AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: gjason1 on May 10, 2025, 04:45:42 PM
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Hello everyone,
Been scouting for a bit and decided to introduce myself. Im a firearm collector, recently inherited a few dozen rifles and hand guns. Not looking to sell anything. However, I would like to identify a few of them over time. I would like to add a very special piece to my collection, maybe someone can help. I'm looking for half-stock percussion rifle. Particularly with the name W.M. Gantt signed on top of barrel. Its a plain rifle and is out of a group of rifle makers working in the Catawba Valley area in North Carolina. This was my great grandfathers rifle. Any leads would be great!
(https://i.ibb.co/vvKSmbGc/Rifle.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TqFsRZSw)
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When you said "This was my great grandfathers rifle." did you mean the exact rifle illustrated in the picture? Or did you mean your ancestor simply had a similar marked gun?
The reason for asking is that the pictured half-stocked gun is listed as in the current collection of Bill Ivey, the author of the book, so I doubt that rifle would be available. Bill's getting a few years on him, but he's like the rest of us highly focused collectors... not ready to let go of the stuff we love yet.
If you meant that you simply want to find a similar marked gun, which might be either full- or half-stocked [you can't get picky when looking for a specific North Carolina rifle since they are rare], then perhaps Michael Briggs will see your post and respond here.
Michael is a major North Carolina collector who has done numerous high-quality publications on the state's gunmaking schools and probably knows where more NC guns are than all the rest of us put together. Are you out there Michael???
Shelby Gallien
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Thank you for the response. We met Bill over the weekend at the NC Rifle Association Meeting, he was keynote speaker. He said he once owned the rifle, however he sold it and couldn't remember who bought it. He will be helping locate it.
Yes, Gantt is family.