Sheet metal buttplates

[paulitus]

How often, if ever, do these appear on original flintlock American longrifle? I know they were common on trade guns and early fowlers.

[rich pierce]

Early guns and rifles, say guns we think or hope are pre-1770, sometimes have hammered sheet brass buttplates.
Examples:
Marshall rifle. Seems unlikely a casting would break through at the heel.

RCA 40. RCA means a book called Rifles of Colonial America

It would be easy to make buttplates for RCA 42, 43, 45 from sheet brass. Also RCA 51 and 52. Same with the early Lehigh buttplates. Not saying they were not cast most of the time. Buttplate for RCA 65 would be easy from sheet brass but it looks heavier.

In RCA volume 2 I would not hesitate to form buttplates for the following using sheet brass, and some of them may have been made that way.
Rifles 86, 87, 90, 91, 98, 102, 104, 109, 110,,112, 116, 118.   

[Stoner creek]

This one is sheet brass. It’s in Shumways RCA Vol 1 gun #15.  None of the mounts on this rifle are cast.

[Eric Kettenburg]

It's not just an American thing either - I've seen a number of German guns with triggerguards that were pieced together in as many as 4 pieces, brazed.  I've seen a good number of European pieces with buttplates that I'm positive were hammered out of sheet rather than cast, and I don't mean simple sheet wrap with no forming as per many trade guns or early martial muskets.

There is one problem in interpretation, however:  most American cast buttplates still show a LOT of cross pein hammer marks all over the inside surfaces, so those guys were hammering on those things even when clearly cast.  Why?  Were they toughening or work hardening them up?  Were they closing up casting flaws?  Were they just angry?  I don;t know, but I've seen some that were so hammered  that you'd have to really study them to determine whether they were cast or truly hammer formed from a piece of flat sheet.

[paulitus]

Thanks so much, gents. The wealth of knowledge here always amazes me, as does the willingness of some of our most knowledgeable to share what they know.