WHICH LOCK?

[Eric Kettenburg]

I think the best old guns have the goofiest locks. 

You can say that again!

[flehto]

Because of serious eye problems, had to quit building LRs and never used the Dale Johnson on a Bucks County......although it was my favorite for Lancasters since it was introduced..  Again , because of the lower "tail" position, it would have fitted a Bucks County very nicely. Shown  is my last Lancaster w/ a Dale Johnson.....Fred

[Eric Kettenburg]

Davis Colonial, a rather large lock... It would be interesting to here what you guys on this forum think about that lock.
elkhorne

It's a fine lock but it's certainly not my choice for a Federal-era Bucks rifle.  Now if you want to do up a larger War or pre-War era rifle attributed to the Bucks region, there are a couple of rifles that can be used as models for that and the Davis lock would be fine.

[flehto]

I think the Dale Johnson lock would have fit a Bucks County nicely but because of serious eye problems never used one in a BC. . The small Siler is too small for a BC and the large Siler doesn't center on the wrist as well as Chambers' Golden Age or the Dale Johnson

I think many more Bucks County LRs would have been built if Shuler type Bplates and TGs had been available. ......the TG I used was a Verner from Goehring and req'd a few hours of alteration and the Bplate  had to have the return facets rounded  and the "thumbnail" filed in. The biggest deterrent of building a Shuler, or in this case a Verner, is the elongated finial entry pipe.  Lately, a Shuler type TG and Bplate are available from one supplier and are quality items.

Many BCs on the market are incomplete {barn guns are excepted} by not having even a bare minimum of BC features....it seems a curved combline  makes a LR a BC. .....Fred

[yip]

   Fred; i'm planning on a B/C long rifle for my next build, i take it a Dale Johnson lock is your choice, is that right? your the B/C. PRO

[Stophel]

They used what locks were available.  If they had some big, old lock on hand, by golly, they used it.

I personally think, in general, the larger the lock, the better.  A big lock makes a gun look thinner.  A small lock on the same gun will make it look much fatter, even if nothing about the stock changes.

[flehto]

Hi YIP. The Dale Johnson lock will be right on for a BC. Is this BC from a blank? If it is, I've got a template from the Shuler in RCA1 and could send you a tracing of it. Good luck on the BC.....Fred

[yip]

  Fred; thanks i'll take your offer, i just hope it'll turn out to your expectations. and yes it's from a blank

[flehto]

Hi...send me your name and street  address by email and the tracing will be on the way....I traced the buttstock from a Shuler  photo in RCA1 and then enlarged it on the computer to a buttplate dimension stated for this BC. Have built quite a few BCs off of it. Have varied the Bplate angle on some.  Also the Bplate height can be adjusted 
by slightly changing the toeline. .....Fred       fklehto@charter.net

[Ed Wenger]

I was in the class at WKU that built the Bucks Co rifle with a Davis Early Colonial lock.  Posted below is a Bucks Co rifle I built utilizing the Davis lock.  Jack Brooks, who taught the class, had an original Bucks Co rifle that he restored, which had a lock mortise that fit almost exactly the Davis lock, which is why we used it.  I personally like the look.  As was mentioned, it makes for a slim looking rifle, without all that wood underneath the lock, but that’s just me.  I had to bevel the top of the mainspring a little for the class build.  On two other Bucks guns I used a Rice A weight barrel, and if I recall, didn’t need to bevel the mainspring.  Best,

     Ed

[yip]

 Ed ; great looking rifle! need more pictures.

[Ed Wenger]

Yip..., if you do a search here with my name & Bucks County rifle, you should come up with it.  If not, PM me and I can email photos.  Best,

         Ed