Kentucky rifle restoration project

[jke]

An old and very well worn Kentucky rifle that I am dusting off and doing a few minor repairs to.:-D
Here are some "before" pictures, and I will post more pictures as I progress.

[Øyvind F.]

Nice, it will be interesting to follow the progress. I like the Duct tape repair on the wrist. :-D

Do you know anything about the history of the rifle?

[tommy303]

Is there a maker's name anywhere upon it?  It appears to be an 1850s Southern-style plain or squirrel rifle.

[jke]

It was my wife's grandfathers rifle, but he bought late in his life. There is a small silver disk on top of the wrist under the duck tape that someone scratched 1875 on it. The lockplate has some engraving on it and looks as if it might have been made in England. There are no other marks on the gun that I have found yet.
Perhaps once I have finished it I will shoot it a few times but it will probably be more of a wall hanger.


 

[jke]

No, No makers name that I have found.

[Fabian23]

I doubt it is British made, engraved in the British style perhaps...

Looks like a good project.  Have fun cutting the patch box inlay :ikkeverdig:

[jke]

I really do not know much about Kentucky rifles. But I have heard that sometimes they imported the locks and built the rest of the gun. Much like many countries imported Belgian parts and finished the guns themselves.

Sorry Øyvind the duct tape had to go:-D :-D . Once I removed the tape I found the stock to be split into three pieces. So it had to be glued up twice. Here are a couple pictures of the finished splice. With two 1/4" X 5" threaded rods on the inside to help hold it.

[Fabian23]

Wow, I can hardly see it :clap:

[jke]

Just a quick update on how things are going. I am trying to do as little to the gun as possible and still make it look "good"... That sounds a lot easier than it really is.;-) ;-) In fact I think it might be more difficult than making it look new.

[m poorman]

that is a great job ,, are you a professional restorer?

[jke]

Hello m poorman,

No, I am not a professional, I just like to repair old rifles and pistols to a non-abused condition.

[Charlotte]

Thanks for posting all the pictures. They really help. I work at a local museum and we were given a KY squirrel rifle last week. Looks pretty much like the one you have restored (minus the duct tape). Ours is not as fancy though. I am the research/cataloguer and it is my job to come up with a reasonable description of the item. It really helps to find entries like yours on the web. Cause I don't know nothin' about them things, but I sure am learning a lot.
Thanks again. Great job. CAK

[jke]

Hello Charlotte,
Very glad we could help you out.
If you have any questions just let us know.

John