What Is the "Acorn" or Knob Usually Found in a Schuetzen's Butt Plate Heel?

[Tanselman]

Most Schuetzen style rifles have a small knob, or device, in the heel of the butt plate, often shaped like an acorn or elongated knob. I've never known what the knob, which usually can be removed, is there for. Can anyone enlighten me?

Shelby Gallien

[Seth Isaacson]

Like this?

I don't recall ever seeing an explanation, but I always figured it was just a way to make hook/extension at the heel more decorative. Some I've looked at have the heel screw securing the buttplate into the stock concealed underneath, and some that decorative piece is the screw.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Perhaps it is to provide a second contact point against mother earth when the rifle is being loaded.

[Seth Isaacson]

That advantage would be the same as just having the full-double hook Swiss/Schuetzen butt plate. I think the question here "why make it a separate piece?"

[Tanselman]

A reason for asking this question is because I have several Louisville, KY Schuetzens, two by Balthasar Auer. I purchased "The American Percussion Schuetzen Rifle" book by Rowe and Hamilton [which shows a couple Balthasar Auer guns] but in all the details about locks, sights, muzzles, etc., there was no mention of the knob up on the butt plate heel... either what it is called, or what it is there for. I've guessed it may complete more of the butt plate curve to lock the gun on the arm better, but it would be informative to really know what the knob was intended to do.

Seth, thanks for your thoughts and the image. Here is one of my Louisville Schuetzens by B. L. Auer.

Shelby Gallien

[Roger B]

Perhaps it gave some advantage in supporting the rifle & was revealed to comply with local rules of competition.
Roger B.

[Seth Isaacson]

A reason for asking this question is because I have several Louisville, KY Schuetzens, two by Balthasar Auer. I purchased "The American Percussion Schuetzen Rifle" book by Rowe and Hamilton [which shows a couple Balthasar Auer guns] but in all the details about locks, sights, muzzles, etc., there was no mention of the knob up on the butt plate heel... either what it is called, or what it is there for. I've guessed it may complete more of the butt plate curve to lock the gun on the arm better, but it would be informative to really know what the knob was intended to do.

Seth, thanks for your thoughts and the image. Here is one of my Louisville Schuetzens by B. L. Auer.

Shelby Gallien

Oooooh I like that one! Very cool.

By the mid-19th century, we're seeing buttplates often secured via two screws at the rear, one often up into the heel unlike earlier buttplates that had the upper screw come down from the heel extension/tang. Some "Swiss/Schuetzen" buttplates don't have as much of projection at the heel where the screw goes into the buttstock. You could add an upper "hook" by just using one of these "knobbed" screws which then also only requires one visible screwhead on the buttplate. If someone didn't like the upper projection, a regular screw fits in the same spot.

Here is an image I found that I thought illustrated this quite well, but you'll have to click on it as inserting it in as an image wasn't working:
https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0513/01/swiss-martini-schuetzen-target-rifle_1_9bd81905f93c61ff34e0d68e84d71899.jpg

This Charles King rifle restored by Turnbull has the same kind of setup:
https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/charles-king-percussion-schuetzen-rifle-log-31733-turnbull-restoration/

[Bob Roller]

I have the Schuetzen book by Hamilton & Rowe is a fine one with great pictures. have made a number of locks similar to these but most of them went to Germany.Same for set triggers and one of them recently was shown here by the owner who was wondering what it was for.All of them I made had close fitting screws instead of pins.
Bob Roller

[Hungry Horse]

 I help a gentleman salvage some guns, and parts, after a large wildfire burned his home and numerous others. One of the gun destroyed was a Schuetzen early cartridge rifle. The wood was burned to charcoal, but the metal parts were in pretty good shape. The flames really never reached the guns, but the extreme heat destroyed the stocks. When I started taking the buttplate off of the old target gun I noticed that the acorn on the butt was designed to unscrew. I unscrewed it and got the surprise of my life. The acorn was the access to a chamber in the stock that could be filled with lead shot to add weight, that I suspect was to counterbalance the heavy barrel.

Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Now that revelation is interesting and makes total sense. Tks HH.

[mikeyfirelock]

I would assume its function was to provide another point to support the gun and lessen the force in the toe of the stock where the grain might be more susceptible to cracking

[AZshot]

I'm not sure how functional the knob is on the heel.  On th toe, it's functional. A muzzle heavy gun, shot offhand, uses the forend hand as a fulcrum.  It is a pivot point, and the lower horn of a schuetzen hooked buttplate lifts against the underarm reducing the amount of muscle needed to hold the butt against your shoulder by the trigger hand arm.

[Daryl]

Perhaps it is to provide a second contact point against mother earth when the rifle is being loaded.

That makes sense and could be removed for firing if the person's shoulder/arm pocket was too beefy to be bracketed comfortably.