H.E. Leman Conestoga Rifle Works late percussion full stock rifle.
Length: 57 inches
Barrel: 41 inch straight octagon, 1 inch across, 3/8 inch flats
Caliber: .36 with seven groove rifling
Wood: Tiger Maple
Trigger Pull: 14 inch
Weight: 10.8 lbs
Hardware: Brass with silver inlays/escutcheons. (Inlays are possibly post-manufacture.)
Comments:
The attribution of this rifle is highly questionable...unless it is signed on the barrel, and the submission is silent on whether the barrel is signed or not. The stock architecture is not correct for a Leman rifle, in the elongated side facings, thickness through the wrist, and heavy cheekpiece that's very long, and thick on the bottom edge. I think the owner is putting way too much "trust" in the name on the lock plate for his attribution...unless the barrel is signed. If you removed the Ger. silver inlays, this rifle would be a spittin' image of an A. B. Semple rifle of Louisville, KY...but you'd have to stretch the barrel another 3 to 5 inches to be one of his guns.
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I have to agree. It doesn't look like a Leman/Conestoga to me. I'd guess that the lock is all that is Leman. Note that the front end of the cheekpiece trails up over the wrist, a detail not seen on any Leman rifle I can recall.
