Southern rifle unknown origin

[n stephenson]

This is a rifle I bought from a woman here in middle Tennessee . She said it had been in her family for years but knew very little about it. The barrel has been shortened at lest once maybe more it is only 37 inches now. The stock is maple with some curl.All hardware is iron except the muzzlecap it is brass and appears to be a later replacement.The bore is .45 and in very nice condition . The lock and triggers function properly. The hammer  screw is a Siler that I screwed in because it fit and the original was missing . I do plan to put the proper one in it. The wood screws were both missing from the tang when I got it. The rifle was starting to crack in the lock mortice from the weight of the barrel so I put a tang bolt in the front hole . Idid`nt want to mess with the trigger plate so I inletted a square 'nut' above the triggers and used the nut and tang bolt to sandwich the wood and close the crack . I hope to do some wood replacement around the lock.Has anyone seen this angled cut on the front of other lockplates before. The barrel is held with wedges and has been set back about 2 inches in this stock as evidenced by the empty wedge holes . The small glass faced compass is held in the stock with 2 tiny nails. The comb has a hump shape to it . There is incise carving on the forearm that terminates in sqiggles by the entry pipe. The barrel is marked twice with a dot and engraved slashes that can be seen in the picture of the tang. Has anyone seen these markings on other guns?  Please if anyboby can give me information on this piece thanks in advance. I`ll have it with me in Alabama in Jan.

[ghost]

Really nice! Thanks for sharing!  (I can't resist) Guess it's the original Red Ryder, with the compass in the stock!    Thanks again!

[bama]

Nathan that's a good looking old gal that I bet has put a lot of meat on the table. I will be looking forward to seeing it at the Alabama - Kentucky rifle show in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing the pictures of it.

Jim

[bgf]

This one isn't getting the attention it deserves, in my opinion.  The ironwork is awesome and early in appearance.  I may be crazy, but I would think it might have been flint originally...even with one screw!

It appears the comb is facetted or is that a photo artifact?  The shaping of the buttstock is excellent!

I'm guessing the forestock tapered down and had an(other?) iron nosecap before the barrel was set back...

Was the hole cut for the compass or was there a grease hole there, if you can tell?

[n stephenson]

bgf, I appreciate everyones comments. This rifle does hold very well. There`s so many neat things about it that I don`t really know . That`s why I was hoping for some input from some of you.  These old southern guns were made for so long over a large area that unless you can pinpoint certain regional features it could be hard to tell. Your right about the hardware . It is nicely made.   Thanks Nathan

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

....Great gun....Iron trigger guard is pinned in stock..not screwed...early (flint) feature......is that a square edge at rear of lock mortise...? (pic ....maybe square back flint lock plate originally........To confuse more, I have seen similar side plates on Gillespie and NC rifles....!!....See you at Bama show.....