Author Topic: ....East Tennessee Rifle  (Read 9433 times)

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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....East Tennessee Rifle
« on: June 10, 2017, 06:38:57 PM »
 :) ;D 8)...Posting a few pix of a rifle recently discovered.... not cleaned, closet find condition.....curly maple half stock with wood barrel rib, 46" barrel, about .40 caliber, all forged  iron furniture, long "lollipop" barrel tang, "Holston" style cheek .....some think that she may have been shortened from fullstock.....no markings found......Enjoy (as I have), and comment please.......Regards, "Fiddler" .....








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Offline Sequatchie Rifle

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2017, 06:45:27 PM »
Very nice triggerguard. Like these guns the best. Long tang, iron mounts, long barrels. Thanks for sharing.
"We fight not for glory, nor riches nor honors, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life.” Declaration of Arbroath, 1320

Smokey Plainsman

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2017, 07:34:00 PM »
Beautiful! Nice horn and bag as well, were they found with the rifle?

Offline wattlebuster

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2017, 08:37:56 PM »
I like it ;D
Nothing beats the feel of a handmade southern iron mounted flintlock on a cold frosty morning

Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2017, 03:53:09 AM »
That's a nice old gun. I'd ask some questions about it but I don't want to get hung. People get awful ouchy when you ask legitimate questions about old guns.
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ghost

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2017, 04:31:39 PM »
Very interesting rifle, I like half stock southern mountain rifles. Lately I've been in hog (rifle) heaven! ::) Thanks for posting  ghost

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2017, 07:07:10 PM »
 ;D ;D... Is kinda like Heaven, ain't it Ghost... ??? ...... and Mike, ask questions....That's how we learn..... Regards, CC Fiddler ....
 
 


Offline WadePatton

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2017, 07:34:03 PM »
Curious lockside panel. Wonder if it was made like that or altered later.

Moore pics available? Like to see the "belly" and entry and wooden rib and crown/sight.  Thanks.
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n stephenson

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #8 on: June 11, 2017, 07:42:02 PM »
Fiddler,  I had a friend who passed away a few years ago , he had an old half stock SMR very similar to this one. It had a long 45 or 46 inch barrel, iron mounts , walnut stock, and what appeared to be a Hickory rib. The cheekpiece on his was more square and, the stock was Walnut but overall similar rifle. He had 5 old southern style half stocks and 6 full stocks one of which was a very cool poorboy that I may have pics of. I believe there had to be many of these rifles built by both pro builders and sometimes builders alike during the long period of their use.

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2017, 12:01:57 AM »
 ;D ;D... Nate... obtained this one out of Greene Co. Tennessee ....has what Dave Byrd calls a "Holston" style cheekrest.... Alfred Gross & Samuel Glover were some well known builders in the 1800's who used this style.... have seen one by one of the McInturff's too....However this rifle is not marked .....

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #10 on: June 12, 2017, 12:15:37 AM »
 ;) ;)  .... WadePatton .... A few more pix .... (I'm not a photographer... !!! ) ....


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ghost

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2017, 12:41:06 AM »
;D ;D... Is kinda like Heaven, ain't it Ghost... ??? ...... and Mike, ask questions....That's how we learn..... Regards, CC Fiddler ....
 
 


Yep, Fiddler I'm just a good ol' southern boy stuck in Ohio............

Offline Ray Settanta

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2017, 04:09:17 AM »
Nice rifle. Well, you said to ask questions so here goes. Is it possible that the lock is a replacement? It doesn't seem to fit properly.

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2017, 04:31:25 AM »
 ;D ;D... could be... anything possible, but is period for gun, and fits the mortice  good, with normal wood shrinkage for age..... several are concerned with the paneling around lock... esp at rear of plate, but It's not really pronounced, even on opposite side.....
 

Smokey Plainsman

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #14 on: June 12, 2017, 05:55:35 AM »
Regardless, still very nice. Always good to see some original percussion guns, I have a keen interest in the percussion period.

Offline okawbow

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2017, 06:15:05 AM »
I have noticed that on some southern rifles, the lock seems to be placed after the lock panels were shaped, without regard for an exact amount of wood showing around the lock plate. It's as if the builder had in mind the stock shape and lock panel shape, and then simply added the lock to the proper position for function, instead of shaping the lock panel around the lock after it was inlet.
As in life; it’s the journey, not the destination. How you get there matters most.

Offline Ray Settanta

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #16 on: June 12, 2017, 07:06:34 AM »
It seems that there are so many variables with longrifles that is is difficult to learn much just by looking at pictures. I will have to make a trip down to Tennessee or thereabouts and attend some shows.

Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #17 on: June 12, 2017, 03:11:12 PM »
Ok, I'll ask some questions as I find this a very interesting gun. You curmudgeons that are offended by questions take a chill pill for a minute. Like Wade, I'm curious about the lock panel, not seen anything like it. I'm also wondering if you have ever had the wood under rib off to look for under lugs. I don't recall seeing any Appalachia rifles that were originally built with wood ribs, of course anything is possible.  ;)
 I find it so odd that fellows refuse to share photos of their old guns for fear somebody might ask questions about them....just don't get it.

Thanks for posting these, much appreciated! :)
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Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #18 on: June 12, 2017, 04:24:16 PM »
 :) :)... Agree, Mike....Always happy to show an old gun.....only way we can learn is by looking at the old ones....Lock panel looked funny to me too, but have had lock out and the work inside is all old ....wooden rib appears to be hickory...( raised on a farm & done carpentry....I know wood) ....haven't had it off because of an age split where one pin goes through....(don't want to chance damaging)...Have been told stock may have been shortened..(I don't think so myself) ...There are a lot of Tennessee cap rifles that were original half-stock ....one feature I have noticed in Tennessee half-stocks, is that the wood on the forearm extends further up the barrel than on northern guns....This one is 5 inches past where ramrod entry is in stock.... I will  post pix of the triggerguard later....  unique three piece construction....Thanx for your interest... !!!.... Wish you could hold her & get your opinion in person...!!!

Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #19 on: June 12, 2017, 04:31:33 PM »
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were built as a 1/2 stock. NC rifles tend to have long wood on  1/2 stocks as well. I actually find that feature attractive.
NEW WEBSITE! www.mikebrooksflintlocks.com
Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #20 on: June 12, 2017, 04:33:14 PM »
 :) :)... Ray.... You MUST come to the Knoxville Tennessee/Kentucky Longrifle Collectors show held annually in April ....Largest gathering of Southern Mountain Rifles in the world.... !!!... can see & touch them all up close..... (as Ghost said "hog rifle heaven" ) ....!!!... Contemporary Builders page on FB has some great pix from past shows....

Offline Ray Settanta

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #21 on: June 12, 2017, 07:02:14 PM »
Thanks for that info. I would love to attend.

Offline Cades Cove Fiddler

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2017, 09:26:58 PM »
 8) 8)... few close-up pix of the unusual trigger-guard.....is three piece construction.... bow is forge  dished....not flat...hand grip rail is thin iron and "cupped" to give strength ....riveted to bow and rear loop and what appears to be copper soldered together ....overall is a nice, slim & thin trigger-guard ....fits architecture of this rifle perfectly .... very well made & stylish ......comments welcome... Regards, CC Fiddler ....






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n stephenson

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #23 on: June 14, 2017, 03:21:48 PM »
Fiddler, That guard looks like it would feel good. As I stated earlier my friend that passed away had a rifle with wooden rib. I`ve seen two others also. One was at the Civil War show in Nashville a few years ago, and Ron Ehlert did some repair work on one back in the 80s. On all 3 rifles that I`ve seen the furniture was forged iron and the ribs all appeared to be Hickory. While half stocks are not my favorite these with the wooden ribs do have a certain coolness that I do like.   Thanks Nate

Offline BOB HILL

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Re: ....East Tennessee Rifle
« Reply #24 on: June 14, 2017, 03:39:15 PM »
Neat rifle. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed seeing how the guard was constructed..... Bob
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