AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Contemporary Longrifle Collecting => Topic started by: EC121 on November 28, 2020, 06:42:18 AM
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There is a new rifle from Mike Gahagan on its way to a new home. More pics on my blog: www.bricestultzhisblog.blogspot.com
Flippant remarks welcome.
(https://i.ibb.co/b52wnT4/SONY-DSC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/m5XZ7kn)
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I was following the progress on this one. As always, exceptionally artistic work by Mike.
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Beautiful. I do think it would look better up in Marion co though. Ill pm you my address. Beautiful rifle ENJOY ;D
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I know where it is headed, but it isn't my house. I am only the messenger!
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I know where it is headed, but it isn't my house. I am only the messenger!
The T.C. on the patchbox lid kind of gives its destination away. lol
David
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Does the TC stand for Thompson Center????? ;D
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T/C "Hawkins" a Gahagan specialty.
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Does the TC stand for Thompson Center????? ;D
;) ZING! ;)
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I know where it is headed, but it isn't my house. I am only the messenger!
The T.C. on the patchbox lid kind of gives its destination away. lol
David
Especially if the caliber is .60 “also”...
Greg
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It's ok y'all can pick on me at least while you're doing it to me someone else is getting a rest. Be careful what you say or do. Payback is h&*l.
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This rifle by Mike Gahagan started as a set of forged iron hardware by Rich McDonald ( an excellent rifle builder). Rich forged two sets of iron hardware for me. The rifle doesn't have a school. But it has elements from several rifles. The unusual cheek piece has influence from a trade gun in a book by Jim Gordon. The patch box with captured lid, while slightly fancier is based on boxes excavated from Native American graves in the south. In fact I believe one was found in Alabama. The carving is pure Gahagan. Mike does really nice carving. The barrel is a Rice light Haga in .60 cal. The lock is an unbridled early Ketland by Chambers. On early big guns where appropriate my favorite lock. I haven't had an opportunity to shoot the rifle but will in the next few days. May even try to kill a deer with it. The T C on the patchbox is okay as both my sons initials are TC. One of them will own it one day and the initials will still work. I may post a couple of pictures of the rifle for those of you that may want to see it w/o going to Brice's blog even though you might find his blog interesting.
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Pictures
(https://i.ibb.co/J7ZV8z7/125204615-2104526499684403-1510596521056250584-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HzZ6Rrz)
(https://i.ibb.co/WPFG3C4/125516847-2104526203017766-683517841691169343-o.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZYKGJ9p)
(https://i.ibb.co/F4SQdWR/125280593-2104526166351103-7126193729980196266-n.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qYtH2nT)
(https://i.ibb.co/nC9cWp6/125247828-2104526089684444-477499560478152656-o.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zJpRkdQ)
(https://i.ibb.co/fHDtF6x/125211963-2104526319684421-4334644499337800326-o.jpg) (https://ibb.co/njPfmdL)
(https://i.ibb.co/BN5ZRJK/125227780-2104526123017774-4911792215265324019-o.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jRPMFYZ)
free url hosting (https://imgbb.com/)
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Great looking rifle Tim!
It really has the look and feel via the photo's of being a rifle to use with "Great Satisfaction".
Ray
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Really nice rifle.
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Ray if I remember correctly the cheek piece is similar to the rifle you made using the remnant rifle found in a lake. Of course it has been a while since I read your information on the rifle and the pictures of your fine rendition of the gun. Tim
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Tim,
Your memory is correct. This cheek rest is very similar as is the stock profile as a whole.
Synchronistic timing here too...I plan to use The Lower Hay Lake Rifle build from the relic pattern starting this Saturday on a Lottery Drawing Deer Hunt at historic and cultural rich Crow Wing State Park. The relic gun stock as well may have spent many of it's better days in the hands of ??? hunting this same area. I'm really looking forward to this hunt after so many years of research. It will be a special feeling for me.
Stay healthy my friend!
Ray
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That is a seriously beautiful rifle! Perhaps if I put in my order now, I will have the wherewithal by the time it is done. Love everything about it - shape, color, workmanship, hardware.
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That one is a beauty! Typical of Ken's work. God Bless, Marc
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Marc,
This rifle was made by MIKE Gahagan not Ken Gahagan. Ken gets a lot of well deserved credit for the wonderful guns he makes, but Mike's work is second to none in my opinion.
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Marc,
This rifle was made by MIKE Gahagan not Ken Gahagan. Ken gets a lot of well deserved credit for the wonderful guns he makes, but Mike's work is second to none in my opinion.
Too many Gahagans and Brooks in the business. ;)
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Thank you Jim, and my apologies to Mike. God bless, Marc
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That's the nicest Thompson Center I have ever seen! :o
Now before folks get all riled up about that comment, I just got off the phone with Tim. He informed me that someone of very low moral standards had the audacity to imply that the TC engraved on the box referred to Thompson Center. I cant imagine how anybody could get this fine rifle confused with anything made by Thompson Center. ;D
That my friend Tim, is indeed one of the finest rifles I have seen in a long time.
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Great job as always Mike, beautiful gun but it's becoming way to obvious one of us is going to have to change our name. I'm way to old to remember a new one so...............
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Totally awesome rifle, Mike! Looks like it might have been made in heaven! Just beautiful......
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Great piece!
Lots of unique, subtle and creative details.
Jeff
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Tim,
Your memory is correct. This cheek rest is very similar as is the stock profile as a whole.
Synchronistic timing here too...I plan to use The Lower Hay Lake Rifle build from the relic pattern starting this Saturday on a Lottery Drawing Deer Hunt at historic and cultural rich Crow Wing State Park. The relic gun stock as well may have spent many of it's better days in the hands of ??? hunting this same area. I'm really looking forward to this hunt after so many years of research. It will be a special feeling for me.
What relic is this? Sounds interesting.
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Maybe Ray will start thread and share some info on the Lower Hay Lake rifle. By the way he harvested a buck on the hunt he mentioned earlier in this thread. Tim
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Tim, Elnathan,
Just a quick I will do so. Today I have to run doing errands. There is much story to this relic so will have to curtail my urge to reply in a possible long winded response.
Tim, part of my errands today is to get the material I promised in the mail today to you.
Ray
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Elnathan,
In response to your interest I'll try to be brief. Pictures are on another computer with memory issues plus I've never posted pictures here so will need to learn perhaps one day.
The broken relic gunstock got the name from me as I've been the one doing research that I began over 30 years ago. The relic was found sometime between 1925 and 1940 along the shoreline of Lower Hay Lake in North central Minnesota by an amateur archaeologist of the time. It spent most of its time from then in storage until I spotted it in the mid 1980's while I was maintaining the gun collection in the county museum where it resides now. When I spotted it, I realized immediately it was unique (it was an 1700's looking) rifle stock and not northwest Trade gun etc. (as usual here) and needed to be researched. No one had done so at that point.
The stock profile even thou broken off and missing the wood/barrel fore ward of lock plate and side plate was slim and flowed. The relic is composed of a narrow 1 3/8"s wide parallel sided European/fowler type 4 3/4" tall buttplate with engraved 4 "s long asymmetric tang; cheek rest is a very prominent 'half oval' Germanic looking; it possesses a dovetailed wood box; flat 1/16" thickness engraved feathered serpent looking sideplate; flint lockplate (5 9/16"s by 1" dimensions) round faced banana shaped with internal tumbler bridle, with screw hole locations indicating removable pan and bridle less frizzen once existed. Also a tear drop shape trigger plate and a piece of rear trigger guard attached with screw and shape typical of early rifle trigger guards. The wrist measurement is a slim 1 3/8's. Furniture is brass.
Beginning in 1989, I sent photo's to Kit Ravenshear, Charles Hanson (Museum of the Fur Trade), George Shumway, old friend then Curly Gostomski and others as well. They all responded pretty much alike in saying this was different from the usual. After gathering information from them and researching myself, the consensus was it was a very early Northern European Export Trade rifle possibly from along the France and German boundary. Kit mentioned possibly Danish area as well possibly? This rifle contrasted tremendously from usual Germanic land developments which has become a curious and enjoyable use of my gun interest for all these 30+ years now.
My research now indicates the rifle coming to the fur trade area here likely during the 1760's or early 1770's. Rifle caliber based on known barrel artifacts along the trade route here ranged from 42 -60 caliber that are between 34"s and 45"s long. One mostly straight octagon, one octagon swamp and one octagon taper barrel profiles. Rifle barrels found in the surrounding area are quite a rare find.
I made a pattern from the relic and made a rendition for myself (as Tim mentioned used deer hunting this year) to later donate to the museum to have with the relic. Tim's exceptional rifle in this post has a similar profile look based on the photo's and of course captured my attention quickly. His rifle has the more typical wider butt plate width, wider wrist etc. and the restrained use of carving to highlight which is something I also tried to accomplish on the rifle I built as well.
I tried to be short and descriptive as possible in this response and hopefully didn't bore you to tears without photo's.
I appreciate the interest. Thanks much!
Ray
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Not boring at all, and thank you. Sounds like a very interesting gun, both from a design standpoint and also as a representative of a pretty obscure type of trade rifle.
Posting pictures is really quite easy if you use imgbb.com, BTW.
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Elnathan
Ray emailed a picture of the relic stock found at Lower Hay Lake. I only have the patchbox side. Ray is looking for better pictures of the original remnants and hopefully we can post them in a separate thread under antique rifles. Also a picture of Ray's rendition of the rifle with the buck harvested with the rifle. Tim
(https://i.ibb.co/vVhSkYp/LOWER-HAY-TALK-2-19744820606268-7.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/qY0sYdP/Crow-Wing-Buck-19818912793271-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yFhyFXb)
(https://i.ibb.co/TqDVp5h/Lower-Hay-Rifle-Build-2-19859218978673-5.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
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Did he guess on the guard in his re-creation or is this based on a guard found with the relic?
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Rich,
The trigger guard is based on its similarity to some rifles built in SW German lands. George Shumway provided information on some examples from this region where this search indicates this rifle may have originated. Several guns here had trigger guards he described as having a characteristic small loop. Apparently too called a common Rhine Valley form and found on Belgium and French guns as well.
Ray