My Southern Mountain Rifle.

[callaojoe]

Just finished this rifle last week.  I only did the metal, and wood finishing on it, as I have a friend that did most of the "hard' work on it.

DeHaas 42" 45 cal barrel.  Jim Chambers large siler lock, curly maple stock I bought from Pecatonica River.

Stained with aquafortis, and browned with Laurel Mountain browning agent.

I have yet to shoot it, and this will be the first time shooting a flint lock for me.

May not be of the expert quality, but I am happy with the way it turned out.

Since this pic was taken, I have stained the ram rod as well, so it don't stick out like that anymore...

[callaojoe]

Couple more pics...

[callaojoe]

Anyway, I plan to shoot .440 patched balls.  Gonna start out with about 65gr of powder and work up from there.  Plan to kill some whitetails with it this fall, so looking for a good deer kill'n load.

I have serveral powders to try, ffg Goex, ffg swiss, and even a couple lbs goex cartridge grade.

Will use whatever shoots best.....

My hunting ground is fairly thick cover, and I rarely have shots outside 100yds.

Makes for some nice bow hunting.

[iloco]

I like your rifle.  I would like to have one like that in 36 caliber.

[Dennis Glazener]

Welcome to ALR Callaojoe, good to have you join with us.

Nice work on the rifle, I am sure it will be a good shooter. My hunting rifle has a Chambers Siler lock and it is the most reliable firing lock I have owned. BUT, please don't take this wrong, since it appears you are a person that leans southward (I surmise that by your Avatar photo) I want to let you know that about 99% of original southern mountain rifles would be equipped with an English lock and not a Germanic lock such as the Siler. The Chambers late Ketland fits the bill as does many of the English locks made by L&R, Davis and others.

Again, not to cause you grief just to let you know what type lock is normally found on these rifles. But always build what you want to build.
Dennis
 

[callaojoe]

I like your rifle.  I would like to have one like that in 36 caliber.

A friend of mine who I know through the Missouri Whitetails forum, has what pretty much amounts to a 36 cal version of this rifle.  Some minor differences, like the entry pipe and nose cap.  His also does not have a butt plate.  He posted a pic of his, not long after I posted mine, and they look like they could be long lost brothers....    I wanted mine in .45 cal, mostly because I plan to hunt deer with it.

[callaojoe]

Welcome to ALR Callaojoe, good to have you join with us.

Nice work on the rifle, I am sure it will be a good shooter. My hunting rifle has a Chambers Siler lock and it is the most reliable firing lock I have owned. BUT, please don't take this wrong, since it appears you are a person that leans southward (I surmise that by your Avatar photo) I want to let you know that about 99% of original southern mountain rifles would be equipped with an English lock and not a Germanic lock such as the Siler. The Chambers late Ketland fits the bill as does many of the English locks made by L&R, Davis and others.

Again, not to cause you grief just to let you know what type lock is normally found on these rifles. But always build what you want to build.
Dennis
 

No grief here... I was a complete newbie when I started to think about doing this.  It actually started when I was talking with my good friend.  He said, I am about to get some DeHaas barrels, would you like one... That was in 2006...  The barrel then set at his house in GA for about 3 years.  Finally, one day he asked me if I was ever going to do anything with it. So, I went to the Pecatonica website, saw a couple of Southern Mountain builds they had listed, and order up parts based upon what I thought looked good, not necessarily what was historically accurate.

I figured it this way, and maybe incorrectly... But, Southern Mountain rifles seemed to be a bit up to the builder... So, I just did it the way I wanted.  If I ended up with something unique, or irregular... That's fine....  In the end it's my rifle, and will be handed down to one of my boys...

And, yes, even though I am in Mo, I tend to have Southern sympathies, and I ain't no Yankee....  The war of northern aggression was fought with tenacity here in MO.  General Jackson, is one of my favorite people to read about.  Both my boys are currently attending Ole Miss, and are proud rebels.... 

[Bob Roller]

Very neat,very simple,my kind of rifle.Good job,be proud of it and
make meat with it.

Bob Roller

[Dennis Glazener]

I figured it this way, and maybe incorrectly... But, Southern Mountain rifles seemed to be a bit up to the builder... So, I just did it the way I wanted.  If I ended up with something unique, or irregular... That's fine....  In the end it's my rifle, and will be handed down to one of my boys...

If you enjoy looking at original rifles take a look in the ALR virtual library at this link : http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=21.0 scroll on down toward the bottom for the section marked "Southern Arms Long Arms", Hurricane and Nord and the Museum Committee have done a great job of putting together a good number of rifles from across the various areas of our country.
Dennis

[callaojoe]

Thanks for the link, I will check it out...

[Hungry Horse]

 As Dennis said the lock gives me a little heartburn, but the rest of the gun is pretty darn nice. My suggestion is to shoot it a while, and get all the new worn off, and then take the lock out, and rework it, to reflect more English styling instead of Germanic styling. Jim makes parts for all his locks, so if you mess something up, you can buy new parts, and start over.

                 Hungry Horse

[callaojoe]

I hear what you guys are saying.

But, to be perfectly clear, when I started this rifle, my intent was never to recreate an existing rifle, or school of rifles.

Maybe I should just call this one a Missouri Hills CallaoJoe rifle..    Given my 50% German ancestry, this would make the lock appropriate.

Yes, to some it is near blasphemy to consider it.  But, my intention was to build a rifle I liked, loosely based off the Southern Mountain style.  So, i picked this part and that based on what I liked.  I looked around at a lot of rifles, and picked things I liked of several of them.

If I build another, and my intent is to replicate something in a historically accurate level.  Then, that is what I will do.

In the mean time, I will carry this one into the woods, and enjoy shooting it.  I hope there is still a little room for doing things our own way, even when it comes to long rifles...

[eagle24]

Go bust some deer with it!  They can't tell a German lock from an English lock. 

[J.Cundiff]

Looks like you did a great job on it! Definitely a rifle to be proud of, and I'm sure it will make plenty of meat for you! Congratulations!

[sqrldog]

Doggone good looking rifle. What does the other side look like.

[callaojoe]

Thanks guys.

I am a bit of a history nut, and have no issues with guys really wanting to keep things historically correct.  That was just not my intent with this rifle.  It was meant to be my rifle, there may be many like it, but this one is mine.  

It drives me nuts, when tv shows, movies put today's politically correct slant on history.  So, I can easily see where someone that holds dear to their heart the accurate interpretation of the Southern Mountain rifle would feel some heartburn over it.  I have no problem with that, and am always willing to learn about the "real" rifles.

It's like putting a laser sight on a really nice 1911.  Or, a Leupold scope on a nice Sharps 1874...  I wouldn't do it, but have no problem with someone that would....  

Here is the only pic I took, of the other side.  I guess I need to take some more...

[Bill Paton]

Nice rifle. The Germanic lock doesn't bother me. For the rifle you want, you are right with your choices. Contrary points are well made, noted, and not important for your personal "as you want it" rifle . To follow Acer Saccharum's example, "Illegitimi non carborundum".

[mountainman70]

Welcome,brother reb.Dave here in Wva hills.My first custom rifle built in 1978,is iron mounted same as youre,with a similar flintlock,large siler,and LEFT handed.Reason being is I traded for the parts,and that is all my friend had,and it is stocked up on curly maple hawken style half stock,50 cal douglas 2nd.Maybe 75 bucks in parts,traded a new router and bits for parts.Another friend built it up,in trade for me tuning up 3 of his cars.I did the finish work,and have enjoyed ol number 1 for many years.The cars are long gone.I shoot right hand,but this rifle got me to not flinch,as I dont see the fire when he goes off.I am gonna have to move the rear site forward,probably to just behind the front one.ol61yo eyes,doncha know.
Enjoy your shootin iron,bro.it's all good.
I have built myself a bunch of ml rifles since 79,and just enjoy the fruits of me labors.Best regards,Dave-RedBear

ps,I rekkin  my rifle would give mos folks way worse than heartburn,more like a pizza an icecream NIGHTMARE.lol

[hanshi]

Callaojoe, that is a fine rifle and I like it a lot.  I'm glad you made it like you wanted; just to satisfy YOU.  You should know, however, that by using a Siler lock you have given a few folks here the vapors.

[callaojoe]

Callaojoe, that is a fine rifle and I like it a lot.  I'm glad you made it like you wanted; just to satisfy YOU.  You should know, however, that by using a Siler lock you have given a few folks here the vapors.

If you knew me much at all, you would know I give a lot of people heartburn, or vapors... hahahahaha

They gave me the title of "Spreader of Joy and Goodwill" for this very reason on the Missouri Whitetails site.

I can roll with it.  Maybe next one will be near 100% accurate.  Been hankering for a fowling piece, I need to find some reason to get into the turkey woods more often, and having a nice fowler might just be the ticket.  I am more of a deer chaser, and turkey hunting is just an excuse to carry a firearm into the woods.  So, may as well carry something interesting.. 

I signed up here to learn, as I know about enough to fill a thimble right now.  So, any lesson someone can give me will be taken with gratitude.

[Shovelbuck]

Your gun is "PC". That's "Personally Correct" in my book. Enjoy it.

[JTR]

Before anyone gets to vaporized one way or another, perhaps it would be good for the newer guys, and some of the not so new guys to read or re-read the mission statement for this site. And just to make that easy to do, I've pasted it right below! 

"The mission of AmericanLongrifles.com is to promote and support the art and craft of building historically accurate long rifles, related firearms, and accoutrements of the highest quality and artistic merit."
 
That's not to say that no one should post pictures of their latest and greatest gun or whatever. Just that if you call it a specific type of gun, you'll likely get comments if you vary too far from the expected look, or use unexpected parts.

That said, it is an excellent place to learn!

John

[Scout]

Your rifle looks great. I have a southern in .40 with a large Siler so were kinda "kin". I like the nose cap on yours and always thought about adding one to mine. As JTR said I wouldn't be too vaporized about constructive comments, I had mine too.

In another of my posts after some PMs and e-mails I was informed the parts I bought for my current build are mostly incorrect and I soon realized I had bit off way more than I could chew even attempting a Verner at my current skill level so I started my own school.
The school is called the Mongrel Rifle School of North Central Florida started by myself using Various other Famous rifle school parts assembled by a novice builder.

That being said I have the highest respect for the folks on this forum who have helped me on many occasions with advice and who can build museum quality rifles within a certain schools guidelines. However, I wonder what a first rifle from an apprentice of J.P. Beck or Peter White looked like. I'm sure those masters also had plenty of critique to offer.

I figure after a few builds I might be able to tackle one with historical origins and post pics of it.

[WadePatton]

Nice Rifle, ready to shoot and everything!  The more you shoot it, the better it'll get and the more danger the MO whitetails will encounter in your woods.  Get some!

I know what i think i'm doing with mine, but i'll just post it as a rifle and let the jury decide what it resembles most. 

if i ever get it dood.

[Glenn]

Beautiful work.  The natural sugar curl couldn't be better.