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Author Topic: J H Johnston  (Read 2216 times)

Offline gibster

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J H Johnston
« on: June 19, 2018, 04:44:12 AM »
I was searching the internet last week looking at different websites and found this rifle in a pawn shop in Washington State. I called and talked to them about it and they agreed to ship it to me as long as I was willing to pay the shipping charges. The rifle appears to be untouched as far as any repairs other than a period shim under the hammer. Someone at some point did clean the cheek piece inlay and took some of the finish from the wood.  It is signed in script J H Johnston on the barrel and it has an Ashmore lock. The barrel is 41-inches long and is the original length. It measures to about .44 caliber and is slightly swamped, .998 at the breach, .916 at the waist and .948 at the muzzle. Length of pull is 12 1/4 inches.  Comments welcome.




















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Offline Shreckmeister

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2018, 05:06:08 AM »
Very nice example. I guess you never know what you'll find. Our local pawn shop has nothing but junk.
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Offline JTR

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2018, 07:45:13 AM »
Lucky you! Nice rifle!
John
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John Robbins

Big Wolf

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2018, 08:32:14 PM »
Nice rifle, I haven’t seen many carved Johnston’s before, very nice rifle, congrats!
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Offline jdm

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 08:49:44 PM »
Nice Johnston!  Whiskers has one pictured on pg. 236 In " Behold The Longrifle" Very much like yours except it has a sunshade on it.  I'm glad to see your branching out a little.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2018, 09:04:03 PM by jdm »
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JIM

Offline Dennis Glazener

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2018, 09:04:47 PM »
Eric,
Glad to see you find such a nice gun. I am not familiar with J H Johnston any chance you have information on him?
Dennis
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Offline louieparker

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2018, 09:35:20 PM »
Eric
Thats a very nice rifle. Glad you got it..The first good rifle I owned was a JH Johnston very much like yours...Remember my weak memory, but I as I remember JH Johnston later formed the The Great Western Rifle Works .   Louie
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Online hornturner

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Re: J H Johnston
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2018, 02:39:46 AM »
That's a nice and very representative J.H. Johnston rifle.  He worked in Waynesboro, PA.  He was the father of the James Johnston who started and ran Great Western Gun Works in Pittsburgh, PA.  I have a similar one and it is carved in the same basic pattern.  His patchboxes were always similar and pleasing to my eye, at least.  There is a period newspaper interview of J.H. Johnston published in the book "Gunsmiths of Pen-Mar-VA 1790-1840" by William S. Bowers.  This book is pretty hard to find these days.

Art DeCamp
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