Here's a .62 cal smooth bore I just finished up. This gun is the first one I've built from a blank. I'm very fortunate to have Don Bruton as a close friend and mentor, and having someone like him to guide me has truly been a blessing.
The inspiration for this gun came when I was researching some of my family's history. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to build a gun which could have been carried by one of my forefathers. While a few of my ancestors were people of means, most were simple folk. My 5th Great Grandpa, Joseph Looper was one of the latter. He grew up in Cumberland PA, apprenticed as a carpenter, and shortly after reaching adulthood, set his sights on making a life for himself on the expanding frontier.
I imagined young Grandpa Looper probably carried a simple gun, most likely a smoothbore. Versatile enough for everything from black bear, to squirrels. The gun could have been made by a skilled gunsmith, but wouldn't have been one of his finer pieces. Maybe it was built as a trade. "Mr. Looper, you build me a shed; I'll build you a gun. Even trade." About a week's worth of labor for each.
It would have been a simple gun, devoid of intricate carving and engraving. A functional piece; a conglomeration of parts collected over the years. A 20 gauge barrel and trigger guard from a French Fusee; an english lock; and a plain sawn piece of red maple. A simple gun. A frontier gun.
On to the build:
I had Greg Christian make me a full round .62 caliber barrel 42" long. The 1-1/16 breech taper for 12" to a 7/8" diameter. I wanted the extra beef in the barrel for some added weight and added safety in adding dovetails for the lugs and front sight. The extra weight also comes in handy when shooting 350 grain round balls. The lugs and front sight were dovetailed in. The tang is held in by a long wood screw. The front sight I made from a 1968 half dollar. I'll probably redo it, as that year silver dollar isn't all silver. For a touch hole insert, I made one out of a grade 8 1/4-28 bolt.
The stock I carved from a full blank of plain sawn red maple from Dunlap. I inletted the barrel and drilled the ramrod hole myself, under Don's watchful eye. The only carving is slight "beavertail" around the tang. I added 1/4" offset and 3-3/4" drop. Pull is 14-1/4".
For a lock, I chose an English Queen Anne from L&R. It's a little smaller than Chamber's English lock, and a little less inexpensive. It sparks well and was easy to tune. It's held on with a 10-32 bolt at the breech and a 8-32 bolt at the front. I had to use a smaller bolt at the front due to a pretty thin web between the barrel and the ramrod hole.
The trigger guard is a cast french guard. It had a small casting flaw, which didn't bother me in the least. After pinning the guard on, I wasn't satisfied with it. I ended up taking off the pins, plugging the mortices and pin holes, and screwing the guard on. It now fits a little better to my liking, and, if the stock shrinks, I'll be able to cinch it up some.
The trigger I modified from a cast piece and decided not to use a trigger plate. The trigger pivots on a pin through the stock. The trigger pull, if I do say so myself, is pretty danged good. Clean, crisp, with very little slack. It's light, but not too light, if you know what I mean.
The buttplate and ramrod thimbles I formed from 16 ga sheet steel. The buttplate is attached with hobnails. I left some of the "pecker tracks" from the forming stage. On the thimbles, I filed a couple of "beauty rings". I chose to forgo an entry thimble and nose cap.
After scraping, sanding and whiskering, I used aqua fortis till I got the color I wanted, and applied beeswax for a finish. It's a weatherproof, easy to repair finish.
For the metal finish, I sanded down with 220 and applied some liquid cold blue. I then wiped it back with some steel wool to get a slight patina. I'm still may fool around with it some more.
The ramrod is hickory. I made a sheet metal tip for it. It's 3" long, soldered along the seam and pinned in place. The end is tapped 8-32 for jags and pullers. On the other end, I just flared the hickory.
It weighs 7 lbs 6 oz, with a 14-1/4" pull. I'll be adding some minor engraving in the near future, but need a little more practice on round surfaces before I make the full commitment.
I did run into a few challenges, but nothing catastrophic. Part of the fun of this project was fixing some minor errors. Before I get comments on how terrible these pics are, I am aware. I'll do better on the next gun.
