Tomorrow I'm heading up to southern Maine to do some shooting with my friend Colby, who is a primitive skills instructor; I'm delivering his first pistol. He was very specific about what he wanted: "something not too big, not too small, medium caliber, and gnarly looking" while on a budget. I came up with this pistol for him using a 10" .54 smooth barrel, hand made the small parts, and the stock is a piece of Sycamore Maple (not Sycamore proper) from the back yard he and I used to play in when youngsters. The Sycamore Maple was an older tree; it worked alright and will suit him just fine, but I couldn't recommend it for carving or super fine inletting, just a bit too soft and punky. I played around with some elements found on early Christian's Springs guns, particularly the triggerguard, sideplate, and carving design. I also messed with patinas a little bit, particularly in the wood, but found myself wiping most of it away - I'm curious to see how it ages in his hands, I'm sure in a year or two it'll have a better patina than anything I could have applied in the shop. As always, any critique or constructive feedback is welcome. Thanks!
-Eric
