This is a piece I built for the Wounded Warrior Program, and will be used in the "Hunts for Healing". This project was coordinated through Bill D, who is also building a couple rifles for the program.
I'd like to thank the following folks for their most generous contibutions to this project:
Wayne Dunlap: donated the stock blank
Dave Keck: inlet the barrel, drilled the ram rod hole, and shaped the butt stock
Richard DeOrian: donated the lock
Charles Burton: donated the barrel (nice!)
Larry Luck: gave me the idea for the original purple heart design on the cheek
The barrel is a 38", .54 cal that was cold blued then rubbed back. The butt piece is a #12 Dickert by Reeves. The trigger guard, ram rod pipes and side plate are commercial pieces I had lying around the shop. The patch box is a simple one piece design, made from a commercial blank, again been lying around for a while. Not a whole lot of bells and whistles on this one. I wanted to keep it simple, and tie in some period military aspects. As mentioned, the heart shaped inlay on the cheek is from the original purple heart, conceived by G. Washington in 1782 or '83. The medal was originally awarded for merit, and has since evolved into the present day purple heart. The patch box incorporates the coiled snake of the Gadston (sp?) flag, and has the initials of the five service branches engraved around it. Critiques are certainly welcome.
I'll be giving the rifle to Bill at Dixon's. It'll be on display either at Dave Kecks table, or up on the hill with the folks from ALR.
Ed