Yes, a Halloween prank, could not wait for next April 1st. Eric is the master of confusing old and new work, so I asked him to post this short narrative and the pics. But he was not supposed to label the post as Oerter, as I wanted readers to think a bit! And I wanted to take a shot at the experts on this site who advise builders to use German locks on PA rifles and English locks on southern work, as that clearly did not hold true for Oerter or other early makers.
This is the Oerter rifle made in 1774 for Aaron Hankinson of the New Jersey militia, and shown in Moravian Gunmaking II. I was fortunate to handle this rifle and others, and study via photos several not physically available. The family who owned this rifle asked me if they should have the old rifle cleaned up, and I advised them to leave it just as is. Better to make a new copy of an old rifle, than to mess with the old one, in my view.
So I stocked up this rifle several years ago. I used the Davis German styled lock, which good friend Jack Brooks made the patterns for (though subsequent production changed the bolster and internals!). A recent health issue slowed me down, and Jack helped to complete the rifle. I carefully copied the wire inlay from the original, stained the stock, while Jack did the remaining physical work, engraving and finish.
Redheart, the new rifle may not have the same look, but it is copied as closely as we are capable of doing. Other than the lock, and angle of buttplate which really changes the appearance, this rifle is very close to the original. From our careful study, the old rifles appear to have a butterscotch color in the wood from nitric, and a shiny built up varnish finish on top of the wood, with red in that finish. On the old rifles where the finish is worn away, the red is worn away, leaving the nitric. It is very difficult to photograph the new rifle, and good friend Mtn Meek took the crisp new photos. But the shiny varnish finish, silver star and bright lock and barrel cause the wood to look dark, and hide the fine curl. Viewed in sunlight, the color and curly maple show, along with the decoration. Imagine Major Hankinson standing with his troops, holding this rifle. He fought at Brandywine and Germantown, but for many years he and his militia were stationed along the Delaware, fighting the Native Americans in hit and run fashion, where a rifle would be desirable.
Moderators - this should probably go over to Contemporary Building, but I also wanted this chance to show poor photos of the old rifle, and to discuss how this 1774 rifle must have looked when 27 year old Christian Oerter handed it off to Hankinson. I found this whole project to be educational. We tend to prefer the old or aged look, but a rifle like this would have been quite a calling card, back in the day.
Please don't give Eric too much grief, and Jack and Mtn Meek were not aware of this post. Respectfully and with apology, Bob
