Making A Trigger guard

[Danny Jones]

Does anyone have a relatively simple method of making a southern rifle guard without forging. I am getting hardware together for my next mountain rifle and would love to make the guard and possibly the buttplate. Thanks  Danny

[dannybb55]

Make a bent wire pattern and get it to one of us forging types.

[ol vern]

Steve Bookout's book  Notes From A Small Iowa Rifleshop 

Has a lot of good info on making trigger guards and butt plates.

I think you can get it from TOW or from Steve Bookout himself

[Dave B]

I watched a very nice gentile man cold forge out a southern trigger guard with  some cold rolled steel I think it was 3/4 X 1/8 stock. He just went at it like a house a fire and  bingo he had his version of a Tennessee mountain rifle guard. His name is Jack Rouse of Waterton KY.  The guard he made me was in two parts the front bow and rail with the curl was one section. Then this was riveted or welded to the rear extension. He didn't know me from Adam but when I called him to see if I could visit while I was going to be in his area doing a course in Centerville OH. he started giving me directions on how to find his place and I still had three months before I would be coming out. He was a wealth of information.

[bgf]

Trace out a guard you like from the TOTW catalog (for example -- they are full-sized pictures), make any changes you need or want (why else make one).  Cut out the 2 to 4 pieces from hot-rolled sheet or use appropriate width hot-rolled bar stock, bend them, then rivet them and weld, solder, or braze them together.  For a simple Tennessee style trigger guard, that should get you close to done.  The closer you cut the pieces to final shape and the nearer in width and thickness to final your stock is, the less work you have with a file.  Here's one partially completed that is going to be shaped more like a brass guard that was done in the way described, out of four pieces, 2 of 1/2"x1/8" bar stock and two pieces cut out of 1/8" sheet.  I have a lot of filing to do, but I was afraid I'd be short of material .

[longcruise]

I see one recommendation for hot rolled steel and another for cold rolled.  Which will work more easily and be less likely to crack or break??