Buchele rifle questions and ruminations

[elee]

Hello all; I have attached some pics of a recent long rifle acquisition by William Buchele. It is .45 cal., 43" straight barrel 7/8" across the flats. Overall condition is excellent, it appears unfired. I bought the gun at auction last year, and would appreciate any comments or insights that the contemporary long rifle savants on this forum might be willing to contribute. I am familiar with Mr. Buchele's reputation as an important contributor to the contemporary long rifle movement until his passing in 1977, but in researching this rifle I can find very little information otherwise. It does not appear that this rifle is made after any particular style or school of original long rifles, but rather seems to be a generalized style of Mr. Buchele's own creation. Based on the style, architecture, and furniture, can anyone suggest an approximation of when this rifle might have been made? The inside of the lock is unmarked, signed Buchele on the outside lockplate. Any idea of lock manufacturer? Buchele's signature also appears on the top barrel flat...does this signature match those any of you may have seen on other Buchele rifles? While this is a fairly "fancy" rifle, it appealed to me because it is not as fancy as some of the few Buchele rifles I have seen pictures of. The "story" rifles I find a bit too much especially. Am I correct in thinking that more interest and attention, not to mention praise, is now directed to more modern makers of stylistically accurate rifles than those of Buchele, or makers of Buchele's day? Do contemporary long rifle collector's place any premium on Buchele rifles because of his influence on the many extremely talented builders of today? I ask because I plan on shooting this rifle on a regular basis, and would not want to reduce it's value to future interested parties. If it is worth more as a collector piece than as a shooter, I would rather trade it off for a more stylistically accurate contemporary gun. I welcome any and all comments on Mr. Buchele's work, and on this rifle in particular. I enjoy this forum immensely, and have learned a great amount from the vast reservoir of knowledge represented here! My apologies for the numerous questions, and thanks for any help on this matter.
Happy Thanksgiving to all....Elee

[rich pierce]

Very nice rifle. In the book that Bill co-authored there was a sense that building a longrifle should be a creative work. Some like what I will call “new school” and some prefer longrifles with a clear historical lineage.

So far as where Buechler stands among past and current builders, fame is fleeting for most artists. There are a handful of longrifle artists whose work has staying power. Yet we see collections of contemporary rifles- the very best of the best- which do not sell quickly or at prices above what one would pay a high tier maker today (>$5000 price range).

One thing that dates this rifle include the straight barrel on a gun that by its styling would have a barrel with some taper and flare.

A second factor with new school rifles is that they appeal to a segment of the buyers out there and tastes change with time. Right now a Woodbury rifle would have more appeal.

By nature or selection, muzzleloading enthusiasts are a frugal lot. There are folks who buy high art and high dollar guns but those guns are seldom used.

[john bohan]

Who would'nt be happy with that rifle? I'm impressed.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

In the buttstock architecture and carving, JP Beck comes to mind, but I think Buchele let his imagination flow, using ideas from many of the pieces he may have studied along the way.
It's a credible rifle, and was made to shoot.  Decide why you bought it and carry on.  I personally am not one who collects for collecting's sake alone.  I'd shoot it for sure.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

The lock plate name appears to me to have been stamped or cast in place...not engraved.

[elee]

I agree...the name on the lock appears stamped to me as well, but I do not know enough about Buchele rifles to know if that is normal or not?

[EC121]

If you do a search for "Buchele rifle", you will find that there are several of his rifles pictured with the same lock and name on it.  As Fox Mulder said: "The truth is out there, Scully."

[galudwig]

Many of today's builders tend to discount the work of builders who were doing it before the 70's resurgence and between it and the rise of today's "Longrifle Culture." They tend to think that the continuation of the evolution of the American Longrifle took up again in their era and tend to downplay the fact that these builders too were an important part of that evolution. Many seem to want to erase that part of the evolution rather than give it the credit it deserves.

We are truly spoiled in that we have so many more options available to us these days in terms of parts, instruction, and audience to which to market our creations. They made do with what they knew, made up, could learn, and what was available to them. They often mixed old parts with new or with what they made themselves. They added their own artistry to their creations and nobody minded. There was also much more emphasis placed on shooting back then as opposed to historical accuracy or collecting these days.

If it were mine, I'd keep it and take good care of it. At some point in time, another generation of collectors might seek out works from those important earlier contributors. In the meantime, I'd shoot the heck out of it. That rifle was made in a time when shooting was a major part of its purpose and doing so will honor the builder and add to the guns story. I have a rifle built by Homer Dangler that I follow this path with.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Galudwig, you are completely right and thanks for posting that perspective.  When Buchele was building they did not even have a fraction of the historical scholarship we rely on today.  The shoots at Friendship were the big events and shooting was the object.  Until Kindig published his great book on long rifles in 1960, there wasn't even a widely available study of long rifle styles and development complete with good photos.  Near the end of his life, Buchele offered us what is still one of best, if not the best, guide to building a long rifle.  My early copy of his book with Shumway is one of my cherished possessions and I will always be grateful for his gift to us all. 

Taylor,
Buchele used that stock profile often and my impression is it looks most like Dauphin County guns, particularly Peter Berry.  I believe the side plate on this gun is similar to those used by Berry.  It seems to me that Berry's style was quite popular in the 1960 and 1970s but has since almost disappeared in modern work.  My impression of late with respect to this website is there is a trend toward either simple southern or poor boy guns, or early colonial rifles.  It seems that many "Golden Age"  styles (exception being Lehighs) are out of fashion.  Its funny but the last fine Melchior Fordney gun I remember seeing on this site was by Bill Shipman years ago. Personally, I'd like to see a lot more Fordney's, Nolls, Eisters, Fleeners, Sells, Altlands, Armstrongs, Welschanz's, Bonewitz's, Reedy's, etc on this site.

dave

dave   

[elee]

Galudwig, smart dog...Thank you for the excellent and well worded responses You have answered my question in a most thought provoking way. I remember the 60's and '70's well. Even though I was just a kid born in 1959, I wore out the Navy Arms catalog and Bannerman's catalog as well as Gun Digest and the back page ads of American Rifleman. I desperately wanted a muzzle loader, but my Father thought the idea childish and a waste of time. Perhaps he was right...the guns I thirsted after and could hardly afford were cheap and poorly executed at best. I had no idea that people such as W. Buchele were making guns of such quality, much less that I would ever own one. My first "real" muzzle loader was a T/C Patriot pistol I bought around 1973. I still have it, although I have not shot it in many years. It is only recently in my retirement that I find I have the time and money to explore some of the intricacies of hand made long rifles. It pleases me that my Buchele rifle is an example of the beginnings of today's high quality builds...and you are right...I will shoot the heck out of it!

[bama]

There were very few builders from the earlier period of longrifle building that could stand the test of time now as far as being historically correct compared to the work being done today.  As has been said we have much more information available to us today along with much better components being offered. Where the value of these older builds lie is that these early builders paved the way for this knowledge and we are the beneficiaries of this. Where would I be as a builder with "Recreating the American Longrifle". I remember spending hours on end reading and studying this book. I built my first rifle from a blank in 1982 with this book on my bench as my guide. We should honor those that helped us get to where we are at today.

The men with the foresight to start the kits that offered components that would work together, they were very beneficial to what we call the Long Rifle Culture today. Many hands over the years have guided us along. I am thankful for this guidance.

As with everything, as the old lions go out the new young lions come in. Jim Kibler is one of the new young lions and he is making his mark and will be on the future list of one of those that changed the art of long rifle building. Good luck to the young lions and may the old lions be remembered with reverence.

[duca]

beautiful Rifle! Was always a Big fan of William Buchele. Well said Bama

Anthony

[flintlock hunter]

That is a beautiful rifle. I would love to own it to go along with my worn out and dog eared copy of Recreating the American longrifle. The best book on building a longrifle. Just my 2 cents.

[flinchrocket]

In my opinion, it doesn't make sense for Buchele to show you how to make your own engraving tool and then turn around and use a stamp to put his name on a lockplate. My guess is he engraved his name on the plate. He was also quite fond of F. Sells carving if I remember right.

[duca]

Hey guys I was just wondering is there any pictures or videos of William Buchele? If I'm not mistaken I think I read that he past in the 70's,?

Anthony

[JTR]

flinchrocket, The signature reminds me of being cut with a Dremel tool. And actually the incised line around the front of the lock molding looks the same.
Not to say that it is, just that dremel tools were Very popular around then for all sorts of work normally done by hand...

[Shreckmeister]

flinchrocket, The signature reminds me of being cut with a Dremel tool. And actually the incised line around the front of the lock molding looks the same.
Not to say that it is, just that dremel tools were Very popular around then for all sorts of work normally done by hand...

   It does have that look but it would be very hard to keep a dremel bit from walking out of the intended path.  At least in my experience LOL.

[D. Buck Stopshere]

I was told that the longrifle pattern that is included with the Buchele book is an example of a  Frederick Sell rifle. My "Partner in Grime", the late Lewis Sanchez, brought back from Friendship in the '70's, the Buchele "Frederick Sell" rifle that is seen in the pattern.

[heinz]

JTR,  I have never seen Dremel tool engraving that looked like that.  Do you have an example?

That might be an investment cast lockplate with the name cast in and then cleaned up.  But that is just my guess.