Recent Posts

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Contemporary Accoutrements / Re: Bear Face Bag
« Last post by hawkeye on Today at 12:14:32 PM »
Very nice piece, well done
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Contemporary Accoutrements / Re: Angstadt Style Tomahawk
« Last post by hawkeye on Today at 12:11:37 PM »
That,s a gorgeous nice hawk indeed
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Gun Building / Re: Thimble making question
« Last post by hawkeye on Today at 12:04:00 PM »
Maybe a stupid question, but how make the tail of a entry timble?
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Antique Accoutrements / Re: Sitting Bull's powder horn??
« Last post by Tanselman on Today at 08:14:52 AM »
It is almost impossible to say if any particular powder horn may or may not have belonged to Sitting Bull. When Sitting Bull finally surrendered to US troops, he was carrying a Winchester, not a muzzle loader. Did he have a muzzle loader during his later years that required a powder horn, for when cartridges were not available... maybe, but hard to say. 

The horn appears to have a soft wood plug, almost like cedar, and most likely came from back east where soft wood plugs that were almost flat were most commonly found. But settlers heading west could have carried such a horn with them. Does it look like an Indian horn, NO, but could it have been picked up by an Indian after an early skirmish out in Siting Bull's area in the northern plains... possibly. Does the brightly colored European woven strap indicate Indian usage... not really, based on the way the horn is poorly/incorrectly attached to the strap... suggesting the strap was a later "enhancement." It's really impossible to tell anything about a Sitting Bull connection based on what the horn looks like.   

The issue to discuss should be the documentation, and if it has any merit or legitimate supporting documents, or if it is more wishful thinking by someone who claimed it was once owned by Sitting Bull. You can go on Ebay and see many fine modern arrowheads, made better than the original ones, all with "certificates of authenticity" stating they are original pieces. Authenticity certificates without proper documentation to support them are a "dime a dozen" these days.   

Perhaps the real question should be what kind of documentation does the horn have to support the museum's claim of Sitting Bull's ownership. Does it provide a lineage of ownership from Sitting Bull to the present, with period documents to support its stated lineage? Does it state when the horn left Sitting Bull's ownership, who and how it went to someone else, and from that person, how it moved through subsequent owners until placed in the museum? Does it have a real provenance, or simply a statement by someone at some time that "it was once owned by Sitting Bull."

Can you post a good image of the museum's documentation, so we can see if it has some merit, or if tends more toward someone's wishful thinking?

Shelby Gallien
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Gun Building / Re: Stain
« Last post by Bob Rearley on Today at 07:49:24 AM »
This discussion reminds me of the old Saloon days.  I bet their floors were  stained with tobacco juice, maybe not so long ago.
Bob
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Items for Sale/Wanted / Re: Blanket/Canoe Rifle by Jack Garner 54 caliber
« Last post by SBJ on Today at 07:22:11 AM »
Sold. Its now in my gun cabinet.
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Gun Building / Re: Hawken-esque Plains Rifle Build
« Last post by Curtis on Today at 07:10:33 AM »
Starting with some cleanup here, getting rid of the casting sprues:



Next some work on the thimbles:





Followed by a little soldering - doing the under-rib and thimbles in one shot - I put a hot steel rod in the barrel and used two torches at the same time (only one shown as the camera took up one hand!):







That's all for now!

Curtis
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Gun Building / Re: Hawken-esque Plains Rifle Build
« Last post by Curtis on Today at 06:57:16 AM »
Thanks for the input guys!  I don't stock enough rifles in a year to feel like I would get enough use out of a bandsaw to justify the expense - I can get a perfectly good rip saw for like 100 times less cost, as nobody wants them anymore.  I don't have anything against power tools however I enjoy the pace and sensation of working with hand tools.  Like Taterbug said, Armstrong Brand bandsaw, lol!


Hank - yup, I still inlet the barrels the way Jack taught us too.  It is a bit labor intensive but it is a great way to work out ones frustrations!  ;)

Scott - It is a really nice looking chunk of wood, and it is really hard... the best part is (I forgot where I picked it up) but I remember paying like $25 for it.  Now that was a steal!

Curtis
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It is hard to tell what the original finish was for cap boxes on original Hawken rifles - but probably not case-hardened for that part.  Were they rust pr charcoal blued? or left bright? was browning metal popular in those days?  Hard to tell but a rust brown finish always looks nice in my opinion.  Here is a similar one I did a while back:



Curtis
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Black Powder Shooting / Re: Flat Horns
« Last post by Jakob on Today at 06:15:43 AM »
Here are a few of the flat horns I have made;










Love those 2!!
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