What period/area would this rifle portray?

[rickevans]

I recently traded for this nice rifle gun in .36 caliber. The fellow I traded with says that the only markings he has found is the name "Larkin" on the underside of the barrell.

I know there are some incorrect things on it...the lock mortise (?) has way too much wood behind the lock flowing to the wrist.  What else should be addressed?  See a couple posts below for pics. Thanks for your help.
 

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Rick, see the tutorial on entering photos and show us some pictures!!

[rickevans]

Here are some pictures of the lock side, the side plate view and buttstock showing the cheek piece.  I am not sure it is a representation of any particular style and doubt that the brass escuscions where the pins are is appropriate for this type of long arm.
Here is the side plate:
 
Here is the lock:

And the off side butt stock showing the cheek piece:

Anyone have info on the maker- Larkin, or what period/area this rifle may represent?

No matter, she shoots like a dreem (.36 cal) and will give the squirrels a run come the fall...

[Mike R]

Did horn-maker Lee Larkin make any guns?

[rickevans]

I did not see any mention of longarms in his blog, but maybe??

[rickevans]

Anyone? Comments? Suggestions?

[Randy Hedden]

Pre 1800 Lancaster?

Randy Hedden

[Don Getz]

It appears that he used the same castings, buttplate & triggerguard, that we used in the Isaac Haines kits.  Thick buttplates, never really liked them, as designed by John Bivins..........Don

[G-Man]

I don't believe Lee made this rifle.  

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of the things to rework.  If it is at all possible, I would give consideration to making a new sideplate, that totally covers the area of the existing one, in a more appropriate style.  I think the existing one started life as one of those small one-screw "Tennessee" style plates  that TOW and some of the other suppliers sell, and then someone made a new one with the step and forward portion to cover more area.  If you have not had it off, you might find that someone did this to cover up a mistake or a repair.

Also- if you are going to reshape the lock panels, do that first because the sideplate panel should closely match the same size - so that will dictate how much area you have to work with.  Keep this in mind as you are shaping the lock panel, as you might have to "compromise" a bit between the 2 sides so that you don't take too much away from the sideplate panel.

Anyway, if you have access to some photos of pre-1800 longrifles, especially Lancaster style guns, you can get some ideas, but with the size you need to cover, I would say pick something close that works, regardless of whether it's Lancaster, York, Virginia, etc.  Try enlarging photocopies and make yourself some paper patterns to lay on there and see what works.  Try not to make the mortise for the sideplate any bigger than the biggest dimensions you have as your constraint now, which are the two (top and bottom) wide areas front of the bolt.  It may not work - i.e. you may not have enough wood around the sideplate for it to work.  But if you do,  basically, make a new sideplate on which the area  behind the lockbolt is more of the same size as the area in front of the sideplate, to balance it.  Also - it looks to me like the front screw is a lot smaller than the rear and sits far forward, so maybe it actually is a woodscrew and not a lockbolt(?)  You can probably fix this too, or leave it as a dummy bolt, your choice.

I would also reduce the width of that patchbox lid, if possible, and maybe the height/thickness (can' tell from the photos)
.
However, see what's under that sideplate first and try to measure how much wood you will be removing from the lock panel before you try anything on the sideplate side.

These things are aesthetics, but I'd give the gun a good mechanical evaluation first too to be safe - breeching, bore, touch hole, lock, and triggers, make sure no dovetails got set too deep into the barrel etc.   Sometimes aesthetic items can reflect the builder's level of knowledge and skill.

Good luck

Guy

[rickevans]

Thank you Guy. Just the sort of keen eye and constructive critisism I was seeking. Very helpful.

rick

[G-Man]

Good luck - you already know she shoots well - so you might just have yourself a diamond in the rough.  There are some good deals out there sometimes if you are willing to do a little reshaping, tweaking and refinishing here and there.  It is sort of fun and can be really rewarding to see a sleek rifle emerge.   Looks to me like the extra wood on yours is mostly just to the rear of the lock and sideplate panels.  So it should work out for you.  Just go slow and careful - John Bivins once said something to the effect (I may not have it exactly right) that the difference between a longrifle and a plank is about 1/16 -inch of wood. 

A 36 can be really fun to shoot.  I missed your information about it being a good shooter when I first read your post - the thoughts on the mechanical stuff is for safety - I always like to get a feel for how well a used gun was put together before I shoot it, just to be certain, even if someone else has been shooting it for a while.  I am not sure of how much experience you have with checking these things, so you can also bring it by a good gunsmith in your area to give it a once over.   Some barrels these days come breeched from the barrel maker, others don't and require the builder to fit the plug, so sometimes it depends on how careful the gunbuilder was.

Guy

[rickevans]

"...the difference between a longrifle and a plank is about 1/16 -inch of wood."

Words to live by! 

[jwh1947]

Guy, agreed.  The lock bolt plate is not traditional to anything that I have personally seen.  Lots of extra wood behind it and behind the lock.  Area above here, adjacent to tang, could be rounder.  All this is correctable as one could reshape to give a slightly longer wrist and lose the extra wood and squareness.  Just stylistic suggestions based on my opinion.