Ian Pratts' Iron Mounted rifle on the Blog

[eagle24]

Very cool rifle Ian!  I like it.  You gotta lay off the mint julips when you are building though, looks like you knocked that one off the bench more than once.

[rich pierce]

Love it and the original its based on.  Nice touches to improve on the original but keep the essence.  The guard is terrific.

[Kermit]

Nice--VERY nice! I very much like the trigger guard. It isn't stated on the blog, but I assume the original was iron mounted too? More and more I'm attacted to the earlier and simpler guns.

[Dancy]

How weird is that! I had went through my old magazines and had been studying that original rifle and Gustler's article for the last week, thinking it might be the ultimate longhunter rifle....and here it is! Ian has made some nice ones, but this is my favorite.

James

[Ken G]

I hate to be the buzz kill but...........there's a few things wrong.  First the buttplate is flat.  It should have a deep crescent shape.  Second, you only have a single trigger,  really should be a double.  Not to be too picky but I don't think the lock is right either, the comb is a little low, tang is to short and last but not least I think a Silver plate would have looked nice in the barrel.  In closing I think you should know that this style rifle went out around the Revolutionary war.  Then them folks moved down to TN and started making proper rifles.
Cheers,
Ken
P.S.  Hope to see you at Norris

 

[gusd]

Ian, Another Masterpiece!!
Gus

[Karl Kunkel]

I was admiring that piece in Lewisburg.  The finish of the iron furniture is very cool.

[Ian Pratt]

 Thanks guys, some very nice compliments on the rifle.  Kermit , the original is an iron mounted gun. In it's current state the box lid is missing and the forend is broken away from the entry forward, but the original guard, buttplate and sideplate are wrought iron. I felt it was probably safe to assume that the ramrod pipes and muzzle cap (if there had been a muzzle cap) would have also been iron.
 Ken dang it why do you always have to be so picky about the details on these things? I still have the gun here until Friday, I suppose I can go shovel the snow off the forge, get a fire going and make the neccessary adjustments...

[Ken G]

Now you are talking. I think you can get her fixed up with just a few heats.
Seriously, I'm sure the new owner will be very happy. Nice job

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Wonderful workmanship Ian.  This is a real working rifle with great architecture for the aesthetic eye, and the shooter's eye too.

But I just have to add some advice, if I may.  You will find that if you clean off some of the tools from your bench, particularly in the finishing stages, the stock won't get all banged up like that.

[Ian Pratt]

Bench? Must be a Canadian thing.

  Wait a minute, is the bench that narrow table-like thing against the wall that sags in the middle with a bunch of broken tools, half a deer and most of an airplane engine piled on it? I have one of those.   

[J. Talbert]

Ian,

Very nice piece.  I like the early frontier feel, but still very clean and stylish.  It ought to be a great deer slayer, (or a KY. elk for that matter considering it's .62 cal.)

Jeff