Thank you Mark for starting alr.org twenty plus years back with the forum and other resources, and to the moderators for keeping this site relevant. I also came to this interest as a hobby gunstocker. I grew up a farm kid hunting and shooting, then off to college, where I joined ROTC and was on the school’s rifle team. Next move was to the Colorado mountains, where I lived fur trade history, and learned about rifles by J J Henry and T J Albright.
Our little family could not afford a nice rifle for my mountain man persona, so I learned to stock a rifle. David Rase showed me how to use tools, and I carefully studied any original arms I could find in museums and at gun shows. I stocked a few more, and traded my work for more parts and gear. Learning to stock a rifle made me a better student of the old guns, and vice versa.
Wet Moccasin Basin in Wyoming, with gear for the fur trade
After years of learning on my own, Jack Brooks taught me to stock a correct longrifle from the blank, making all parts but the lock and barrel. Soon he had me putting the right style of lock together, researching correct barrel and stock profiles, and casting mounts. Jack has learned from the old guns, and is a tremendous teacher, as many of you know.
Bob and Jack with Davy’s rifles for the last Alamo movie
My interests worked back in time to Wm. Henry, Jr at Christian’s Spring, to Henry Albright and his father Andreas Albrecht who learned the gunstocking trade in the old country. I attempted good copies of firearms by these and other makers. The research and stocking seemed a good combination, each adding interest to the other.
Earlier gun books note the “short, clunky or heavy Jaeger rifle” – but actually these rifles handle well, and in Germany I saw early arms with the same art and details that appear later on our Kentuckies. There was a story here, leading to thirty years of study and many discoveries worth sharing. More than just a book of photos,
Moravian Gunmaking II includes an introduction to gunmaking in Moravian communities, a discussion of the two shops and their furnishings, the materials and tools available, the men and boys involved over 40 years, a review of how arms were stocked and details from the annual inventories.
A rifle and pistol made in Germany come first, to show what Albrecht and Betz would have learned as apprentices and journeymen there. Then a series of rifles, smooth rifles, fowlers and pistols made here. Knowing who purchased these rifles and where they were carried adds to the story. Two Oerter rifles from England and Germany may have been picked up after battle and taken back as war souvenirs. They have seen little use with regular care and cleaning, allowing us to see how the rifles were stocked and finished in 1774 and 75.
Kenneth Orr photographed some of the arms and edited all the images, and we have noted interesting details in the rifles. For example, the Oerter rifles that carry a brass patchbox are heavier in the butt than the wood box rifles – the buttstocks do not taper until forward of the cheek and patchbox. The top line of the wrist is often a straight line, which carries over to later rifles by Neihardt and Rupp. There are other details that may be of interest to students or contemporary builders. We plan to be at the Kentucky Rifle Foundation’s table at the CLA Show both Friday and Saturday, and would enjoy visiting. We’ll be happy to sign books, whether you pick up a copy there, or bring one you already have.
Completing this book has taken me away from the bench for several years, and I am anxious to get back. Research, study of original arms and documents, sharing what we learn, and applying it at the bench all fit well together. Smart Dog’s tutorial here re stocking a fine English fowler is another way to present this mix of interests. Eric Kettenburg’s website is yet another – the equivalent of a fine book with considerable original research published online. Please take time to share what you have learned – it can be a lot of work, but rewarding. Bob
