[Kaylee]

So I just came into a percussion lock.. I'm *presuming* off a junker import rifle, though I'm not certain. The sideplate is *sorta* like this one (http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partDetail.aspx?catId=14&subId=147&styleId=865&partNum=LOCK-AH-R) but with a crudely finished cast hammer. It at least has a leaf spring though..

Anyhow -- what would be appropriate to build with this thing? Given the rather small size, I was thinking of making a .45-.50 or so small carbine/squirrel type gun, perhaps handling something like like a Win 94. Did such a carbine even exist once upon a time, or did they only have the long-n-skinny longrifles and the newer chunkier "plains" rifles?

Any other ideas?

-K

[redneck]

Short barrels and black powder aren't the best combination from what I've read. At least not an optimum combination for getting the most power out of your charge. Maybe you could use FFFg instead of FFg if you go with a short barrel and it would work better though :confused: (ask someone who knows what they're doing before you try it, do not take my word for it!)
Anyhow, the only carbine sized stuff I've seen are the revolver carbines which most folks seem to think are a good way to lose an arm and you can't make one with that lock anyhow.

You can probably get a semi inletted stock or half stock and cut it shorter to make your carbine, would probably have to go custom on a barrel though to get one as short as you want. I think Lyman makes a deer hunting carbine that you might buy a replacement barrel for. That would get you a shorter barrel with a hooked breech. Don't know if it would match up to your lock though.

To be honest I really like the plains rifles, and think the "long n skinny" rifles are pretty cool too. I can shoot my GPR better off hand than just about any other gun I've tried thanks to its balance and weight.

[4v50 Gary]

Small percussion lock? How about a 40 caliber iron mounted squirrel rifle?

I just finished a seminar with Hershel House in which we forged our own buttplates & trigger guards. This is my second experience at the forge and it was much more productive than the first (the first was several years ago at Conner Prairie). For one thing, I had a lighter hammer that I could actually wield effectively (I couldn't swing for an entire day the 40 ounce hammers that Conner Prairie had). Second, unlike the electric blowers at Conner Prairie, Hershel has nothing but hand operated bellows/blowers and you don't burn your steel (as easily) or your coal as fast. - note: not knocking Conner Prairie but I like the equipment Hershel has a lot more.

You can buy premade buttplates and trigger guards, but designing a gun to be historically accurate requires a lot of research first. Visit some museums and see if they have anything with a lock that matches yours. Then set about to see if you can buy (Track of the Wolf, Log Cabin Shop, Dixie Gun Works and a whole host of other suttlers) the parts. Off the cuff, you want the crescent type buttplate (shot from the arm and not off the shoulder) for the later period rifles.

BTW, I've been taking classes since '99 and building a gun is no small deal. It entails a lot of work (about 120-160 hours depending on how much you rely on prefabricated parts) and skill. Peter Alexander offered a gun building seminar (2 weeks long) and you may be well off attending it so as to build yourself that rifle (or fowler).