New pistol

[alacran]

. Finally in between a smooth bore build, new window jambs for the house and an Afib  attack, I finally finished this pistola.









It has an 11.5 inch .45 GMT barrel. The lock is an L&R Manton percussion lock. Larry Akers made the trigger and in my opinion Mr. Akers trigger is a jewel. The wood came from Troy Sweeny. The trigger guard came MLBS. The rest of the furniture I made. As well as the sights.
I have the trigger breaking at 4 ounces, by my RCBS scale.
Thoughts and comment welcome

[greybeard]

Nicely done sir .  Bob

[Greg Pennell]

Very nice...that’s a gorgeous piece of wood!

Greg

[KC]

I agree with the other comments. Well done and gorgeous piece of wood. I like the color of the stock too, any details on the finish?
K.C.

[n stephenson]

Nicely Done Sir! I bet it will be a nice shooter. I have always had good results with a GM barrel. Good Job! Nate

[little joe]

Alacran  Blood ,sweat and tears I bet, but in which order. 

[Martin S.]

Beautiful pistol!

OK, is the trigger single set?

Just wondering how you got the 4 oz break.

I see an adjustment screw, I think?

Sweet looking wood and finish!

[Martin S.]

Can you post a pic of the carving behind the tang?

[Craig Wilcox]

Nicely,  nicely done! As with the others, love that chunk of maple, and the stain/finish you lovingly applied.

I especially like your "side plate".  Some will probably say it looks like a giant comma - I prefer to think of it as a moon.  As in "This pistol is over the moon"!

Are you going to give us a shooting report?

[alacran]

Thanks very much for the kind comments.
Yes it is a single set trigger made by Larry Akers.  It is a very well made trigger. I wanted a set trigger for this pistol because of the lock.
The L&R Manton lock has a very hard sear engagement and is difficult to get a good single trigger set up with them. That being said that lock doesnt seem to have as much residual inertia as a small Siler.
The finish was basicaly Mr Kiblers recipe. Tannic acid, followed by ferric nitrate. I evened it out with Laurel Mountain Forge Lancaster Maple. After that Jim Chambers oil finish. I did that combo on another pistol, it turned out darker than what I wanted. On this one I let the tannic acid dry and scraped and burnished it back so it was left mostly on the figure.
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there is so much figure behind the tang that it is hard to photograph. I am going to try a slight oblique angle see if it easier to see. But it is very low.
It shoots very well. First time I shot it I had a good group with five shots, but it was way high. Did the math and filed off the needed amount. Shot this target after that. still needs a little tweeking.

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[stubshaft]

Very nice pistol.

[moleeyes36]

On this one I let the tannic acid dry and scraped and burnished it back so it was left mostly on the figure.

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[url=https://ibb.co/nM6qGe]

alacran,

Do I understand correctly that you applied the tannic acid and let it dry, then applied the ferric nitrate and let it dry, blushed it with heat and then scraped and burnished it back?  That seems to be the logical sequence, but the devil can be in the details  Thanks.

Mole Eyes

[Craig Wilcox]

That is a very nice target for 25 yards and our comparatively primitive sights!

Really appreciate the details you gave for the finish.  Apparently letting the tannic acid dry, then scraping it back and burnishing is the secret for getting a superb finish.

[alacran]

On this one I let the tannic acid dry and scraped and burnished it back so it was left mostly on the figure.

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[url=https://ibb.co/nM6qGe]

I scraped and burnished the wood after the tannic acid had dried. It basically stayed in the figure. After that I applied the ferric nitrate. Let it dry then blushed it and burnished it with 0000 steel wool.
 I did it once before in the sequence you mentioned but the stock came out way darker than I wanted. Mind you it was still attractive but muddied. I thought I had photos of that pistol but I don't. Might take some today. Easier to compare thatway.

Do I understand correctly that you applied the tannic acid and let it dry, then applied the ferric nitrate and let it dry, blushed it with heat and then scraped and burnished it back?  That seems to be the logical sequence, but the devil can be in the details  Thanks.

Mole Eyes

[moleeyes36]

alacran,
 
Thanks, for the explanation of how you did it.  I asked because many describe doing it in the sequence I listed in my question.  I really like how your process turned out; I think I'm going to try it on a pistol project I have coming up as the next build.

Mole Eyes

[L. Akers]

Beautiful!  I'm always telling people who comment on my guns that pretty is as pretty does.  Your pistol has both qualifications.  That is a great group on the target.  Bill Carver used to say "...when placed to best advantage..." your group would score 99 with possibly 4 x's.  Very impressive.  And thank you for the kind comments on the trigger.