side hammer locks (mule ear)

[shortbarrel]

does anyone make these lock???. i made a front action and a back action lock from bill newtons drawing, just to see what they would look like last month,and how they would work. both locks amazed me in how nice they worked.

[Metalshaper]

does anyone make these lock???. i made a front action and a back action lock from bill newtons drawing, just to see what they would look like last month,and how they would work. both locks amazed me in how nice they worked.

Here's mine 



If you've made one of each,  Good on Ya and lets see em'!!

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan

[shortbarrel]

good looking rifle, kind of like one i would build if ever get around to it. did you pattern this rifle from one you have seen or just draw it up and build? have you ever seen one with a set trigger? Try to get outside and take some pictures of the locks soon.

[Old Bob]

I made one for my chunk gun. External mainspring type.

[stuart cee dub]

Pioneer Arms shows one on their website Shortbarrel .Maybe they can help .
FYI There is no half cock notch on a mule-ear ,not a problem if your capping on the firing line .

While very much interested in mule ear locks especially for off hand match, I recently decided to stick with a traditional sidehammer as more available.
I am a hobby stocker myself and have no special metal working skills as many other have on this site .If I break a spring before a match I'll need a spare sooner rather than later .
Regards Stuart

   

[Metalshaper]

Mule ears and no half cock position???  Mine do!!

Mine also has fly built into the assembly.. If you use the bell-crank modification to the sear,  you can use a
"normal"  trigger. depending on the set trigger style?? you can use them also. ( helps if the tumbler has a fly )
or use the single set/ single throw style that will hold the sear out of the way..

My Miss Muley, is my own design. Back action/coil spring main, half position like I said above.
The rifle is a take-down. Shown it has the 30.5"  .36 cal barrel I originally built it with. She also has a
28 gauge barrel I found in a shop they were trying to get rid of. Its  28"  long and was reamed out from a
crudded up .50 cal they took in on a trade..  I matched the tennon locations and both barrels use the
same fore stock.. the shotgun barrel wears a wooden under rib.. originally was going to try a set trigger
but it ended up smooth enough I never bothered??

The original intent was to build the lock as a prototype and see if my design would work. This lock was built with nothing
more than a belt sander and an old bench top Craftsman drill press for powered equipment..< Those and a guided
router were the only power tools I had at the time...) once i got it working I just went ahead and made the gun..

have the start to an outside mainspring version.. Just hated the way the hammer turned out, so I'm probably gonna go back
and hand shape it like I did with my Miss.. here's the link to a pic of where I was headed with that  one..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y181/metalshaper/NewMuley.jpg

my bud got  me into building underhammers, so I've kinda been distracted by them??
Anyway, I'll stop now 

Respect Always
metalshaper/Jonathan



 

[blaksmth]

 I have a 70 cal .695 ball Hawken style pistol grip rifle that my dad and i made in the middle 1980s that has a mule ear lock that i hunt with, i believe they are extremely fast , as lock time is concerned , i would say as fast as an inline action imo , i never have had a missfire or hang fire while hunting. I love them.

[greybeard]

I made this one about 20 yrs ago. It is patterened after a Levi Coone, Ithica N Y.
The locks are not all that complicated if you can find drawings.   Bob



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[Hungry Horse]

 I have seen modern production side slappers marked Storey. I assume somebody was producing a modern version, at least for a while.

                     Hungry Horse

[kutter]

Pro Gun Services in Victor NY has a Dale Storey Casper, WY side hammer .50cal for sale.
http://progunservices.com/Pro-GunServices/Muzzleloaders.html

scroll down the page for pics and a short description.

[Bob Roller]

Hungry Horse,'I think it was Dale Story. The Log Cabin Shop
may have info on him even if he's no longer around.

Bob Roller

[KNeilson]

Greybeard, I think your gun is plain beautiful. I have made a side lock now, with external spring, it works great. You mentioned drawings, do you have any or can you point me in the right direction?...   regards..   Kerry

[pushboater]

If you can dig up a January 1990 issue of Muzzle Blasts there is an article called "A Handmade Mule Ear" by Jerry Heselton.  The article has drawings and photographs of a mule ear lock that was inspired by an original external mainspring lock pictured in "Pryor Mountain" Bill Newton's book, Hand Forging The Muzzle Loading Gun Lock.  He takes you through the whole process of building the lock, including tempering the mainspring.  It's a great little article.  The drawings and photographs are of a left hand lock but the modifications needed to make it right handed are very minimal.  Basically just bending the hammer in the opposite direction.  He ends the article by saying that, "It's only disadvantage on a hunting rifle is that it's just a little bit slower to get into action than a regular sidelock, especially if your grew up thumbing back a hammer."

[greybeard]

Greybeard, I think your gun is plain beautiful. I have made a side lock now, with external spring, it works great. You mentioned drawings, do you have any or can you point me in the right direction?...   regards..   Kerry
[/quote

Thanks Kerry;  Sorry but I coppied the lock from an original and don't have either gun anymore. 
Looks like we are close neighbors. I live in Duncan on the island.
  Cheers    Bob Reader

[rich pierce]

I think I have a sideslapper in the parts bin, if you need it.

[KNeilson]

Pushboater, Bob, Rich, thanks..not the best pics but heres mine. I made it as a spare for my flint rifle. Fits a Siler mortice and fires through the vent. Done well for me so far ..   Kerry

[shifty]

 Thats a neat looking lock, I wish I could see the back side a little better.

[KNeilson]

This any  better?  

[shifty]

Yes thanks.

[Old Bob]

This is the one on my chunk gun.

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A bit rough looking, but very fast.

[Old Bob]

Oops. I must have used the wrong URL. I'm using PhotoBucket and this was the URL I use on another site. Which one works for this one?

[Old Bob]

I'm going to try one more time. If this doesn't work maybe somebody can help me.







I've replaced the mainspring since I took these pictures. This one looked like heck but worked great and I keep it as a spare. The new one looks more "professionally made" but there's no difference in performance. The nut on the mainspring screw is no longer there, don't need it. Pretty primitive overall but I needed something in time for the York shoot a few years ago. A Springfield musket lockplate was used as the pattern so this is a pretty good sized lock.

[Old Bob]

Pushboater, Bob, Rich, thanks..not the best pics but heres mine. I made it as a spare for my flint rifle. Fits a Siler mortice and fires through the vent. Done well for me so far ..   Kerry

Now that is a neat idea! I like it.

[shifty]

  Just now saw the new pics, thats nice I like the lock would be lot easier to operate I think than the other type slaps.

[Old Bob]

It's very simple. The sear arm operates just like one on a regular lock so nothing special has to be done for it to engage the trigger bar. I'm using Davis triggers with this one. The sear spring works vertically and has tabs on both sides to keep it centered on the sear. It was made from a piece of banding used to hold a lumber pile together. It does have to be tempered just right or it will either set or break in two very easily. The main spring pictured was forged from water hardening steel from a start drill. The new spring was cut from an old Model T or wagon spring, not sure which. It has a very short hammer throw and is fast. It does not have a half cock notch. I've been thinking about designing a sliding safety catch for it that will block the sear. I've been working on another lock like this one and I'll probably put a catch on it and if it suits me I'll retrofit my old lock with one. Don't really need it, but won't hurt to have. I've also been thinking of building a smaller rifle size lock on the same design. I never was happy with the shape of the hammer and the one I'm building now will have a more graceful hammer. Like I said, I was in a bit of a hurry to get this rifle done and all I was concerned about was making it shoot. Didn't have to be purty.