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Jeff Larsen wrote:

I picked up the video about 4 years ago when I was in Williamsburg. Very good video.

BTW You should find side plates and trigger guards at the Dixon show. Dixon also has a shop there where you can find anything and everything to build it.

Jeff :D


Thanks, Jeff. I figured that the Dixon show would have just about everything. The impetus behind this idea is that I was looking at all of the side plate and trigger guards available through Track of the Wolf, and it got me thinking that these things were all expressions of the individual tastes of the gunsmiths. If I'm going to build a longrifle, why not make it truly unique?

I came up with an idea for a new front sight last night and built a model from cardboard, which I then glued to a meter stick to see how it would work. When I showed it to my wife, she calmly said "Ok, so you're coming up with inventions to improve a weapon from the 1700's, right?" Spouses. They never understand. ;)

I'm not sure that I'll buy anything the Dixon show. My intent is to use this as a fact-finding and resource-gathering expedition. I'm a big believer in the old carpenter's adage: Measure twice, cut once.

Thanks again for telling me about this festival. I'm eager to see what's out there!
David Martin wrote:

I picked up a couple books from the local library. I'm kicking around the idea of making my own triggerguard and side plate from castings. I can make the wax forms - I'll just need to find someone who can cast them in iron for me. I'm hoping to make some connections at the gunmakers festival.

I'm also debating which sights to use. Although I love the look of the primitive sights, I'm not a big fan of drifting for windage and filing for elevation. This said, I'm afraid that an adjustable rear sight, even a primitive-looking one, will spoil the clean lines of the rifle. I'm going to have to make some kind of compromise on this issue at some point. There's a real definitive statement...


As Jeff says, you can pick up cast components easily at the fair and ToW has a great selection. Casting them yourself, however, would be a challenge and an adventure. So, give it a try.

As far as sights go, I would recommend staying with the primitive style, and not just for looks. A lot of matches run by NMLRA rules will not allow adjustable rear sights. That is not true of the bench rest and, I think, buffalo match guns, but for most everything else nonadjustable is the rule. You will find, once you get your gun built, that it will shoot best at a given range using a traditional sight picture, i.e. resting the bull on the front sight, which is framed by the notch in the rear sight. That is the range at which you should use the rifle to compete. Once you have found the load that will give you the accuracy and the range you want to shoot, then you have sighted in your gun. When you do that carefully you won't have to adjust them again. If you you are shooting on a particularly windy day you will learn how to adjust your hold to compensate. All part of the process. My three rifles all have fixed rear sights and it has never been a problem for me. The only problem I have had has been as the years went by the rear sight got way too close to my eye and the front sight got a bit harder to see! Amazingly enough my eyes have now reversed directions and I am getting a weaker prescription every time I get new spectacles. In 50 years or so I won't need glasses!
Lin Robinson wrote:
As far as sights go, I would recommend staying with the primitive style, ...


I agree, the reason being other than what was already said, primitive sights were used on guns from the 1700's. I would want to try and shoot as accurate as they did back then. IMHO

Jeff :D
Lin Robinson wrote:

As Jeff says, you can pick up cast components easily at the fair and ToW has a great selection. Casting them yourself, however, would be a challenge and an adventure. So, give it a try.

As far as sights go, I would recommend staying with the primitive style, and not just for looks. A lot of matches run by NMLRA rules will not allow adjustable rear sights. That is not true of the bench rest and, I think, buffalo match guns, but for most everything else nonadjustable is the rule. You will find, once you get your gun built, that it will shoot best at a given range using a traditional sight picture, i.e. resting the bull on the front sight, which is framed by the notch in the rear sight. That is the range at which you should use the rifle to compete. Once you have found the load that will give you the accuracy and the range you want to shoot, then you have sighted in your gun. When you do that carefully you won't have to adjust them again. If you you are shooting on a particularly windy day you will learn how to adjust your hold to compensate. All part of the process. My three rifles all have fixed rear sights and it has never been a problem for me. The only problem I have had has been as the years went by the rear sight got way too close to my eye and the front sight got a bit harder to see! Amazingly enough my eyes have now reversed directions and I am getting a weaker prescription every time I get new spectacles. In 50 years or so I won't need glasses!


I'm not worried about being restricted from shooting matches, as I'm not a competitive shooter. This is not to say that I couldn't be a competitor, but rather that I don't have an interest in shooting competitions. My kind of shooting competition is getting together with a buddy and trying to snuff a candle, cut a string, see how many times we can plug a water-filled soda bottle before it empties, etc.

If I do go with an adjustable sight, I'm going to try to find a fixed sight to match the dovetail so I can swap it out if I don't care for it. I'd like to have the rifle sighted in at a few different ranges if possible. If the adjustable rear sight significantly detracts from the beauty of the rifle, I suppose I can live with "Kentucky windage."

I can definitely relate to your vision changes. My eyes get worse every year. The big problem is that my right eye is much worse than my left, to the point where I can get a much better sight picture with my left eye. This presents a problem in that I'm right handed. I can shoot left handed with handguns, or simply cock my head a bit more, but adapting to a rifle is going to be a bit more of a challenge.

I have an adjustable aperture made by Merit that adheres to my glasses via a suction cup. If you haven't tried one, you're in for a real treat, as it makes the sights incredibly crisp and clear. I even use it with red dot sights, as it removes any fuzziness from the dot.

Just curious - Have either of you ever seen a flintlock pistol stocked in maple burl? I ask because I have a good sized piece of highly figured maple burl in the basement and I suspect that it's about the right size for a flintlock pistol. Do you know of any reason why I shouldn't use burl for a pistol stock (other than it being a pain to work with)?
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