AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Contemporary Longrifle Collecting => Topic started by: Brent English on December 07, 2025, 04:38:57 AM

Title: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: Brent English on December 07, 2025, 04:38:57 AM
I'm sure nobody on this forum (except for maybe one other guy) ever heard or Richard (Dick) King from Madison, Wisconsin.  He was a very good friend of mine, and I met him when I was just a lad of 18 in 1976 - when this gun was built.  He only built about a dozen rifles before losing interest and moving on to other things.  I ordered one from him right at the end of his rifle building days, bought a dandy piece of wood from Wayne Dunlap, made a deposit, and sat back and waited.  Well, after three years and not a single shaving removed from that stock blank, Dick and I had a heart to heart and we cancelled the order. But, we still remained good friends and I still coveted a rifle made by him.  Well, I found this one at at an auction in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin at Kramer Auction Service. After I got it, and did some research, I realized Dick had made it for another fellow that I was also friends with back in those days, and I recalled seeing it at a Christmas party at that fellows house, probably around 1980. Both Dick and the original owner have passed, and the gun became available when the original owner's daughter put it up for auction. This was the only gun Dick ever made with German Silver furniture.  I think it's a pretty nice one, and I wanted to share my story and pictures of the gun with you guys.  It's 45 caliber, probably a Douglas barrel and what looks like a small Siler or Doc Haddaway lock. It appears unfired.

(https://i.ibb.co/5hb2Ry0S/2-Rcwv-N793-L5-Pjmtopw-BNia-Bc.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1GFbm5gP)

(https://i.ibb.co/N2TtNCts/4-I0-Pu-Ssz-S4p9s-P-N7e7p3h-Z.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v4XVdqVH)

(https://i.ibb.co/9mBkW5t7/6-QXOr6-w-Mxj1-Roxnr81-WABMd.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qLh3pQ5v)

(https://i.ibb.co/NdW798fq/29rab-Muxc-Zek5-Nm-GNIlb-Ao-NO.jpg) (https://ibb.co/0RYQCg1L)

(https://i.ibb.co/YFVvJfcL/I77e-Q-A1-K8-LErt-9uy-WKaz-Pf.jpg) (https://ibb.co/B5Y8vTyC)

(https://i.ibb.co/LztjTJhH/P31-Glj-Xf-XPs-V1e0ld-Iqs2x-C.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MDVwzG5Q)

(https://i.ibb.co/BHh0W5Ny/q-lqb-COY1jx-WWvx4-La-Po5s-Ai.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vCN0y6Y3)

(https://i.ibb.co/0yT105GY/Ssp-Pc0-na8-P-xtl0-EB-Sgdp.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8gqGyk7P)

(https://i.ibb.co/WvJ3y8SJ/WOr6pz-HW5p-Jbi-IIei3zkwn-Dh.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4RrfTvBr)


(https://i.ibb.co/DD4Zy37P/QRC1u-Aa-RBTB-jq92-4q-Mm-X-6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/d0BRqnQs)
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: mesabi on December 07, 2025, 06:12:14 AM
I was eyeballing that one pretty hard... You got a beauty!
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: Brent English on December 07, 2025, 06:56:03 AM
I was eyeballing that one pretty hard... You got a beauty!

I had another friend bidding against me and I told him to put his money away cause this one’s mine 😊
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: AZshot on December 07, 2025, 02:48:16 PM
I like hearing the stories people tell of their guns, their friends, their long ago memories.  It's always amazing and bittersweet when that same gun appears once again and now you can continue the stories.  Thanks for showing it.
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: bones92 on December 08, 2025, 05:00:49 PM
Wow, what a beautiful rifle.   Too bad Mr. King didn't continue making rifles.  Glad you were able to secure one of his pieces.   The history of such pieces are what make them appealing to me.
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: Mick C on December 12, 2025, 10:57:01 PM
Merry Christmas indeed!!
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: Paul from KY on December 18, 2025, 11:31:17 PM
The guy that built that rifle was a talented carver.  The carving is very refined, very detailed but not overdone.
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: J.M.Browning on December 19, 2025, 01:47:32 AM
Very nice rifle Beautiful , Thank you for sharing .
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: Daryl on December 22, 2025, 09:40:37 PM
I sure like that style for a rendezvous rifle.
Title: Re: Merry Christmas to me - a gun by an old friend
Post by: duca on December 28, 2025, 02:00:39 PM
Beautiful, simply Beautiful