# A little eye candy for Muzzle loaders



## mmarkey

This is my first build for 2015.

It's a JP Beck that I just finished. It is my version of a rifle that appears in "Rifles of Colonial America, Vol. II" Rifle number 101. I hope I did it justice. 

The original rifle is on display at Eagle Museum, Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

It's built around a 42", 50 Cal. Rice profile B barrel. the lock is a Chambers Golden age flintlock. The stock is very tight curly maple from Tiger Hunt. The patch box, Ram rod pipes, side plate and forged 1-piece nose cap are hand made by me. The Trigger guard and butt plate are castings from Track of the Wolf.


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## Nicodemus

Aw man......


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## mmarkey

Thanks Nic


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## JustUs4All

Beautiful.


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## flyfisher76544

Very nice!!


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## Bernard goldsmith

MMARKEY when I die an collect my insurance I think I want one!! Nice job!! See you at Blue Ridge.
Bernie Goldsmith
Field Rep NMLRA


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## White Horse

What a beauty! It's in my favorite style of rifle, though really it's hard for me to say which is my favorite. I love the early Pennsylvania/Kentucky style, the Golden Age style, and the 19th Century Plains style.


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## aabradley82

Beautiful rifle built by an excellent artist.


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## rhbama3

Absolutely gorgeous! That stock is stunning!


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## tcward

A work of art!


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## SASS249

Very Nice.  Beck rifles just look right to me.


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## Sargent

Wow...

Nice work!


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## Nugefan

some kinda nice , even though the lock is on the wrong side ...


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## NCHillbilly

Sweet!  That is one beautiful rifle. I live right down the road from L.C. Rice, he's a great guy and has a fascinating collection of stuff and a great wealth of knowledge. I think he's retired out of the family barrel business now, but still tunes locks for Chambers.


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## mmarkey

Thanks for all the fine comments, I appreciate them. The next rifle is just beginning production.


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## hunterofopportunity

That is a beauty almost to pretty to hunt with.Did you stain the stock or rub it with oil,it looks fantastic.


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## mmarkey

hunterofopportunity said:


> That is a beauty almost to pretty to hunt with.Did you stain the stock or rub it with oil,it looks fantastic.



Thank you, I'm glad you said "Almost" it was build to use with the best barrel and lock available. I appreciate your comment.

The stock was colored with an alcohol based stain using multiple applications of different colors and a rubbed oil finish. Multiple colors of stain were also applied as glazes between coats of oil finish to help emphasize the carving detail. This application gives a nice depth of finish and doesn't obscure the beautiful wood grain.


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## mmarkey

NCHillbilly said:


> Sweet!  That is one beautiful rifle. I live right down the road from L.C. Rice, he's a great guy and has a fascinating collection of stuff and a great wealth of knowledge. I think he's retired out of the family barrel business now, but still tunes locks for Chambers.



Thank you, I try to use Rice barrels as long as I can get them, and Chambers locks are my favorite. I think you're right about L.C. Rice, I too believe he is no longer involved with the family barrel business, he BUILDS locks for Chambers sort of semi-retired.


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## frankwright

Beautiful piece of work!


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## AliBubba

Great craftsmanship!


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## Wrangler Hunter

very beautiful


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## mmarkey

Thank you all.


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## muzzy17is

very nice, I've been collecting the parts that I find at flea markets to build me one.


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## Lorren68

You are such a tease


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## chobrown

That is awesome


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## turkeykirk

That is a beautiful piece of work (art).


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## fflintlock

That is some beautiful work right there. 
I'm torn between the Track, Beck kit, or the Chambers, Smooth bore rifle kit. I'm no where near your talent in building a rifle, but I do enjoy them flintlocks.
Beautiful rifle you have there !


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## mmarkey

Thank you Gentlemen, I appreciate the comments.


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## dawg2

Very nice!  My favorite flint caliber too!


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## mmarkey

fflintlock said:


> That is some beautiful work right there.
> I'm torn between the Track, Beck kit, or the Chambers, Smooth bore rifle kit. I'm no where near your talent in building a rifle, but I do enjoy them flintlocks.
> Beautiful rifle you have there !



Both kits would be an excellent choice to build. Just be aware that these kits are not "Drop in ready to go". You are getting essentially a collection of parts that will build into a rifle in the style you are interested in. For example all the inlets will require precision work to make parts fit and work properly. The barrel will require additional inletting work to fit into the stock the lock is only about half inletted. Then there is the final shaping and finishing to be done to the wood and all the metal parts. 
          I'm not trying to discourage you but just trying to make you aware. If you are handy with woodworking and have good attention to detail, do it. As an additional word of advice get a copy of _"The Gunsmith of Grenville County"_ It will walk you through building a rifle from beginning to end and save you from many mistakes.
          Good luck with your project.


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## Supercracker

fflintlock said:


> That is some beautiful work right there.
> I'm torn between the Track, Beck kit, or the Chambers, Smooth bore rifle kit. I'm no where near your talent in building a rifle, but I do enjoy them flintlocks.
> Beautiful rifle you have there !



Chambers kits are hands down the better choice over TOW.  Not sure who is doing ToWs precarved stocks now but I've built 3 guns from ToW kits and on all three I spent more time dealing with misalignments or off center RR holes than I would have spent just starting with a blank.  On one the RR groove was centered at the muzzle but by the time it got to the entry pipe it was 1/4" off.  

I've built one rifle from Chambers kit and it was as good as it gets. The RR groove was straight, the breech was where it needed to be and the grain orientation was good. 

Also, if you're not in a hurry at all, look at Knob Mountain.  He has a really big selection of profiles for his precarve stocks, more than anyone else, and the work is top notch.  The downside is that it will likely take months for him to get to your stock. A testament to how good his work is. Of course, that also means you have the chance to pick out your own wood from whoever you like and have them send it to him. You could also get the lock and hardware ahead of time and start the process of polishing and tuning everything before the barrel and stock arrive. 

Right now I'm finishing up a 16ga Officers Carbine based on a Knob Mountain English Fowler pattern. I'll post pics when it's done. 

I also have a late Jaeger precarve done by him with one of the first Rice Forsyth barrels. It's going to make a sledgehammer of a late flint period Jaeger rifle. 


The little bit more money you'll spend with chambers is money well spent.

If you get a precarved stock from Knob Mountain this is what you'll get. 










That's also pretty much what you get with a chambers or TOW precarve.  They'll leave a little less meat on the forend though.

If you can swing it, make the trip up to Dixons Gunmakers Fair.  You'll get the chance to see originals, talk to truly master builders and can probably pick up your "kit" from Chambers or Knob while you're there. The biggy is the seminars though.  For your first build sitting through a few hours of that (free) instruction is worth its weight in gold.


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## dpoole

Sir that is a very fine fiece of work. I admire your skills !! I can build a self bow from a hickory tree,and knapp a arrow head  but that i cant do!! great workmanship !! and true to original style !!!


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## fflintlock

I've built a couple of kits and built one from scratch too. It took awhile to build the last one. Its the 45 cal iron mounted in my avitar. I sold it last year to purchase a smoothbore, which i still have. I'm really liking that Chamber's kit and believe that's the one I'm going to get.


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## mmarkey

dpoole said:


> Sir that is a very fine fiece of work. I admire your skills !! I can build a self bow from a hickory tree,and knapp a arrow head  but that i cant do!! great workmanship !! and true to original style !!!



If you've got the skills to build a bow from a tree, don't sell yourself short. A little research and I'm certain you'll be able to come up with a very respectable long rifle.


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## mmarkey

fflintlock said:


> I've built a couple of kits and built one from scratch too. It took awhile to build the last one. Its the 45 cal iron mounted in my avitar. I sold it last year to purchase a smoothbore, which i still have. I'm really liking that Chamber's kit and believe that's the one I'm going to get.



Chambers kits are an excellent choice. Good luck with it. and post it when it's done.


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## southerndraw

What would Daniel boone have given for a rifle like that? WOW!!


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## swamp hunter

Like a Beautiful Woman.
You just want to pick it up and feel it....good job!


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## hambone76

Gorgeous rifle. Truly, a work of art!


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## quigleysharps4570

mmarkey said:


> The next rifle is just beginning production.



Update on this MM? Fine work you do.


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## mmarkey

quigleysharps4570 said:


> Update on this MM? Fine work you do.



Thank you, This rifle has been sold some time ago.


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## quigleysharps4570

Good Lord...that is one beautiful rifle! If I had the cash, it would sure enough have a new owner.  Will sure be looking forward to seeing more of your work. BTW...my little .40 caliber longrifle was built by a gentleman in your state. She's a shooter.


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## bfriendly

That is NUTS! Are you allowed to shoot it? Mantle piece for sure!


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## Ron Wilkerson

That is one nice gun!


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## pine nut

You make that look easy.  I know it is a lot of work, and you did an outstanding job!


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## mmarkey

Thanks Gents, I appreciate the comments, and bfriendly I know what you're saying, but all my rifles are made to shoot and are not just pretty wall hangers. I would be disappointed if they were not used. The parts are all the best available and shoot more reliably than ANY commercially available flintlocks.


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## JustUs4All

Anyone should be proud to own and shoot one of your masterpieces.


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## 1776Flintlock

Congrats! Looks nice, how does it shoot? Any pattern pics?


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## mmarkey

1776Flintlock said:


> Congrats! Looks nice, how does it shoot? Any pattern pics?



Thanks, I'm glad you like my work. I can't speak to how this rifle shoots, since when I build them to sell I don't shoot them. Everyone sights in a little differently so that process I leave for the new owner. But I believe that all my rifles shoot better than they look. I have a 36 cal and a 50 cal that I do shoot, and they both shoot great. My shooting abilities don't hold a candle to the guns. lol.  What do you mean by pattern pics?


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## Triple C

1st time I've seen this thread.  Man...that thing definitely has the WOW factor!!!  Absolutely beautiful piece of work.  Congrats to you on using your obvious gift to create a heirloom piece of work.  I'd be proud to pass that thing down to my grandson.


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## pdsniper

Beautiful rifle looks a lot like the hand made Hawken I have a a friend built for me several years ago the stock for it came from Tiger Hunt as well its a presentation grade tiger maple stock he put tack work on it and silver wire inlays on it and did a beautiful job just like the awesome job you did on yours nice work


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## Miguel Cervantes

Beautiful craftsmanship. Nicely done.


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