Bought a Jim Westberg 54cal rifle today.

[Potter4077]

I went to an antique weapons show today in MN. I was looking for a Colt SAA 45 cal revolver, but kept coming back to a table with a beautiful long rifle. I started a conversation with the owner and found that Jim had made the rifle for him. It’s a 54cal percussion in what looks like a Kentucky style. He gave me a price that I felt I couldn’t walk away from. In all honesty, I’m fairly new to the world of muzzleloading, so if you have any input or if you know, or have information about Jim Westberg, I’d love to hear it.

40” barrel with no markings.

[dadybear1]

NICE!!!!!

[smylee grouch]

Jim and I would get together a couple of times a year at various NMLRA Territorial shoots. Great guy, good shot and was a noted English Gun fan.

[snapper]

If I owned that rifle I would consider myself very lucky. 

Until his passing Jim was a member here.   He posted very little and when he did post you should listen.

I first met him in his gun shop in the Twin Cities area.    When you walked in the door the cigarette smoke would almost knock you over.  If he was not a chain smoker, he seemed like he could have been.  In later years he quit smoking but lung cancer I believe is what killed him.

Jim was one of the most talented craftsman I have ever known.  He did love English, Scottish and Irish guns.

When I bought my first Rigby ML that has significate historical value there was only one person that I trusted to do some restoration work to it.  I was lucky to only live about 3 hours straight South of him.   When I took that rifle to him it was the first time that I had Jim do any work for me and I did not ask how much he was going to charge me as it did not really matter.  When I got my first bill I was shocked, he was only charging me $15/hr.

After Jim closed his shop and retired, he set up a machine shop in his basement and only did jobs that he liked.   It was always a fun visit to his basement shop as I was not shy to show you the projects that he was working on for other people and himself.

Just like any of his projects Jim enjoyed showing his visitors my Rigby when he had it.   One year I was on my way up to Harris MN to a shoot and stopped and picked up my Rigby on the way to the match.   At the match I met a guy from MN and he got to telling me about a Rigby rifle that he got to handle at Jim's shop.  I smiled at him and got the rifle out of my truck.

One time he forgot I was stopping by at 7 am to drop off a rifle for repair on my way to CN fishing.   I felt bad as everyone in the house was asleep and he answered the door in his underwear.     

Rick Weber has a replica Alex Henry falling block rifle that is stunning that Jim worked on for several years building.   

Fleener

[smylee grouch]

On top of being an exceptional craftsman\gunsmith, he liked to hunt ducks and geese. He wanted to buy my H. Holland 13 bore  double and I told him if I ever sold it I would give him first chance.

[Potter4077]

If I owned that rifle I would consider myself very lucky. 

Until his passing Jim was a member here.   He posted very little and when he did post you should listen.

I first met him in his gun shop in the Twin Cities area.    When you walked in the door the cigarette smoke would almost knock you over.  If he was not a chain smoker, he seemed like he could have been.  In later years he quit smoking but lung cancer I believe is what killed him.

Jim was one of the most talented craftsman I have ever known.  He did love English, Scottish and Irish guns.

When I bought my first Rigby ML that has significate historical value there was only one person that I trusted to do some restoration work to it.  I was lucky to only live about 3 hours straight South of him.   When I took that rifle to him it was the first time that I had Jim do any work for me and I did not ask how much he was going to charge me as it did not really matter.  When I got my first bill I was shocked, he was only charging me $15/hr.

After Jim closed his shop and retired, he set up a machine shop in his basement and only did jobs that he liked.   It was always a fun visit to his basement shop as I was not shy to show you the projects that he was working on for other people and himself.

Just like any of his projects Jim enjoyed showing his visitors my Rigby when he had it.   One year I was on my way up to Harris MN to a shoot and stopped and picked up my Rigby on the way to the match.   At the match I met a guy from MN and he got to telling me about a Rigby rifle that he got to handle at Jim's shop.  I smiled at him and got the rifle out of my truck.

One time he forgot I was stopping by at 7 am to drop off a rifle for repair on my way to CN fishing.   I felt bad as everyone in the house was asleep and he answered the door in his underwear.     

Rick Weber has a replica Alex Henry falling block rifle that is stunning that Jim worked on for several years building.   

Fleener

Thank you for this great information about Mr. Westberg. I do feel incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to purchase this rifle. It’s absolutely beautiful. I also live south of Minneapolis and can’t help but smile when I read your response. We’re not so far from one another. I wish I had learned about Mr Westberg before he passed. Sounds like someone who would have had great stories to go along with his amazing talent.

[stuart cee dub]

I met Jim years ago when he was running his one man shop Muzzleloaders Etc in Bloomington MN back in the 80's.

 He was very patient with my early gun building work . I was never much of a machinist at all and always had him correctly install any breach plugs on barrels I bought and install drums as needed .I always had him check the plugs on any commercially installed barrels and ''corrected'' the timing on a number of them . He was a good lock builder as well when the old style Siler kits was about as good as a lock as there was .He understood how to balance the springs and temper the frizzen . He encouraged me to take up match shooting too.
 
 He was always very generous with his knowledge and a pleasure to talk to. Even after he retired he continued to do work on the side . When last we met he was making a single shot falling block english style rifle from scratch.The quality of his work was impressive .I didnt see him making custom muzzleloaders after he closed his shop, he seemed to turn his attention to BP single shot work judging from what I saw on his shop rack .I suspect the custom muzzleloaders he did build himself are mostly before he closed his Bloomington shop.

Did Jim put a date your rifle Potter4077 ? Maybe he signed in somewhere that's not so obvious.
 
One day I mentioned I had a set of metal parts for a trapdoor but didnt know what to do about installing a barrel . He rummaged around his shop and said ''Here it is ! '' . He had some kind of a fixture for cutting the unusual square threads the armory used then .Then pulled out some books showing sporterized versions that would work with what I had so I could order the correct barrel then installed it.

He was the first person I told that I was retiring .Jim turned to me and said ''Congratulations ! When I retired it was the best decision I ever made'' . Probably because he could then work on the guns and projects he wanted to build. He was an avid fisherman as was his son Mark.

Muzzleloader specialists are getting older ,fewer and far between .


 

[cordite]

I bought an old Ballard black powder single shot from Jim many years ago. It needed some sear repair work that Jim took care of.  Wish I could have had more interaction with him but did not live close by. Very talented and interesting guy.