BUTT ON SCHIMMELS

[yip]

building a schimmel and wondering about a butt plate. now i know they don't have one but wondering what alternatives i have, just not happy without one, any help would be great.

[Bob McBride]

building a schimmel and wondering about a butt plate. now i know they don't have one but wondering what alternatives i have, just not happy without one, any help would be great.

Allen Martin makes what he jokingly calls a Schimmel Plus. All Schimmel but with a buttplate. Don't be afraid to go that route. Some folks use all kinds of stuff to protect a plateless free butt though. I know of one guy who uses super glue and a heat gun. Turns it hard as a rock. I've  seen single 1/8"x1/2" -ish square headed brass or iron bumpers tacked on at the point the butt would touch the ground as well.

[northup87]

Quite a bit of info on this in the search function "schimmel " from leather pads to inlet threaded rods and horn. I'm gathering parts for a lehigh schimmel myself so I've been researching. Have fun.

[Mike Brooks]

building a schimmel and wondering about a butt plate. now i know they don't have one but wondering what alternatives i have, just not happy without one, any help would be great.

I have NEVER seen a butplateless old gun broken through the butt. I have  however seen many dozens of old guns WITH buttplates with the toe broken off. It always breaks off where the buttplate screw goes.

[Eric Kettenburg]

building a schimmel and wondering about a butt plate. now i know they don't have one but wondering what alternatives i have, just not happy without one, any help would be great.

I have NEVER seen a butplateless old gun broken through the butt. I have  however seen many dozens of old guns WITH buttplates with the toe broken off. It always breaks off where the buttplate screw goes.

Yawp!  The screw creates a fissure or stress point.

[northup87]

I second what Mike is saying, in most instances the butts on the schimmels are fairly well rounded with minimal cresent, when left thicker they are pretty robust.

[Eric Kettenburg]

[Daniel Coats]

I tend to be more careful with schimmels and often load with the butt resting on my foot.

[jim alford]

Eric, what would be the chance of posting some more photos of the above piece?

[oldtravler61]

  Erick an Mike a few more pics would be great...Like Mike said
 along time ago...butt plates are over rated.... Oldtravler

[LilysDad]

A screw at the toe would act as a wedge, sure. A firmly fastened butt plate make also cause stress due to wood movement due to changes in humidity. Perhaps a piece of rawhide or horn would be more flexible.

[Stophel]

I tend to be more careful with schimmels and often load with the butt resting on my foot.

I do that with everything.... I don't want to scratch up my buttplate!

[Panzerschwein]

I like that butt.

[JTR]

Here's a well used old butt, but still hanging in there!

[rsherman]

A slender well used antique Pa. shimmel

[Eric Kettenburg]

Hey not to digress but Randy if that's you, I hope you're doing well dude!

[Bob McBride]

Look at all these beautiful plain guns. The argument that these were purpose built and not simply bottom shelf utilitarian doesn’t make sense to me. Love em.

[rsherman]

Hey not to digress but Randy if that's you, I hope you're doing well dude!

doing fine Eric, thank you for inquiring!

[rsherman]

Look at all these beautiful plain guns. The argument that these were purpose built and not simply bottom shelf utilitarian doesn’t make sense to me. Love em.

the couple that i own have minor defects in the stock wood that a builder wouldn't use on a more elaborately mounted and finished rifle. But he could still make a serviceable product for the lower priced market out of it.

[stuart cee dub]

I saw a photo of a barn gun with a wood screw right through the heel but sans buttplate much like you might see on a fowler butt, same basic location .
Perhaps it was viewed on this forum on the forum ? Just can't recall actually.
I liked the idea a lot as that was a wear point and thought it might reinforce the grain there as well .
So ,liking  the idea, I copied it .
Does it make a difference ?
in might in 20 years . In either case I worry about it less in regards to breakage and wear so yes it certainly works. Perhaps I should worry more about the toe ,but that and the wrist. are grain-safe on this particular piece of wood.

 

[galudwig]

I recently acquired a smooth rifle from Jack Duprey. No buttplate on this one, although he used incised lines to "suggest" one. He drove an iron stud into the heel and used iron brads inside the lines.

[Dave B]

you cant call this a barn gun but hey no but plate. I had to take a second look just to be sure what I was seeing.

I saw one in person like this at the Portland art Museum yrs ago. They were hosting a part of a collection from the Hermitage. They had two jaeger rifles on display one was an air rifle.

[BOB HILL]

There’s a N. C. Rifle in Ivey’s book with a wrought nail in the heel of the butt where Jack put the metal in his. I put a screw in this spot on one I was making one time. Every time I stood the butt on my shop floor it wanted to slide. I screwed a large headed screw in and left the slot across the butt. It didn’t slip again. I’ve done this on several common rifles since that I’ve omitted a butt plate on.
Bob

[Dennis Glazener]

It seems to me that Don Getz made one or two guns with the butts carved to simulate a buttplate.
Dennis

[AMartin]

I own a original Lehigh Rifle I bought at Bushy Run a while ago . Its  plain schimmel , late flint period , plain wood , tool marks all over it .
This rifle has a buttplate , triggerguard and 1 ramrod pipe .. and curly tail rammer jag .. cool cool !!

I call the guns with a buttplate , Schimmel Deluxe !!

Al