Squirrel rifle finished

[hondo1892]

Finished up the Tennessee squirrel rifle last week. It should have been done a week or two sooner. However I didn't like the way it was looking the first two times I started putting the finish on. So I had to do what the wood wanted to do rather than the finish I wanted. It's a love hate relationship with wood and me. I love wood stocks but being a natural product it has a mind of its own. Some times it doesn't agree with my thinking though. I do like how it turned out but I look at these rifles as art as well as a shootin iron. As art I have a finish picked out in my head but my mentor taught me to be flexible because one piece of wood takes a finish different from the next. Never had a little .32 before and could really get it to shoot well. I know its just a matter of finding the right combination of powder, patch, ball and lube but I can't hold it up any longer. The customer is pretty pumped about getting it in his hands. So it will be heading out this week.

[Chuck 100 yd]

That came out great. Iron mounted rifles are my favorites. Simple is best IMHO. To much bling and they
Kinda look like they belong to a dude. That one is just right.

[Walker]

Just amazing!

[gamekeeper]

Beautiful, it looks like it just stepped straight out of history.......

[6pt-sika]

Very nice !

So when you gonna make a 40 cal Scheetz from about the 1810-1820 time period

[guido4198]

VERY nicely done.
I followed your earlier thread when you had it in the white, and appreciate seeing the finished product.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm still enjoying 40 cal. for my flintlocks, but I have a craving for a .32 that won't seem to go away..

[.45colt]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[hondo1892]

Thanks guys. I really like how it turned out, it just isn't the finish I first had planned.

[hondo1892]

So when you gonna make a 40 cal Scheetz from about the 1810-1820 time period

When someone orders one.

[Griff]

Very nice.

[Ysabel Kid]

This post really, really, REALLY needed the ol' "drool warning". I think I just ruined my keyboard!

[Rusty]

Very nice!

[rjohns94]

Beautiful work

[hfcable]

that is so beautiful its almost painful !

being from the southeastern mountans originally that one really calls to me.

[Pete44ru]

The customer is pretty pumped about getting it in his hands.

Shucks - I'm not even yer customer, and I'm pretty pumped, myself, just eyeballing your work.

You've done very well....

[stew71]

Holy cow is that pretty. Gorgeous.

I hope we get a range report on it.

[Lassiter]

You do beautiful work!

[Alphawolf45]

I agree , beautiful work.. But as a rifle to shoot squirrels I think it is lacking profoundly. Though I know there are persons capable of clean kills with one shot on squirrels with nearly every shot I suspect that group of shooters is dying out rapidly.......I am an offhand silhouette shooter (AAA Class) that has built more Lever action AND single shot rifles than virtually anybody else online. But I would never shoot at a squirrel with a single shot rifle. .Never, not when other guns are available having that second or third shot that might save the suffering for the squirrel. You all suit yourself. You haven't ever hunted squirrels if you haven't shot one out of a tree and then couldn't find it.
I'd like to have that rifle's twin But I would never ever use it on squirrels. One shot just isn't enough fairly often. I am old enough and hurt bad enough every day that I don't wish this pain or worse on any other creature.

[hfcable]

maybe....but these little 32s, depending on how they are loaded,. seem to hit with a lot more authority than even a 22 magnum

I suspect a lot of us grew up hunting with single shot 22s and learning to make the shot count....not saying I never lost a squirrel of course....but to be absolutely sure of never losing one you might wind up blowing them into pieces.

I certainly do use a repeater now myself, I admit

[harry]

Very very nice rifle, but I guess all of us black powder rifle hunters are going to have to stop hunting because we only have one shot. Of course I'm not a AAA paper shooter but I do feed my family with a single shot.

[hondo1892]

Never shot a squirrel with a .32 but a lot of folks I know have. They all say if your shot doesn't hit the head you will loose a lot of meat. I have shot them with a .36 and that leaves a big hole in a squirrel.
As far as repeaters and squirrels go, I've lost some using 10/22's and pump 20 ga. shotguns. Extra shots don't always get the squirrel either.

[JReed]

That is a stunning peice of craftsmanship. Your customer is going to love the 32 I have one and not only is it a pleasure to shoot but it will give any of my 22's a run for the money in the accuracy department.

[RIHMFIRE]

that is awesome!

[hondo1892]

This is the best range report I will be able to give and its not very much. We've been having so much rain that I haven't been able to get much shooting done. I went to regulate the sights and got off about three rounds and it started raining. So I waited a till I had a day without rain and tried it again. I did try two different charge weights and three different lubes but never could get it to group. My experience has been the smaller the caliber the more choosey they are about the load components. My last .40 wouldn't shoot unless you had the right lube. With the right lube you could use just about any patch or charge and it would shoot. I figure this rifle will be the same way. Once the right patch and ball combo or lube is found it will shoot really well. The target in the photo has about an inch and a quarter square penciled in on it. Three balls went into it and four missed. The ones that missed, three to the right and one went low. Don't have a clew why the one hit low because I kept the same sight picture on all shots. I was shooting 25 and 30 grains of Goex in fffg with a .310 ball and .018 pillow ticking. The lubes I tried were bear grease, spit and Mr. Flintlocks. Thicker patch material may have helped I just don't know without testing. This rifle has a really fast ignition on it so the poor group wasn't caused by lag time. All shooting was done at 25 yards and from a bench. When I regulate sights I want a bench and sand bags to make sure the rifle is stating a steady as possible. I plan on making a planer one after hours just so I can play with it for a while before it moves down the road.

[Pete44ru]

.

FWIW, I've seen a few guys that couldn't shoot groups that tight with a Winchester Model 52......

BTW - That's one good-lookin' powder horn, right there ! .


.

[mikld]

Beautiful rifle! Reminds me of when I was in High School in Dallas. One student worked on, assembled and polished all the metal parts of his "Squirrel Gun" in Metal Shop. The stock was contoured and finished in Wood Shop. Never happen today!

Are we seeing a "Protect The Poor Squill Population" movement? I was told, by my country friends, that squirrels were just rats with fluffy tails that lived in trees...

[Griff]

Are we seeing a "Protect The Poor Squill Population" movement? I was told, by my country friends, that squirrels were just rats with fluffy tails that lived in trees...

Guess my wife ain't as "country" as she thinks... still thinks they're cute, furry & harmless. If only they'd eat crickets... they'd be useful.

[Lastmohecken]

Beautiful rifle, I have a .62 smoothbore flinter that I want to hunt squirrels with. I have not had the time to mess with, but I had another one for while, not nearly as nice as the one I have now, but it was still a blast to hunt squirrels with, using #6 shot. The only bad this was, that it was loud, and the forest got quite for quite a while after I shot a squirrel, so it took a while to find the next one.

But with .22's I might miss a squirrel, but frankly I can't recall not getting the squirrel after I hit one, although I might have to stomp one in the head once in a while. Where I have had problems with both squirrels and rabbits is with the bow. I have lost a few that run off with my arrow still in them.

[hondo1892]

Pete44 thanks, I make horns and other shooting accoutrements to get a short break from rifle building. This one isn't finished yet though. Needs some more aging on it. It is in the southern style with a turned horn band on it and big domed plug at the rear.

[Dave]

That gun is really something

[Bill in Oregon]

The rifle and the accoutrements are simply lovely. I am sure you will get that rifle to shoot, Hondo, and it sounds like you have the patience and experience to do so. Really love the stock architecture and the style of the iron furniture.

[Nath]

I have gone

Absolutely amazed, not just in the rifle but your skill too!

Re the groups, the barrel may well need to be shot in!
Some new barrels are hard on patches for a while.

Check the shot ones for tares.

N.