Buckskin Report and 1970’s barrel issues

[Bob Roller]

I split this post and following out of the micro-groove rifling thread (Rich Pierce, moderator) and gave it a new title.


The Buckskin Report, according to founder John Baird was started as a protest against production guns with traps built into them like over tightened breech plugs and sorry practices in general with muzzle loaders such as "You can't get enough black powder in one to blow it up."
I met John Baird and Tom Dawson in 1967 in Bill Large's shop and that began another two friendships that lasted until both passed away.
Tom had a Hawken copy he had just finished and told me a lock and trigger set was needed to bring these guns to the front and he showed me what was needed and I made them for years and the last one was done last year when I finished a J&S style for the Petersen Hawken as shown in Woodfill's newest book about the Hawken guns.Memories are all that is left for myself as far as the Hawken revival is concerned but they are mostly good ones and now as far as making one,I made only one and and a similar Henry that was prompted by a heavy half stock rifle in The Huntington Museum of Art.The Henry used a drum and nipple and a 58 caliber 1 and 1/8 by 34 octagon barrel from Bill Large.
Bob Roller
 

[Dphariss]

The Buckskin Report, according to founder John Baird was started as a protest against production guns with traps built into them like over tightened breech plugs and sorry practices in general with muzzle loaders such as "You can't get enough black powder in one to blow it up."
I met John Baird and Tom Dawson in 1967 in Bill Large's shop and that began another two friendships that lasted until both passed away.
Tom had a Hawken copy he had just finished and told me a lock and trigger set was needed to bring these guns to the front and he showed me what was needed and I made them for years and the last one was done last year when I finished a J&S style for the Petersen Hawken as shown in Woodfill's newest book about the Hawken guns.Memories are all that is left for myself as far as the Hawken revival is concerned but they are mostly good ones and now as far as making one,I made only one and and a similar Henry that was prompted by a heavy half stock rifle in The Huntington Museum of Art.The Henry used a drum and nipple and a 58 caliber 1 and 1/8 by 34 octagon barrel from Bill Large.
Bob Roller

I used to write for the magazines back in the day. Helped collate etc etc. Met John in 1968 IIRC. Never ran into TK for some reason.
“Problems”. People today have no idea.
Machined tightened breeches that would break off at the over stressed rebate if you tried to remove them. A number actually blew up, at the breech, which proves it was not stuck someplace up the bore. Then the won theat split open in the bottom of the underlug dowetail.  And one that blew out in the cut in the “patent” breech that fit over the lockplate, they drilled it just a little too deep for the nipple.  One of the blown was “proven” to have had smokeless used. Mad Monk took a brand new can of Goex. Burnt some. Did the same test on the fouling and it came up “smokeless”. Plaintiffs lawyer should hve done more testing. Then there was the one a local BT gunsmith was trying to determine why the owner could not get it to go off.  It was one of the ones with a stylized “drum”. He turned it 1/4 turn and it fell out on the floor. They the ones with 2 piece barrels in which the bore in the upper section did not line up with the bore in the upper sections. Yeah, I was around office when a LOT of such things came in the mail. So when people start working on somethings I see on the www it makes hope they don’t show up where I shoot. Or a “vintage” something or other it give me the creeps.

[Dphariss]

Back in the 70's, 3 guys I knew (all cops) had those TC's, Taylor, myself and friend Tom. Taylor's barrel had something like .0025" deep rifling, mine was .004" and Tom's was .0015".
We, at the time were all shooting the Maxiball. We did not know what a dismal failure it would be on heavy game (moose). Tom had to use a cigarette paper around his maxiball
to keep it in the barrel. We discovered this while walking along the path (wide game trail) under a huge slide. I just happened to look at the muzzle of Tom's rifle and the bullet
was sticking 1/2 way out.
They were buttoned, for sure.
Nass Valley (BC) Bear Hunt 1973

I was busy pretending to be a general aviation pilot in 73. Did not much shooting or hunting for a time.

[Daryl]

An older gun smith in this town, now passed, sectioned a TC breech through the thin web that fit over the lock plate. In that web, he just happened to cut through a void, (casting flaw pocket) in the breech. That was about mid 1980's. I saw the breech, (YIKES) and wondered at my own shooting of that rifle, back in the 70's.
Had that rifle been fired, it most likely would have blown the lock out of the gun.
Edited: IIRC the WEB was almost but not quite .060" and the skin of the fault above and below the fault was 2 thou. (.002")

[Jeff Murray]

The Buckskin Report was fun to read.  Seems like John must have read Playboy as well as he wrote extensively on the "Buckskin Philosophy".  Good and some not so good old days.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I used to get such a kick out of reading "Honest Don Henjum".

[Frank]

Loved The Buckskin Report. Kodiak Rifle Co put John Baird out of business because he spoke the truth about their rifle.

[Dphariss]

I have the complete set that used to be in John’s and then Dave’s editors office. In Buckskin Report binders.  I was over at Vivian’s place fixing her car, again, and we got to talking about the magazine. She told me she had these and I could come over and get them anytime. They were in a cabinet in the garage so I took them home. I had scrounged what I did not have from yard sales in Big TImber and now have two sets and I gave away 2 big boxes full. I get them out now and again for some question or other.
She was a wonderful lady. Dave is back in the area. His wife passed due to Covid complications and a long time friend at BT has a shop with a full apartment at the end and Dave lives there. 

[Bob Roller]

All of my issues of the Buckskin Report vanished in a move from "There to here"in 1979.No idea as to how many subscribers John had
but exposing dangerous practices such as the badly  flawed breech plugs was a step in the right direction.Bill Large rebarreled a number of these with new barrels and breech plugs.I made some of those plugs and wasn't worried at all about a blow out failure of any kind and some even asked about a conventional lock but that was not on my "to do"list. I did use the hammers from one of TC's small locks on a custom lock for a gunmaker in Germany and had a mould made for them.
   I really miss John Baird,Tom Dawson and Bill Large plus others whose names now evade a collapsing memory.The meals Helen Dawson made and shared with me  and talks that lasted past midnight.Good time MUCH MISSED.
Bob Roller
 

[Daryl]

Yes indeed, Bob. A lot of good people known to ALL of us, have passed under the bridge.