.  Not sure how they manage that.