I learned a lot doing it and would like yalls opinions on what I could improve on for my next build.
OK
I'm going to give you what you asked for. Now understand I'm a novice too but I have studied these rifles for a number of years.
I assume that this rifle was built from a blank. I want to commend you for your effort. You have accomplished what many only dream of doing.
There are things that you can do improve this rifle or ... do better on the next one.
Firstly there is a flaw in the architecture in the breech to wrist transition. Note how the drop in the wrist begins abruptly on your rifle. Note how the wrist drop flows smoothly on the Gillespie from the library. Now you will see many Early fowling guns,Trade guns and early 18th Century rifles with a wrist similar to yours but it's not commonly found on SMRs if at all.
Note how symmetrical the top and bottom of the Gillespie wrist is. The wrist on your rifle widens as it approaches the lock and breech being unsymmetrical and giving the look of a slight humpback.
Now I think there are some things you can do to improve it a little but I do not think it can be completly overcome on this rifle.
It may be just me but it looks like your triggers may need to go slightly forward some. How is the trigger pull unset? How do they function set?
There are several things going on here. But lets try to go through them one at a time and maybe we can put it all together by the time we're through.
Now you have to be careful with photographs as they may distort reality. You have to keep this in mind when you study from photographs. It helps to study rifles up close, in hand. Even if they are factory made guns, actually feeling how they fit together provides so much that a picture cannot.
It looks like that lock is as high on the flat as possible. It's usually best if you get it as low on the side flat as possible. This gives you more room to shape the wood from the tang down to the lock behind the breech. This also gets you closer to the bottom of the stock.
It appears your tang is buried in the wrist. Now you may be able to file that top line down and feather it into the wrist. Let the barrel tang be the peak of the wrist. Bringing this down just a little will help with the symmetry mentioned above.
Note the bottom of your stock from the wrist through the lower forestock to ramrod entry. The bottom of the stock appears to taper from the lock area to the ramrod entry. With a lot of study and care you may be able to straighten that taper out by thinning the bottom of the stock from the wrist to the the middle of the lower forestock feathering into the ramrod entry. Doing that and may be enough to lessen the "hump" effect mentioned earlier. This will most likely mean setting your triggers a little deeper as some of that real estate may need to be removed. If you try this do the top line first Tang, and then see if it's possible to make it symmetrical with working on the bottom. Study study study think think think.
Barrel rails.... The rails of your barrel channel appear to angle up as they approach the lock. If you study original rifle you will find, most of the time the opposite is true. On a lot of original guns the barrel channel reveals more of the side flat as it approaches the lock instead of less. Simply straitening that channel from mid forestock to the lock bolster will lessen the taper look. Again study and think.
Lock Panels...You know your lock panels need work. I think these are common problem with all new builders. Honestly it takes guts to go at them like you should. Secondly it's near impossible,at least for me, to shape a complicated rounded shape with square tools. Lock panels are difficult to explain. Personally I like to use a round rat tail rasp/file to shape them and how they flow into the wrist in the rear and the forestock in front.
Lock panels kind of magically emerge as you work towards your outline with a round file. Another factor is if your stock is slab sided, that makes the lock panels more difficult. Again study study study and think. Rounding that wrist and forestock will make filing in the lock panels easier.
Lastly on the lock panels note how the panels on the Gillespie follow the contour of the lock, especially on the bottom. The looks of your would be improved if the bottom your lock panel matched the contour of the lock just like that Gillespie does.
Here is the bottom side of that Gillespie from the museum. Note how thin it is. Note the rounded belly of the trigger area and the forestock and how all that gels with the lock panels. Note too How thin the wrist is and how it's width matches the the width of the rifle in front of the lock.
Here is the top side just note her architecture,her shape. Especially pay attention to how the tang is the peak and the sides of the stock on each side of the tang round down to the lock and side panel. Note how rounded the wrist is.
Here we can see a lot. First and foremost look at the side flat on the Gillespie. Note how the top of the side flat meets the top of the top of the side panel. That line continues on to define the topside of the side panel. Remember when I said it helps to have your lock as low on the flat as possible. That lock bolt is a little high so there's little to no room to bring that line down some. I would be real tempted to place that bolt lower and re do it but only you know if that is possible.
Note how the barrel channel dips to reveal more of the side flat then makes a graceful swoop up to the tang. Note how soft the edges of the side panel are. Note how it is sculpted on the nose mimicking the lock side. Note how the bottom has a graceful arch mimicking the bottom of the lock on the opposite side. Now it may not match the lock side exactly but the mind thinks it does.
Also you may want to inlet the triggerguard more.
Note how the cheek on that Gillespie just fades away onto the buttstock.
While it is very unfair to compare your rifle to a master of 200 years ago I hope I have helped you develop the eye. You should be very proud of your rifle.
