An inquiry about a James H. Tilman rifle was recently posted. I thought seeing the work of the father might help the poster better understand the style of his rifle when it arrives. Morris A. Tilman's father left North Carolina for Adair County, KY, married there, and their son Morris grew up in Kentucky, learned gunsmithing, and worked in Adair County for several years before moving up into Indiana in 1828 when he was 31 years old. Tilman rifles are rather rare; I've only seen 3 in the last 40 years, all plain full-stocks. This one is stocked in good curly maple, and is the earliest one I've seen, so despite being made in Indiana, it's the closest one I could find to his Kentucky days. Pictures aren't the best, full length's a little fuzzy, but I just shot them on my garage floor about 20 minutes ago... with a cat bothering me and sticking his nose into everything I did!
Shelby Gallien
