Who is Mike Gahagan

[Flinter]

I saw on the Contemporary Makers site that there is a nice looking John Bonewitz rifle that Mike built. I have never heard of him.
Mike does some excellent work, and Bonewitz is my favorite of the old gunsmiths.

[G-Man]

Mike is a well known gunbuilder who I believe lives in North Carolina near Jim Chambers.   He does some of the finest carving and engraving you will find.  His work is very crisp and precise.  I believe he has even posted on here occasionally.

http://www.mikegahaganflintlocks.com/

Guy

[Jim Kibler]

The Bonewitz shown this morning is a beautiful rifle.  Mike certainly does some fantastic work.

[bgf]

Muzzleblasts November 2010 has an article on him with some of his work.  I really like his Davidson copy.

[Flinter]

Thanks for the link Guy.

Danial, before I posted, I did a search on this site. I am still reading.
I also did a search on the Contemporary site, but I guess the Bonewitz rifle stood out.

I like the way Mike used the double bead lower butt mold that some Bonewitz rifles have.

I see that the photos were supplied by Mike Gahagan. Was this rifle at the CLA show last week?

[Mike Gahagan]

Thanks guys.Flinter,I didn`t set up my table this year at the CLA because I could only make it up there for a couple of hours on Saturday so I loaned my spot to another guy that had some Fred Riley guns on display.My gun was laying on that table.He was kind enough to let me borrow some space to lay it on for the weekend.
 
I have always had a thing for Bonewitz and Reedy guns also,so I was happy when I was asked to build this rifle.Let me know if you have any questions about it.

[J. Talbert]

Mike's sorta the best kept secret in the gun making community.  I've been following his work for a long time via Jim Chambers.
His work is definitely first rate.

Jeff

[Flinter]

Mike, thanks for posting. My wife took a vacation last week, and we were planning on going to the CLA show. We were planning this since last fall, but things came up. I contacted Jim Kibler, and I was going to take the rifle he built to be display. I hate that I missed the show and getting to look at your rifle. 
I do have a few questions about the rifle. What caliber is the rifle, who made the barrel, and what is the length of the barrel? I have never seen double triggers on a Bonewitz rifle, so was this a request of the customer?
Once again, the Bonewitz is a nice looking flintlock.

[Mike Gahagan]

The barrel is a Golden age "B" weight,42",.45 cal. by Rice barrel Co.
As far as the set triggers,yes it was a request of the customer.I wasn`t too keen on putting them on,but I did find a Bonewitz or a Reedy(I can`t remember which)that had set triggers on it,so I felt a little more comfortable with the idea.

[Flinter]

Thanks Mike. I guess customers can be rough at times. I know I have changed my understanding of the modern flintlock gunsmith quite a bit since I have been a member ALR board.