AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Contemporary Longrifle Collecting => Topic started by: Molly on August 24, 2021, 01:03:32 AM
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Some time ago, maybe 2 years or so, someone posted a photo of a group of shooters which contained one person identified as L. Houstom Harrison. It was a great photo that I wanted to keep but somehow appear to have deleted it. Any possibility that someone out there has this photo? There were probably 10 people in it. Those standing in the back were all "dressed" in Alvin York event attire and there were three people seated in the front with a woman in the center. Sure would appreciate it if you could post it again.
MAS
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;) ;)... Miss Molly,.... this might be the picture ye want,... Old Houston is on the far right,... if ye never knew him,... ye should have ... great gunsmith and banjer pickker,... regards,.. Cades Cove Fiddler...
(https://i.ibb.co/K62wVQN/Sgt-York-Shoot-group-ret.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
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... The Lady seated is Jane Wright,... Mrs. to the Artist and all-around great guy, David Wright who is standing behind her to the right,.. Bill Burt is kneeling just to left of her,.. second fellow from the left standing might be Mel Hankler,... someone maybe can put names to the others,... This was at the York shoot many years ago, and they still use it in advertising sometimes,... A great gang there,...ask David about his "almost" perfect target at that shoot,... !!!... you'ns must come down and shoot sometime,.....CCF
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You beat me to it Dana. The fella on David's right is Allen Coon. Here's the ad....
(https://i.ibb.co/hZV2dPb/Sgt-York-Shoot-group-ret-t.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
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;) ;).. Robin,... get David to tell you his score from that day,.. !!!
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;) ;).. Robin,... get David to tell you his score from that day,.. !!!
I believe that is John Braxton standing on the very left end and Mel to his right.
Dennis
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That's it. Thanks to all. We have a 25 cal flintlock made by Harrison. Really an exceptional work. Wanted the photo to be a part of the "story".
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The first Harrison rifle I ever saw was way back in the early 1970s. I was a greenhorn....new to muzzle loading. I happened to be at Charlie Haffner's range(Owl Hollow) outside of Franklin, Tennessee. At the time his range was a hot bed of muzzleloader activity and on that day there was two fellows shooting their flintlocks. I remember them saying they were from Gallatin, Tennessee which was Houston's stompin grounds. One was shooting the most beautiful flintlock that my untrained eye had ever seen. It was a 25 cal that Houston Harrison had built. Since that day, I've been fortunate to witness and handle several of his firearms. All I can say is that he was crazy talented and rates at the very top of all contemporary builders IMHO.
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I have seen a very few photos of his work. Photos are one thing but to have one in your hands is another. Ours IS a 25 cal but until we got it I'm not sure it had ever been fired. This gun was made for Don Stith and inside the patch box is a small piece of white leather upon which it is so written. I'll post a few pics later.
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As you say, Molly, photos can only hint at the joy of seeing a great rifle up-close and in person. A couple years back Ken Gahagan had a Bucks County rifle made by Harrison on display at the CLA show. It was associated with several celebrities such as Fess Parker and pictures of it have been posted on here before. I got to handle it at the show, and it really is a beautiful work of art. The man was very talented.
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Let the pics do the talking...for now.
(https://i.ibb.co/wMb6ZX5/003.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Fgf7kMR)
(https://i.ibb.co/NmG0XGk/004.jpg) (https://ibb.co/P9V2RVb)
(https://i.ibb.co/C8pSM6J/005.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZXRbYSH)
(https://i.ibb.co/0XkRDCF/006.jpg) (https://ibb.co/N3XdV9m)
(https://i.ibb.co/vjPmLWB/007.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2ktPcr6)
(https://i.ibb.co/R9qQQZz/008.jpg) (https://ibb.co/FKF88Ng)
(https://i.ibb.co/9H3XZS3/009.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3mYXRQY)
(https://i.ibb.co/CMxXwFs/010.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hZpngv1)
(https://i.ibb.co/0G4czvG/011.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wzGR2jz)
(https://i.ibb.co/7rjHPGK/014.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nQ6T9Dj)
BTW, that is a small length of "fuzz" on the one photo of the patch box, NOT a scratch. A dove tailed front sight? Why of course not! And a niffty little decorative feature to the muzzle. Oh, yes, the forward screw on the lock plate side is a "dummy". It is just a wood screw. The lock is held by one bolt. Why? I have no idea why it was done that way.
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That lock looks like one of my Ketlands from many years ago.
Bob Roller
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8) 8)... Old Houston used two pins on the rammer pipes,... he must have learned that from the BEAN family,.... a common trait of theirs,.... very nice,... regards,... CCF
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So is the front sight blade set in a slot cut in the barrel like a Virginia rifle?
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Yes, that is the case. And it is set very low as well. The beauty is in the simplicity, the craftsmanship and the finish. I don't know who made the lock and triggers but every other part of this rifle was custom made IMO.
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I would love to see a picture of that. I did a front sight like that and had to grind down a engraving tool to make the slot, but it came out ok. You definitely have a keeper there.
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Yes, that is the case. And it is set very low as well. The beauty is in the simplicity, the craftsmanship and the finish. I don't know who made the lock and triggers but every other part of this rifle was custom made IMO.
I’ll bet that if you take the lock out and look at the inside plate you will see ROLLER. I have a lock that is identical to that one and it’s a Roller.
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I recall that I did that when we got it and I think that is correct. I just did not want to remove it right now. It's really a snug fit and demands a little care in taking it out. One of the things I really like is the variety of finished to the metal. Barrel and lock, brown. Jaw screw and other screw heads, blued. Guard, toe plate, butt plate, nose cap, box and tang...not blue, not brown but not "white" either. And the muzzle. It's almost "white".
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Sorry for the poor photos. Will try to get better ones soon..
(https://i.ibb.co/8sW5fD9/20210826-210806.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1QDqPfT)
(https://i.ibb.co/Rh7JjFF/20210826-210848.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7gb0kff)
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Thanks Molly, actually I’m looking for a solder line as I think more of these end up being soldered to take the wiggle out. This type of sight is a one shot deal and the slot has to be perfect for everything to work the way it should. That’s one reason you won’t see very many.
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This brings up a topic that probably deserves a new thread about the legacy of artists like Houston and how they envisioned they would be remembered...
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I totally agree. These modern age makers have taken the American Longrifle to artistic heights not seen before. A topic on the rebirth of this craft would be interesting.
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Better pic of the front site.
(https://i.ibb.co/GVK8h63/001.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jLcQpNZ)
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Thanks Molly, I can’t tell if he used solder or not. Maybe he had his own technique for installing sight blades. Very nice, thanks again for the pictures.
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https://vimeo.com/62946781
I never met him but he was obviously multitalented and had a big personality. Hopefully the link above will work but there are two other videos featuring him on Vimeo, one is shooting a flintlock and the other is music, and I think you can follow the links there to the other two. Hope you enjoy these!
https://vimeo.com/62907247
https://vimeo.com/62947387
Thought I may as well post links to all three of them!
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Very nice, THANKS
Many years between the time of the photo and the time of the video. Great to have those kind of records about modern day builders.
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8) ;D ;D... "$#*!, I'm hungry,.... let's go get something to eat,.. I'm tired of messing with this @!*% thing",.. !!! ...... Thanx for these videos ROBERTS,... !!! ... I wasn't aware they existed,...Old Houston was certainly a character,... a regular Tennessee boy who excelled at everything he did,... Great post,.. regards,... Cades Cove Fiddler,....
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I'd almost forgot about those videos. I was just an acquaintance to Houston but I have a friend who knew him well. He happens to love telling Houston tales to anyone who has time to listen(me)...maybe its because he owns several of his rifles. He's told me the story about him making the fiddle when he was just a young kid but even before this, and much younger, he was whittling his own toys out of blocks of wood. He's seen a few of the ones that still exist and described them as being exceptionally detailed which was amazing having been made by a little kid. Hope this is ok to relate here but in one of the videos you hear him say he also liked to shoot revolvers....Well....he built one completely from scratch even down to the screws. As the story goes, his replica was being displayed at a large gun show in the area. A big Colt collector saw it and ask if he could examine it. The collector was proclaiming it as being the finest example of that model he had ever had the pleasure of handling. Houston happened to be standing there and told him that he had made it. The big time collector was in total disbelief until Houston broke it down far enough to show him his hidden witness marks.
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Molly, that H. Harrison rifle that you have somehow tears at my heart strings. I think it's beauty is in it's simplicity. For sure the wood stands apart from those rifles that we see every day.
You have a rare treasure there, and a long time to appreciate it. Thanks for showing it to us.
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i just looked closely at the lock and triggers and I am sure the lock is one of the Ketlands I made and most of them went for the so called "Flint Hawken" fullstocks. The last rifle I made was a walnut fullstock with the last of these locks in 2008.It was fast with hardly any perceptible delay in the ignition cycle and was a GM 58 caliber with steel trim and single trigger also think the triggers on the Harrison rifle are mine as well.
Bob Roller
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Well, I decided to take a look and remove the lock. I think I did that back when we got it.
SORRY to disappoint you but...............
it says "Made in China" ;D
No wait, that's not it. It's "Roller 76" and there is another number on it as well.
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Well, I decided to take a look and remove the lock. I think I did that back when we got it.
SORRY to disappoint you but...............
it says "Made in China" ;D
No wait, that's not it. It's "Roller 76" and there is another number on it as well.
Probably made after a Chinese dinner at the New China Restaraunt.That time frame was busy for me
and that lock was a good performer..I still have one frizzen and one cock.....maybe.I will keep the frizzen
in case of one breaking.That style of cock is all but indestructible.
Bob Roller
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Enjoyed the videos. Sadly there are less and less guys like that around these days.
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Starting back in the Eighties my wife and I were camped practically next door to Jack Rouse during the national shoots at Friendship for a number of years. His campsite was quite the hangout for gunmakers, story tellers and musicians. Frank Bartlett and Houston Harrison to name a couple.
We had the pleasure of listening to Houston playing his handmade guitar on a number of occasions sitting under Jack’s awning.
It would be mighty hard to pick which endeavor was Houston’s best, musician, gunmaker or musical instrument maker. He was phenomenal at all three.
Great memories, :)
Jeff
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Those videos were great - thanks.
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Having been a friend of Don King, maker in the 60's,70's and 80's.
I can maybe shed a little light on Don's soldering techniques. He would fit the parts to be joined to a tight slip fit, flux them, using thin flat silver solder ( not wire)
between the joints he would put the pieces together sometimes using clamps. Before applying heat he would use a grease pencil and mark a line around the joint to be solder. Applying heat the solder would run to the mark and not any further. Hardly ever seen a solder line.
Miss Molly great rifle, love the bean style.
Videos are great as I collect the old style music.
Carney