Joseph Russell Bean Rifle

[gibster]

Figured I would share some pictures of a Joseph Russell Bean rifle that I bought recently.  There are some differences in this rifle from other Bean rifles from the area which may cause some of you to question the rifle. However, I am including a letter from the collector that I bought it from which should quell any doubts as to the maker.  Dave is a highly regarded collector and authority of E. Tenn. rifles and has owned other rifles by the same maker. I have had several conversations with him about this maker and according to Dave, all his rifles were a little different from the rest of the Beans that worked in the area. This is a seldom seen maker and I'm glad to be able to be the current caretaker of it.  As always, thoughts and comments are welcome.

[AZshot]

Nice to see the rifle and Byrd's letter.

[Rajin cajun]

Nice Bean, and great letter !
Thanks for sharing Eric.

Bob

[bama]

gibster, the butt plate, trigger guard and rear pipe are very similar to the Charlie Bean rifle that Jerry Noble had and I made a copy of. Nice rifle and thanks for sharing.

[jdm]

 It's always good to add a rifle by one of the Beans to the collection. That one will fit right in. It seems on matter which Bean ir is they all make interesting guns.  Thank's for posting .  Jim

[T.C.Albert]

Is this the Bean that ended up in Wisconsin?
T.C.

[gibster]

Bama - The guard, butt plate and entry are very similar to the Charlie Jr. rifle that I have.  The extension on the entry on this rifle is a little longer than the Charlie Jr. rifle though. But made the same way.  What initially threw me was the short wrist on this one along with the cheek rest. It's just a little different from what I have seen on other Bean rifles. But Dave said that JRB did some things differently from the other Bean makers and he is much more knowledgeable on these than I will ever be. I have seen other Bean rifles with a similar tang though.  I trust Dave's knowledge and expertise and have no reason to doubt that it's right.

T.C. Albert - As far as I can find, yes, this is the same one that ended up in Wisconsin.  Dave felt sure that this is a rifle that he made before he headed west.  The guy that Dave got the rifle from found it in the Knoxville area, so it never traveled far from home until it came to Arkansas.

[Molly]

Great detailed history of JRB in "Gunmakers of Illinois".  Settled there in 1830 before going to WI. Photo of he and Matilda in the book as well.  Love finding actual photos of these gunmakers.  Just imagine...one day we see a "Bean" rifle made in Illinois.  As the story goes the area was attacked by Indians in 1832 and there was reported to be only 1 percussion rifle available for defense so the author concludes that JRB would have made flintlocks when working in Illinios.  Makes one wonder why north vs west.  I guess that "north" was as much of a frontier as was "west" in 1830.

[bbhf]

gibster: my intention is not to high jack your thread, but thought how close your lock looks like my lock on my old gun: here a couple of pics: i had posted it up a few years ago to try to get a line on it: there is no cheek piece on the stock or butt plate: thanks, skip

[gibster]

Thanks for posting the pictures Skip. Looks to be a nice rifle. Feel free to post a few more pictures of the overall architecture of the rifle.  Looks interesting.

[bbhf]

ok thanks, here are a few more: about 38cal, 39in heavy barrel,  think it may be a restock or the smith used an old barrel, nice triggers and guard and nose cap: it was loaded when i got it: sk