Geo. Washington Beck

[Lucky R A]

        Early last spring I was contacted by a lodge of the Sons of the American Revolution from Philadelphia, PA to build a rifle for them.  After exploring several options, they decided on a copy of what I refer to as "The Washington Beck."  The story goes that this rifle was discovered in the 1920s in a Pennsylvania home, and was purchased.  The butt plate of the rifle carries an inscription that reads "To President George Washington," Mount Vernon, VA and is dated 1791.  The rifle is a wooden box J.P. Beck style rifle and is signed J.P. Beck in his distinctive signature.
The rifle is published in one of the Accouterments books and likely other places.  I needed much more detailed photos, and requested an assist from our group.  Between Dennis and Paul Kinder, I received a disc with everything that I needed to make a reasonable copy of the gun.  The gun will soon go to its new owners.  I took these photos outside before our recent 15/15 event.  We had 15 inches of snow and then the temp went down to 15 below...not good weather for photographs. 
       A special thank you to Dennis and Paul Kinder for their assistance------Ron

[Mike Brooks]

Nifty

[Reegee/Flint]

Love the stock colors, beautiful job of blending and highlighting.......

[Mule Brain]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing

[RJD-VT]

That real nice. Thanks for the pic’s and the story. I luv guns with stories…
No outdoor pics here either. Its been below zero all month, and windy too

[Craig Wilcox]

Did a great job - very handsome rifle.  Did you shoot it?  I think I would really be tempted.

[J. Talbert]

Very nice rendition of the original, which I’ve had the pleasure of seeing several times at the Frazier museum in Louisville.

Jeff

[Robby]

Nicely done, all of it!!!
Robby

[acorn20]

Very nicely done, Ron.  Will you have this for viewing at Lewisburg next week?  Dan

[Marcruger]

What a lovely rifle Ron.  I know the person who sponsored this art is happy.  The architecture and carving are very appealing, but those warm, rich finishes are the eye-catcher for me.  Nicely done sir.   God Bless,   Marc

[alex e.]

Very nice!! As always!

[Keith Zimmerman]

That stock really pops to me.  Really nice finish.  Beautiful classy rifle.

[t.caster]

Great project with a good story! And you did a real fine job recreating it.

[Percy]

Well done. New owners will be very happy.

[Top Jaw]

Is this based on the gun from the Frazier Museum in Louisville KY?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Ron, I'm curious regarding the stock's profile.  Did you copy the original and if so, is the comb line on your rifle the same as on the original?  The reason I ask is because your rifle deviates from what I have come to understand regarding the profile of the butt stock of Beck rifles.  A straight edge laid along the comb on your rifle comes to a point just above the breech of the barrel, yet on Beck rifles I've studied, that comb line intersects the wrist at about the middle.  This later profile is a good portion of why the Beck rifle is so conducive to offhand shooting, and seems to fit a great number of people.  Don Getz used to insist on this profile for these reasons.
I'd appreciate your comments please.

[Lucky R A]

Hi Taylor,
           Good eye as usual,  Yes, this stock profile does deviate from some of the other Beck rifles that i have handled.   Beck rifles are noted for fitting a wide segment of people likely for the very reason you mentioned. I will include a photo taken from the original, and you can see the somewhat higher comb line.  None the less, I have shot and sighted in this rifle and it does shoot very well.  Too bad it will likely be used for display only.
           For those of you who have asked, I will not be participating in the 18th. Century artisan show this year.  In 2017 my wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which is progressive.  I choose not to leave her alone to go to the show, I will miss it a lot, but priorities are priorities..

Ron

 



www images download

[bama]

Ron, great rifle as usual. Sorry to hear about your Misses, we will add her to our prayers. I would say that the early wood box Beck's are not an easy build to get right, you have done an admirable job on this rifle. Better than most I have seen. I am working on an early wood box Beck and hope it turns out as well as yours. Thanks for sharing this one with us.

[VP]

Ron,

Your work is top notch as always. I like how you duplicated this rifle. You know how i do like the Beck's!

VP

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Ron:  thanks for that great description and the photo of the original.  You are right, and you nailed the profile for sure.

[Willbarq]

Hi Taylor,
           Good eye as usual,  Yes, this stock profile does deviate from some of the other Beck rifles that i have handled.   Beck rifles are noted for fitting a wide segment of people likely for the very reason you mentioned. I will include a photo taken from the original, and you can see the somewhat higher comb line.  None the less, I have shot and sighted in this rifle and it does shoot very well.  Too bad it will likely be used for display only.
           For those of you who have asked, I will not be participating in the 18th. Century artisan show this year.  In 2017 my wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which is progressive.  I choose not to leave her alone to go to the show, I will miss it a lot, but priorities are priorities..

Ron

 



www images download

Here ya go.


dp photos free download

[wattlebuster]

Excellent work. I like that rifle

[lctp24]

I'm happy to report that I won this beautifully crafted rifle at the Fall Leadership Conference of the Sons of the American Revolution.  I love this excellent rifle and it will be passed down to my heirs.

I was in Louisville Kentucky for the Conference and stopped at the Frazier Museum and saw the original.  The maker did and an exceptional job in recreating the Beck rifle.