Thanks again everyone,
Dan, I was not blowing you off about the breech or browning. I just needed to clarify and fuming might be an option. I will look into it. JerryH, the same. I agree the photos look glossy in the sharp light but the gun in the flesh is more pleasing. I may post a few photos taken in neutral light when I have good weather for it outside. Kevin (Burnt), I realize that I never really answered you and I am sorry. Thank you for your question and if you are willing to read a bit of narrative, I can answer it. Of course there is a design and purpose to the gun. If you ever saw the movie "Hunt for Red October" you may remember the line by Fred Thompson where he says "The Russians don't take a dump without a plan, son". Well that characterizes me to a tee, not that I have any affinity to Soviet Russia. I always have an historical plan and objective, which is what makes creating these guns so fulfilling. My objective for the rifle was to create a rifle of the quality of John Manton to the best of my ability. I was not going to copy any existing rifle but do the best I could to honor the work of that great man and his colleagues, and also make a rifle that suits my friend, Tony. I decided on, what I call, the "stand up" stock often used on 19th century British guns including the Mantons. It has a high comb, straight wrist, tall and wide butt, and slight pitch. In my opinion, they are best design ever for hunting rifles and fowlers. So I adopted the architecture and fitted it to Tony as best I could. With respect to the decoration, there are many details. Note, carving is gone. The precision of inletting is extremely high but the guns are pretty plain. The silver inlays are simple and barely engraved. Note, the thumb plate is engraved but the barrel key escutcheons are not. That was typical. The engraving is of the period. Look at the panolpy of arms on the trigger guard bow. Note there is a shield with a Union Jack design but also a smaller shield with a French fleur de lis. The gun is from 1815 so that signifies the British victory over Napoleon at Waterloo. The bear face is purposeful. Rifles were engraved with martial or big game hunting motifs. H. W. Mortimer often had large game animals including lions and tigers, engraved on his rifles. This is because, rifles became more popular in Britain as the empire expanded to include lands where big game hunting was more available. For Tony, a black bear might be his greatest predator challenge so it is appropriate to have a bear face on the tang. In addition, it fits the design better than a deer head. So Kevin, I pay attention to every detail of which I am aware.
dave
