.30 caliber halfstock

[mongrel]

Another project in progress, along the way to getting my schedule caught back up to where it should be.

What we have here is a curly-maple-halfstocked rifle with a 32" x 13/16" barrel of unknown make. The lock is a modified large Siler percussion, tripped by Investarms double-set triggers. The generic Hawken/English hardware is brass sand castings.

The crooked stripe in the center of the butt is just rough wood, not a mineral stain or other discoloration.

This gun will require a brass ramrod, since a 1/4" diameter is required and that's too flimsy to trust in wood. Plus, where would I find a 1/4" ramrod tip? Easier to drill and tap the tip of a metal ramrod than somehow fabricate a tip to fit to a wooden rod that's pretty much guaranteed to fail.

[beowulf]

nice looking rifle so far , and should be an extremely economical shooter !

[Hanshi]

That's a heavy barrel for a .32.  At 32" it will shoulder and hold like a dream.  I'd also be willing to bet accuracy will be phenomenal.  I like short, heavy barrels and find they handle splendidly.  I'm starting to get a bit envious.

[Papa]

Mike,
I have a .29 caliber Bill Large barreled rifle, 3/4X42, and you are 100* correct about flimsy rods. I haven't gone to brass yet, just stubborn, but make several at a time when I make any. With 20-25 grains of 3F it is pretty deadly out to about 35-40 yards. That little pill will drift a lot in the slightest breeze.
Mark

[mongrel]

Well, I ended up turning down a 5/16" rod and tip, which required just a hair more than 1/64" of wood and brass removal for the rod to work. I figured if it didn't work a brass rod could always be substituted, and since nothing is open around here on a Sunday it was worth a shot.

The barrel is cold-blued, all the rest of the steel fire-blued. The finish is a home-brewed alcohol-based amber stain and tung oil.

[Watauga]

  She looks like a Winner to me!
Someone is going to be cooking up some Squirrels

[Hawken50]

  Beauitful pea shooter there Mike.How did you fire blue that lock plate? Its got some terrific color to it.

[pilgrim]

   very nice especially the finish on the stock

[Rev]

Nicely done, as usual...

[mongrel]

Thank 'ee all....

Fire-bluing is just a matter of polishing the steel as smooth as you want it, then heating it with a MAPP torch till it begins turning colors. With a little practice you can vary the coloring across the plate from golden-brown to blue to purple. If it turns out solid blue, it looks great, but if you manage to mix the colors by keeping the torch moving -- it looks even better.

[Black Jack]

Nice gun. Seems like just enough barrel to have the weight to steady your shot and still be light enough to carry easy.

[Razor62]

Another sexy little thing. Love those small bores. They always produce that signature "CRACK!!!!" when fired due the the sonic shock wave. another beautiful rifle!

[olflint]

Very nice work Mike....VERY NICE!!