South Carolina Spoon Style Trigger Guard

[scottmc]

I have a question for the very knowedgeable on this site....what builder or who used the south carolina style gaurd that has the forward sweeping spoon gaurd?  The Gillespie family used the style, though it appears to be narrow in the spoon area.  I built a gillespie style rifle around 1990 and used this cast style guard that I got from the old salem gun shop but now know it probably wasn't correct.  I have a hand forged one laying around that I bought from Dennis Glazener years ago but it has the wider spoon sweep.  I was going to pair it with a buttplate that Curt Lyles forged for me to make some sort of southern mountain rifle but was always wondering what builder actually used this style of gaurd.  Look forward to whoever has something to offer.

[Mike Brooks]

There's a whole bunch of them that used that style of guard.

[scottmc]

where they from the south carolina mountain area or more north carolina?  Are there any rifles in the library that would show the wide spoon style of guard?  Appreciate your feedback, Mike.

[Dennis Glazener]

Mike,
I would like to know that too. I have wondered about that guard for years and have been on the lookout for one on an original SC rifle and I have yet to see one. Like Mike Brooks says there were a lot of originals made with similiar style guards but none that I know were from SC. The Gillespie's and the Bulls are two that come to mind but neither of them were from SC.
Dennis

[Mike Brooks]

Ooops. Read NC and the poster requested SC....disregard.

[scottmc]

Dennis,
Did the gillespies use the wide spoon sweep or were they all narrow like the ones you sell on your site?  I guess I'm just trying to narrow down where this gaurd with a wide forward sweeping spoon idea came from since all of the suppliers sell them and give it a south carolina designation.  I'll try and find some pictures of the bull rifles to see how they are configured.  You may remember the one I bought from you because the rear extension was brazed as opposed to being forge welded together.  We're talking at least 8-10 years ago.

[BOB HILL]

I have used this guard before , but I thinned the spoon down. Thought it looked a little  wide........Bob

[54ball]

 OK.....
 I have no idea what rifle the "South Carolina Rifle Guard" comes from. Maybe no one living does. Maybe the original caster thought it came off a SC rifle...who knows? No telling.

 The Gillespie Guard that Mr. Glazener offers was cast from one off an original 1810 era Mathew Gillespie Rifle. It was the sister rifle to this one.
 http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=8015.0
 The sister rifle the guard comes from used a single lock bolt and had more of a V shaped upper forestock. The guards between the two rifles were slightly different but similar. The rifle pictured in the museum as you can see, has wider finials and maybe slightly larger bow and spoon.

 The truth is all original forged guards are one of a kind as each was hand made. They may all look similar but each one is an individual.

  By far this type of guard is the most pleasing I have held. Shouldering the rifle just feels good and locked in with this guard. Holding a Gillespie really makes me dislike the high grip rail on a Lancaster. "the Bivens style guard"

[Turtle]

I don't know about authenticity, but although I INITIALLY HATED THE one I got from dennis and put on my southern rifle because it catches on things, after shooting it a bit I now love it enough to consider retrofiring my squirrell rifle.
                       
           Turtle

[Dennis Glazener]

Dennis,
Did the gillespies use the wide spoon sweep or were they all narrow like the ones you sell on your site?

The guard that I sell was made according to dimensions of the Gillespie that Earl Lanning owns/owned. It is the only one I have seen made like it. Most of the later Gillespie's are like this one that is on my Mathew Gillespie rifle. It is wider than the one on Earls rifle but both have the basic re-curved finger guard.
The SC spoon guard has a much wider "spoon" (the re-curve part).





The Gillespie's made their guards in both iron and brass. Some of the brass ones appear to have been cast. The iron ones that I have seen were forged.
Dennis

[Hungry Horse]

 I don't know how these guards got called a South Carolina guard in the first place. All the original guns I have seen with some form of this guard come from North Carolina, or  from the new acquisition area that was North Carolina, and due to a border adjustment became South Carolina. These guards were called lambs tongue style guards years ago. The lambs tongue finial was used on many blacksmithed items during this period.

 Hungry Horse