Part of this rifle is one that I showed before, but it was not completed at that time. I called it my test rifle for my Midnight Lace Project. I built it to see if the cherry wood would except the black stain that I wanted to use. The wood did except the stain, but did not carve well at all. As a result I was disappointed with the carving and went on to another project.
Since that time I have had other thoughts about it and decided to complete it, with the following changes. First of all I put together a set of 28 inch 54 cal. rifled barrels. The carving was not very sharp, looking more like a worn antique, so I thought I would go with that theme and antique the whole rifle.
The other big change was I built a new lock, frizzen plate, and side plate using Damascus steel to give it a different look. Having done that I thought that I would also make the front sights out of Damascus steel and tip them with gold. There is not much engraving on the rifle but where there is I decided to mat out the background, making it blend in with the Damascus steel better.
The bottom line is that I like it so much now that I may keep it for myself. This rifle and others will be on display at Dixon's, Gun Makers Hall at Friendship, and the CLA show in Kentucky.
