I have fired a number of different black powder arms over the years, but for the pure fun of it, i have not found anything to beat the .30 and .31 squirrel rifles. My current one is a .31, and as I posted in another thread, I have to find a new lock for it.
I have checked the usual suppliers, like Dixie and TotW, but they have nothing smaller than .32 cal.
If I wanted to build my own rifle, what would be most correct in terms of style, lock, patchbox, trigger, etc? I know there are several makers on this board that do phenomenal work, but they, and the examples of longrifles in most of the books are of such craftsmanship and beauty that I would be afraid to shoot one.
In my ignorance, I am thinking of a simple "poor boy" style, .30 or .31 cal., with iron hardware, and a banana patch box. Would this be historically correct? I have toyed around with the idea of making the rifle convertible, with a touch hole liner for flint and a drum and nipple with the same threads as the touch hole liner for percussion. Would such a rifle have a single or a double set trigger? The one extravagance would be inletting a small silver disk in the wrist with the Square an Compasses.
Is this feasible, or is it all a pipe dream? If I have made any errors, please correct me, and could you please give me a general idea of how much such a rifle might cost? I know price depends on details, but I am thinking of something that I can enjoy shooting as much as looking at.
