Bill Large barrel

[Sandhills]

I bought a Roller Hawken lock and double set triggers for my first Hawken rifle build back in the early 1970s. I also ordered a Bill Large barrel, with hook breech, 1-1/8 tapered barrel, .54 caliber, after waiting over two years for the barrel, I used a 1-1/8 .54 cal. Douglas barrel that I had to build the rifle. After three years Bill sent the barrel, he sent a .58 caliber, which was okay with me. This is the rifle with the Roller parts and Douglas barrel. In all my 77 years, and using many brands of locks and lock kits, have never seen the quality that is built into the Rollers. I the mid 1980s I quit building rifles. When I turned 40 my eyes just would not adjust for the close work to do the quality that I wanted, even with a magnifier.

[Bob Roller]

Thank you for the nice remarks about the lock and triggers I made and you did a fine
job of making a good looking rifle around them.As far as I know there are no caplocks of
that same quality offered today and I hope I am wrong because I made my last Hawken lock
in March of 2019.I still make triggers but I don't know for how much longer as I am now 84.
Bob Roller

[Sandhills]

Boy, my age must be getting to me...That is the wrong picture, that rifle has Roller triggers, Long lock and Bill Large barrel. That is the rifle barrel I waited three years for. At that time I could get Roller Triggers right away, but there was a wait for the lock so I though that Long locks were of good quality, not like the Roller, but good quality, so used a Long. Did not like the hammer, so changed that for the broader hammer shown. This picture below has the Large barrel.



This rifle below is the first Hawken I built in the early 1970s with Roller Lock and Triggers, and .54 cal. Douglas barrel. This rifle won many matches when I was Buckskinning, made trips to Rendezvous in Montana, Wyoming and a bunch in Nebraska. Sorry for the mix up Bob. Old age isn't for the weak. lol

[bones92]

I have a Bill Large barrel that I took off a poorly-built rifle (sold off the stock and lock) and the barrel sits, along with a set of Roller triggers, waiting to be built into a fine rifle.  I just need a few minor elements to do it:

1. the time
2. the resources
3. the knowledge and skill

I also have a Zouave with a Bill Large barrel.  Built by a fellow named Ed Occi, a member of the 15th CVI.

[heinz]

Bob Roller triggers and lock, Bill Large 54 barrel.  This is a fine shooter.

[Sandhills]

It just does not get any better than that. Too bad that such talent is not being passed on. Roller Locks and Triggers, Large barrel, the best.

[Bob Roller]

It just does not get any better than that. Too bad that such talent is not being passed on. Roller Locks and Triggers, Large barrel, the best.

Neither one of our two boys ever expressed any interest in what I did in the shop
and when they graduated from high school the oldest one.Rob worked at an amusement
park and at Pizza Hut and then spent nearly 20 years as a police officer with the Air Force
and now works for the Post Office near San Antonio.The youngest boy,Eric worked at the same
amusement park but didn't care for it and got a job selling car parts at Auto Works  and became
a manager at the Portsmouth,Ohio store until it closed.He got a job with a nut and bolt maker
that has been very beneficial and has contracts for all kinds of fasteners for submarines and
high performance aircraft.He is now in charge of quality control.Neither one has any  interest
in muzzle loaders and Rob watched a man reload a percussion revolver and said he can wash and wax his
car in less time than it took to get that pistol shooting again .He did like the single shot shoots we went to
in McKee,Ky at Ralph Marcum's Hooten Holler range.Eric went once and cared nothing for it at all.
The triggers I now offer also show my interest in shooting black powder now and with the country unraveling
I see no use for it in personal defense.I try to make a better quality trigger than I ever made and will continue
as long as there is a need for them.
Bob Roller

[Sandhills]

Bob: I never meant any disrespect. I understand having kids that do not want to do what you did your whole life. I started with guns when I was seven. Went from shotguns (trap) to high power rifles to muzzle loading. In between that time I started to do part time gunsmithing while working at a newspaper which I ended up purchasing and being at for 50 years. When I was a kid I loved putting models together, I credit that with loving to build muzzle loading rifles. Started with muzzle loaders in the late 1960s and went through the mid 1980s. When I couldn't see well enough to turn out the quality work that I wanted on the rifles I was building I turned to regular gunsmithing, specializing in 1911s, still liked old guns. Anyway my son likes guns but does not have the skills or temperament to build muzzle loading rifles. I also wanted him to take over the paper, but he had no interest in that, but I was lucky, his wife loved it, so she runs it now. So what I am getting at is, it is to bad that there is not someone out there who would like to carry on the skills that craftsmen like you have or Bill had. In todays society you just don't see that, it is all computers and instant gratification. It is sad.

I do have a question, did you ever sell your locks and triggers through Dixie Gun works??? I cannot remember where I purchased mine, but I do not remember buying direct from you. I do remember that when I made the rifle with the Large barrel I could not get one of your locks without a wait, that is the only reason that it is not a all Roller and Large rifle. I waited over five years for the barrel (I went back and dug through the letters that Bill sent me about the barrel over that time frame, they are interesting), so I did not want to wait any longer before I started on that rifle.

[Bob Roller]

Sandhills,
I noticed NO disrespect of any kind in your posting.One reason our two sons never took any interest in my shop work was
due to the fact I never encouraged it.I did a lot of other jobs when they were both at home such as imported car repair**
and other machine shops as well as my own.When coal was King here in WVa there were a lot of shops that subcontracted
to bigger shops and I worked several times at one close to me.I enjoyed close tolerance work and usually got tagged for whatever
was on the "menu"that day.In my own shop I made a lot of replacement bushings for long dead automatic transmissions and made myself into a nuisance to suppliers of captive market parts. .One of a kind bits and pieces for antique cars were another thing I did.There is a market for anyone who will make only one part instead of insisting on large orders.At 84 I want no more of these jobs and these little
triggers keep us in "house money"for small purchases at the local Family Dollar store.One more thing I really liked was being hired as
the lead machinist for an optics maker that had got some contracts from the government for prisms and other odd lenses.I made a lot
of the specialized tooling required for that and looked forward to every day for as long as it lasted.The old gent that hired me for that
shop was a survivor of Dunkirk in 1940.
Bob Roller
**These imported cars are the reasons we have never owned one.

One question I forgot.No.I never sold any locks to Dixie Gun Works when Turner Kirkland was alive.
His son Hunter did buy 4 English style locks from me with the fancy internal 4 screw mechanism for
$1000.I told him that Turner would rise from the dead if he knew about such a purchase.Turner always
thought ANYthing for a muzzleloader had to be dirt cheap and that contributed to a mind set that is
still lurking until this day in some areas.

[Sandhills]

Bob:
For the life of me I cannot remember where I bought the lock and two triggers. Maybe I did get them from you. Cannot even remember how I heard of your locks and triggers, the only thing is I always have liked quality, maybe I read about them in Muzzle Blasts. the pits getting old, memory starts to go, lol, I also bought a Hawken lock, triggers and hook breech from another guy named Griffith, which is also my last name. He was from Illinois. I thought it would be neat to have a rifle that was a all "Griffith" rifle. I made a early percussion full stock Hawken. Pretty nice rifle, I still have it, probably have less then 20 rounds through it. His parts were high quality, but not as good as yours. I never found anyone that could match your quality. The only locks that I have ever seen that come close to yours are from a high grade fully engraved and carved Czech double barrel shotgun handed down to me through four generations. The locks are Wolfs head engraved and the lock work is unbelievable. You would fit right in there for quality, the only difference is the engraving, if I can find the time I will disassemble it sometime and post some pictures. I also had at one time an English Coach pistol that had a very high quality lock. I also have a question for you, did you ever meet Doc Carlson, he ran the Upper Missouri Trading Company in Crofton, Nebraska. He and his wife Dee were very close friends of mine. As for Dixie quality, I always bought his ramrods, you could purchase 50 at a time, I did that several times, then would throw half of them away because they were junk, but would get half that were usable.

[Leatherbark]

I was shooting with Willie Perkins at the Kate Carpenters Muzzleloader club a few days ago and he had a fine flinter in .45 caliber  made by Leonard Meadows and low and behold it had a Bill Large Barrel on it that said "for Bob Roller".  It handled and pointed real sweet.  Willie said it was Bill Boyd's best shooter.

Bob

[Bob Roller]

Bob,
That was my long rifle from 1964 until 1969 and was custom made for me by Len Meadows
in Shady Springs WV. The iron mounts came from a wrecked antique and it had or maybe by now
has my lock*.It was shot out once and Bill recut it and it was shot out again by Bill Boyd.If the
lock is still the one I made it had shot out Bill's barrel twice and had a Douglas on it for a while.
The triggers are mine.I sold it and a pristine Remington Mid Range single shot 40-70 to settle
a medical bill.Appendicitis on 28 December 1968.
Bob Roller
*I heard the lock might have been replaced but don;t knw for sure.The gun IS now 56 years old.
 

[Hungry Horse]

 So, now I’m wondering if Bob is a factor in the longevity of some of us older shooters. It appears that a lot of us just can’t bring ourselves to go under if we have  an unused Roller lock, and or triggers, on the shelf. Same seems to be true for unused Bill Large barrels. I have to admit I have a set of Roller Hawken triggers squirreled away for some yet to be determined build.
 I helped my longtime friend and mentor Glenn Wilds build his dream rifle, not knowing the dreaming, and planning, and eventually shooting, off  that rifle would fulfill his dream, and complete his bucket list. It had a 45 cal. Large barrel, with no “J’s” so it was an old one. Bob Roller triggers, and a Doc Haddaway flintlock. It shot like a dream first time out. Glenn couldn’t help but grin every time he fired it. Makes me grin just remembering him shooting it.

  Hungry Horse

[mountainman70]

Thems some great memories bros. Best regards, Dave F

[bones92]

I enjoy reading about the older gentlemen here who have fond memories of guns, friendships and events that occurred before I sprang into being at the end of the 60's.  I'm reminded of my grandfather, who was known as a very capable machinist in his day.  In the workshop on the orange orchard where I grew up, he had a lathe (made around 1917, if I recall correctly).  I only wish I would have had him teach me about using it and other machine work.  He passed away when I was a senior in high school.  I do remember watching him run the lathe from time to time, and I remember helping him switch the leather belt between wheels to adjust the speed.

Another thing I really want to learn is blacksmithing... but I can't really do that living in a subdivision.  We'll have to move out where I can have a workshop, I suppose.

Bob, I love the fact that you are making triggers still.  I wish I lived close enough to come help you in the shop. I'd work just for the chance to watch and learn.

[Bob Roller]

Bones92,
You have given me the perfect way to ask this question.
I am running low on material for Hawken triggers and
have enough for 6  and 3 are spoken for.I know this forum
allows the Hawken rifles as well as the Long Rifles of earlier
times.How many are interested in these triggers?These triggers
are simply a larger version of the SMR/Ohio triggers I have been
making.I am taking more time out of the shop now and after current
orders are done My plan is to get a few made like Ross Dillion did and
advertise them as being ready for whoever may want them.
In closing I want to thank all who offered prayers for my wife,me and our
young friend Amada Kizziah.She will know more after more tests are done.
Bob Roller

[heinz]

Bob, I would be interested in a set of Hawken triggers if you made them.

[Bob Roller]

Bob, I would be interested in a set of Hawken triggers if you made them.

Heinz,
OK I will put you on the list for Hawken trigger.

Bob Roller