New Discovery - The Finest Western Kentucky Rifle I've Ever Seen

[Tanselman]

Well, here's my best-ever Christmas present. Kentucky made many fine rifles in its central Bluegrass region, with great Bardstown, Lexington, Louisville, Ohio River rifles, etc. But in the more remote regional areas, rifles were much plainer, generally well-made and good shooters, but undecorated. The Barrens School in southwestern Kentucky covers more counties and area than any other KY gunmaking school and was known for guns that were well-made, highly accurate [at least according to locals], but had almost no decoration. The popular Settle rifles of Barren and Green Counties are good examples of Barrens School guns that lacked patchboxes, silver work, and molding lines. At best, a gun might have a small wrist inlay and on rare occasions a capbox.

Recently an exceptional Barrens School rifle came out of a family from Christian County, KY. It is, by far, the most heavily embellished Barrens School rifle known. I was fortunate to acquire it through Jeremiah Johnson Trading Co. of CT, for a great Christmas present [a lot better than what my wife got!]. Photos are courtesy Jeremiah Johnson Trading Co. The rifle was made by Harmon West of Christian Co., KY, who worked with his twin brother, gunsmith William West, at Hopkinsville from about 1835 to 1870. Some may discount the rifle for its back-action lock and later style engraving and appearance, BUT.... this is the ONLY rifle I've seen in over 40 years of collecting from that region of KY with a full patchbox and nicely engraved silver work. Even better, it has all its original finish/surface on both wood and metal, no damage or restoration, and a family provenance to document its history. It's one of those "keepers" at a time when I'm significantly reducing the size of my collection. Hands down, the finest example of a Barrens School rifle I've ever seen. Of course, you have to love Kentucky stuff to really appreciate this slightly later style rifle... but I'm guessing even our eastern collectors might grudgingly admit it's a decent gun. Barrel: 44-1/2" with .40 caliber bore.

Shelby Gallien 

     

[JTR]

Looks good to me, Shelby! Looks about original as your ever going to find one.
Post some more pictures when you get it home.
John

[homerifle]

Thats a pretty good find! Thanks!

[Shreckmeister]

I like seeing the long barreled half stocks. The rattle snake is a nice feature (if it were segmented that would have been amazing). Nice patchbox too. Please share the family history. So many rifles are disconnected from their story. In fact I’d be interested to know what percentage of rifles have a known history of ownership. Less than 5% I would guess. I recently found one purchased in York County that migrated over the Appalachians to Clarion County and stayed there for 200 years. Thanks for showing it.  Congratulations

[AZshot]

Good job finding it, looks very nice.  I got myself a rare gun over Christmas too....still waiting on shipping. 

[Angus]

Santa still comes around for the good kids!
That is an exceptional example of original craftsmanship.

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Wonderful rifle!!!! Thanks for sharing it.

Bill

[Robin Henderson]

Congratulations and great find! I'd love to see it in person.

[Tanselman]

I thought I'd post pictures of a gun by William West, the twin brother of Harmon West. The two boys lost their father in the War of 1812 when still infants, were raised by their mother's parents, and lived their entire lives in Christian County, KY, out in the southwestern part of the state. Census data shows the two brothers lived in the same household for years and both farmed and worked as gunsmiths, presumably in the same shop, but their guns were individually signed. The detail they were most known for was wide-lined wrist checkering [see Harmon West rifle] on some of their rifles. In an area where guns were almost always undecorated, wrist checkering was a low cost but attractive detail. But most rifles looked like this one, nicely stocked but undecorated.

Shelby Gallien

[DaveM]

Congrats, nice rifle.

[Seth Isaacson]

Definitely a lot to like about that rifle. Congrats!