Cornelius Kemper

[5judge]

   Acquired this piece, fabricated by Cornelius Kemper, at this weekend's Civil War relic show in Franklin, Tennessee. An old guy who only collects vintage firearms and who shouldn't be buying green bananas anyway, my better angel insisted on the purchase at a most reasonable price. Appears to be a Douglas .45-ish 42" barrel and L&R lock hung on a simply gorgeous, plain stock with excellent fit and metalwork. Seller had commissioned it as a gift for his Dad some 40 years ago. They'd fired it once and it graced a wall ever since....a story the almost pristine condition bears out.
   I've picked up what information that appears on the internet and have an inquiry e-mailed to Cornelius's son Marvin, also a muzzleloading rifle smith. Any additional insights would be welcome. This piece is coming out of retirement as soon as I can guage the correct ball  size!

[Dave R]

Congratulations 5 Judge for your magnificent recent purchase of a C Kemper muzzleloader! Cornell was a fine gentleman and with his lovely wife Dorris  raised 6 girls and the 7th child Marvin primarily from proceeds building contemporary muzzleloaders! Marvin had free reign in his fathers shop “ Pine Hill Trading Post antique store  / contemporary ML gun shop”  from a very
young age assisting Marvin to  building very high quality contemporary muzzleloaders! (See for yourself) go to Marvin’s web page www.libertylongrifles.com
My Dad and I visited Cornell several times in his shop back in the 60’s.
Marvin and I got to be good friends back in the 80’s.
All in all many very memorable experience’s with the Kempers!!

Ol Dave Reising

[5judge]

I've an e-mail in to Marvin seeking a copy of the February, 2005 "Muzzle Blasts" article on his father.

[Dave R]

Excellent! Marvin’s is a gentleman as well as an exceptional contemporary builder!
We live 10 minutes from each other.

[Joey R]

In total agreement with DaveR.

[5judge]

Gratifying Cornelius would have good reason to be proud of his craftsman son.

[Daryl]

If the grooves are 50% of the lands, then a ball .010" to .005" smaller than the bore will be correct, for the Douglas bl.
If the grooves are a lot less than 50%, then I'd use a .010" ball. 10 ounce denim patch works well in EVERY barrel I am familiar with.
That would be ALL the local members of our gun club along with those who attend out rendezvous from out of town. They all use
.005" undersized ball, so .445" in a .45.
If the bore is .440", then Lee makes a .433" DC mould.

[5judge]

Ordered a couple hundred .445 balls from Track....

[bones92]

Great find!  I picked up a Cornell Kemper .45 rifle a few years ago, as well.  It is my favorite shooter, too.   And I've had Marvin do a few things to it (had him add a stainless vent liner, and he also tapped a replacement lock assembly that I picked up in the event the original lock breaks.)   I think Marvin enjoys working on his father's creations.   

5judge, you have a fine piece of contemporary muzzleloader history.   Cherish it!


https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=68343.0

[5judge]

Yessir!

[bones92]

FWIW, I think my C. Kemper rifle has a Douglas barrel.  It does quite well with a .440 ball and denim patch.   It has a Russ Hamm lock.  A few years ago it started having issues holding the cock, and it would slip the sear.  I sent the lock to Marvin and he fixed and tuned it up so that it holds cocked like new again.  And when I stumbled upon a lock assembly exactly like the original, I picked it up and had Marvin drill & tap the mounting holes.  So if the original lock ever breaks again, I'll have a NOS spare ready to go.