Ferguson Rifle

[smart dog]

Hi Folks,
I recently finished this rework of a Ferguson rifle I built almost 10 years ago when I was still in Alaska.  I grew up very near the Morristown, NJ museum where one of the original ordnance rifles is housed.  I was fascinated by that gun since I was 10 years old.  Anyway, I know a lot more about it now and more realistically understand its historical importance.  I built the gun from a plank of English walnut and TRS parts but I did it solely from my photo library.  I recently had the chance to view the original Morristown gun up close and personal and saw the deficiencies in my version.  The original gun is actually quite a bit more dainty than you can imagine from published photos.  I used that experience to rework my gun. I scraped off the old finish and reshaped the stock based on my observations of the original gun.  I made 2 concessions to my personal preferences in that I shaped the side panel like some of the officers and civilian versions of the gun rather than the ordnance rifle at Morristown and I finished the gun in a better fashion than the original.  It is clear from the original that the rifles were rushed through production because the stock is fairly crude and the engraving on the lock plate looks like it was done by a 5-year old kid. The TRS lock has much better engraving.  Anyway, here is the result.  The English walnut stock was colored using dilute alkanet root stain and black aniline dye. The finish is Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil.

dave


 

[davec2]

David,

Beautifully done !  I have been thinking about re-working my own Ferguson....stock is stained too dark and I polished all the metal so much it looks like a chrome trailer hitch.  When you say "dainty" where did you end up taking off wood ?  And I like the blued (or browned) tang screw, sling swivel, etc.  Makes the whole rifle look much more "believable", if I can describe it that way.  And I like the "101".

Great work as always.....

dave C

[smart dog]

Hi and thanks Dave,
I took wood off almost everywhere but mostly along the fore stock and made the bulge at the rear ramrod pipe smaller and more subtle.  I also exposed more of the ramrod pipes so about 2/3s of the pipes showed above the wood.  I also took wood off the butt stock.  The taper to the comb needed to be thinned such that there was only a little bowing out of the sides of the comb above the baluster wrist.  They are almost flat planes like the fowler shown below.   


The other thing I did Dave was make a new sear for the lock. The sear that comes with the parts set is fairly dainty and because of the width of the stock at the lock, the trigger catches it almost at its end. The small size of the sear and pressure from the trigger applied near the end of the sear trigger bar resulted in a pretty mushy trigger pull.  I made a much more robust sear with bigger bearing surfaces against the lock plate and bridle and a thick rigid trigger bar. The result is a light, crisp trigger pull with no creep and as nice as I've managed to create on my other guns. The rifle is now a real pleasure to shoot. I use the tallow (crisco) and beeswax formula described by Bryan Brown and Ricky Roberts for lubricating the screw plug threads. However, I discovered a trick to making it work really well.  I melt the lube in a pan and then lay the screw breech in the lube while still heating it.  I let the breech heat up as well for about 10 minutes so the lube remains really runny on the threads and does not cool too quickly. Then I immediately insert the plug into the breech so the runny lube greases the threads in the breech and does not get squeezed out by the threads as it does if it cools.  That sets me up for an entire day of shooting without ever needing to clean fouling from the threads.

dave     

[JamesT]

Very nice!!! I have always admired those rifles. Good job.
James

[satwel]

I've seen the Ferguson rifle on display in the Milwaukee Public Museum. Prior to that, I had only seen Ferguson rifles in pictures and videos. I just assumed they exhibited the same proportions as a Short Land Pattern musket.  I was surprised at how trim and dainty they are compared to the standard infantry muskets of the day. To me, the rifle didn't seem robust enough to withstand rough usage in combat, especially with a bayonet attached.
 
Does anyone sell a plan drawing of the Ferguson? I hope to build one someday.

[smart dog]

Hi,
These are the only before and after photos I have and they don't really show how much wood is gone. You can easily see in the first pair that the swell in the forearm is smaller and the comb reshaped.  Also the lock panels is smaller and the color and finish much more accurate to the original gun.




image uploader online











Satwel, the Rifle Shoppe sells good plans for the Milwaukee gun.  It is easy to make the gun too fat, however, if you go just by those plans.  It really helps to see the guns in the flesh.  I've viewed several Durs Egg and other maker's civilian versions up close.  They all are even more dainty and not at all like the ordnance rifles.

dave

dave

[rick/pa]

The first time I heard of the Ferguson rifle was back in the late 70's. A fellow in Colorado, Steve somebody I think, had a kit that he was going to put into production.  I don't think he made too many and I never heard much after that.  I always admired these rifles.  This is a great job Dave. Very nice.

[tim crowe]

Dave,
I have seen the Ferguson rifle in the Milwaukee Public Museum and it is not a chunky thickness and was quite slim. It was on display with several other fur trade guns and wasn't labeled. It took me a minute or two to realize it wasn't a fur trade gun. The trigger guard was the give away and I finally realized what it was. I was pleasantly surprised as it was mainly fur trade guns and Meunier target rifles displayed.
Tim
 

[davec2]

Well......$#@*......I need another project like I need a hole in the head, but now, because of your excellent work on your Ferguson, I feel obligated to re-work mine.....great thread. 

Thanks, David.

[Nailcreek]

Beautiful work!!

[Elk Hunter]

Smart Dog;

If you happen to see this I have a couple of questions.

#1 What size ball and powder charge do you use?

#2 What size flint?

I talked with Steve, at least that's the name that I remember, from the Rifle Shoppe a few days ago about ball size. He told me that the original rifle used a carbine size ball. I have no idea what size that would be. He also to me that a full bore size ball shot poorly so he tried a .620 diameter ball and it shot very accurately. I do have a .642 mould that I use in my Dreyse and was hoping that it would work.

Any information would be appreciated.

Elk Hunter

[Nailcreek]

Per the book by Bryan Brown, it's going to shoot best with a .615 ball and 65 grains of 3F.

"Every Insult & Indignity" ... available on Amazon

[Daryl]

This is the one Taylor built.
I only have the one picture of it.
I thought it was .65 cal.

[LilysDad]

If I may ask, do you just drop the load in the top hole? How does it move forward out of the threads?

[davec2]

Simple version.....

One turn of the trigger guard opens the breech
Lower the muzzle
Drop in the ball and push forward with your little finger (or a tool)
Drop in the powder
Close the breech
Sweep excess powder on top of the breech screw into pan
Close the frizzen

[utseabee]

Smart Dog;

If you happen to see this I have a couple of questions.

#1 What size ball and powder charge do you use?

#2 What size flint?

I talked with Steve, at least that's the name that I remember, from the Rifle Shoppe a few days ago about ball size. He told me that the original rifle used a carbine size ball. I have no idea what size that would be. He also to me that a full bore size ball shot poorly so he tried a .620 diameter ball and it shot very accurately. I do have a .642 mould that I use in my Dreyse and was hoping that it would work.

Any information would be appreciated.

Elk Hunter

I think we used a .648 ball with 55 grains of FFG when we shot a friend of mine's rifle.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I use a 0.648 ball and about 55 grains of 3F Swiss powder.  That powder charge fills he chamber completely. It shoots very accurately out to 100 yards (furthest distance I've shot it).  I experimented with carbine ball (0.615) and about 60 grains of powder but could not keep a group within an 8" circle at 50 yards from a bench.  I suspect the Rifle Shoppe barrel and action are not exact copies of the originals with respect to the inner barrel dimensions and the powder chamber. As best I can calculate from Ferguson's patent drawings in Bailey's book, the powder chamber should hold close to 70 grains of powder.  I can only get about 60 grains in mine behind a 0.615 ball and 55 grains behind a 0.648 ball. 

I follow Bryan Brown and Rick Roberts recommendations for lubing the balls and breech screw but their powder and ball recommendations do not work at all in my rifle. 

Elk Hunter, I suspect a 0.642 ball might work well and urge you to try it.  One other issue to mention, powder fouling is only a problem for the screw plug threads if much accumulates in the threads above the chamber. That is because it is those last threads that really tighten down to seal the breech. If you over fill the powder chamber, screw the plug closed and then sweep the excess powder in to the pan as priming, you won't get many shots before needing to clean the plug.  However, if you carefully load the chamber so no excess powder clogs the upper threads, as I do, you will get a lot of shots off without needing to clean the breech.  I usually get 25-35 probably depending on temperature and humidity. With 3F Swiss powder, fouling in the barrel and chamber does build up much and does not appear to affect accuracy.  Also, I prefer longer flints between 3/4"-1" long because the lock works best using them.  The flint cock does not over hang the pan very much so you need longer flints to reliably knock the frizzen  out of the way.

I shoot my Ferguson rifle a lot and really enjoy it.  I bring it often to our informal woods walks and I do well with it.  However, my experience shows me that the rifle was no "super weapon" that could have "changed the outcome of the war".    I suspect if many more Fergusons were issued the result would have been many more Fergusons out of commission with broken stocks and lost breech plugs.

dave   

[Elk Hunter]

Smart Dog;

Thanks for the information. It will probably be spring before I complete the rifle as I just finished the lock. I have no idea who made the barrel supplied by The Rifle Shoppe. The one on my 1803 Harpers Ferry is a Colerain. My accuracy in shooting a flintlock is less than stellar. I have to practice my follow thru.

Again, thanks for the information.

Regards,

Elk Hunter

[tecum-tha]

5000 of these rifles would have smashed any Continental Regiment before it even would come into effective range to do any harm.
300 Fergusons at 5 shots a minute and with 300 yard sights would have rained 1500 accurate rifle balls into a linear attacking regiment. Regiments marched at quick step. Lets say, they fired first volleg at 100 yards. That would give a Ferguson rifle nearly two minutes to fire into your ranks before you were able to respond.
I shot Ricky Roberts rifle and it knocks the 100 yard gong every time. If it is 1/3 as accurate at 300, it is still incredibly accurate for a military arm of this period.
Problem was: Not enough Fergusons and wrong tactics for its use, because there weren't enough.
It would be Kings Moutain in almost every battle, but the other way around. If it would come down to a war of attrition, it is hard to predict an outcome.

[sdilts]

Smart Dog;

Thanks for the information. It will probably be spring before I complete the rifle as I just finished the lock. I have no idea who made the barrel supplied by The Rifle Shoppe. The one on my 1803 Harpers Ferry is a Colerain. My accuracy in shooting a flintlock is less than stellar. I have to practice my follow thru.

Again, thanks for the information.

Regards,

Elk Hunter

Rice makes the barrels for the Ferguson.