My late grandpa gave me a rifle that’s one of my most prizedpossessions and it’s in pretty rough shape. It’s an old percussion cap muzzleloader that was put in an attic when hemoved into their last house. At the timeit was put up there in great shape, but the moisture got to it and currentlynow it looks like something that was found in the bottom of a river.
The story behind the rifle: Bear in mind this is how I remember an old man telling me this story sodates are approximate. My Grandpa grewup in Ohio and used to cut and bring an elderly lady firewood when he was a boyabout 7 – 8 years old. One day as herway of thanking him the lady she called him to come over to a closet where shepulled out this rifle. She told him thatshe had it when she was a little girl his age when they moved into Ohio andthat she used it to shoot chicken hawks. My Grandpa was in his late seventies when he gave me this rifle and hesaid the elderly lady was probably about his age when she gave it to him. I don’t know the exact dates or where I couldeven find them, but it’s an incredibly old rifle.
I know it broke my Grandpa’s heart when he pulled his oldprized muzzleloader down from the attic to give to me and saw it for the firsttime in years. He just didn’t know whatto say about how bad the moisture had gotten to the rifle and how rusted up itwas. I know it wasn’t in the conditionthat he wanted to pass the rifle along in.
With that in mind I’d like to know if there’s any hope toget this old rifle back into fully functioning condition. Now obviously I’m not talking about using anyfull power loads or trying to blast something huge with it. My goal in fixing up this rifle would be toget it in good enough condition that all of his grandsons could fire a verylight load out of it just to say they fired it. When I say a lite load, I’m talking about the rifle going bang and thebullet hitting a pile of dirt 50’ away. Nothing too exciting, but I want to know the rifle works. I don’t really want to just have the gun setaround for the rest of my life as a wall hanger, and I know my grandpa and Iagreed that guns are meant to be shot and owned by those who appreciateit.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve inquired about gettingthis rifle fixed up. About a year or twobefore Grandpa passed I took the rifle to a gunsmith I’d known and trusted withmany firearms over the years in Fort Wayne. That gunsmith is no longer with us but even after a year and a half henever got the rifle to where it’s function and fire because everything was sofar rusted shut. I know he was anoutstanding gunsmith, but I don’t know that he specialized in antiquemuzzleloaders in all fairness to him.
The whole reason this came up is because we recently movedand I had to dig this rifle out of the back of the safe for transport. Holding the rifle brought back memories and Iknow it’d make my grandpa happy if I got the thing shooting again. It’s not a rifle I’m going to go shoot a lot,but some day when I teach my kids about their grandpa, I’d like to be able tolet them take a shot with this old rifle and tell them a story or two abouthim.
If you know of anyone out there who could help me get anantique muzzleloader back up and running I’d sure appreciate the lead. Preferably in north east Indiana, but if notI can live with going farther away from home.
The story behind the rifle: Bear in mind this is how I remember an old man telling me this story sodates are approximate. My Grandpa grewup in Ohio and used to cut and bring an elderly lady firewood when he was a boyabout 7 – 8 years old. One day as herway of thanking him the lady she called him to come over to a closet where shepulled out this rifle. She told him thatshe had it when she was a little girl his age when they moved into Ohio andthat she used it to shoot chicken hawks. My Grandpa was in his late seventies when he gave me this rifle and hesaid the elderly lady was probably about his age when she gave it to him. I don’t know the exact dates or where I couldeven find them, but it’s an incredibly old rifle.
I know it broke my Grandpa’s heart when he pulled his oldprized muzzleloader down from the attic to give to me and saw it for the firsttime in years. He just didn’t know whatto say about how bad the moisture had gotten to the rifle and how rusted up itwas. I know it wasn’t in the conditionthat he wanted to pass the rifle along in.
With that in mind I’d like to know if there’s any hope toget this old rifle back into fully functioning condition. Now obviously I’m not talking about using anyfull power loads or trying to blast something huge with it. My goal in fixing up this rifle would be toget it in good enough condition that all of his grandsons could fire a verylight load out of it just to say they fired it. When I say a lite load, I’m talking about the rifle going bang and thebullet hitting a pile of dirt 50’ away. Nothing too exciting, but I want to know the rifle works. I don’t really want to just have the gun setaround for the rest of my life as a wall hanger, and I know my grandpa and Iagreed that guns are meant to be shot and owned by those who appreciateit.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve inquired about gettingthis rifle fixed up. About a year or twobefore Grandpa passed I took the rifle to a gunsmith I’d known and trusted withmany firearms over the years in Fort Wayne. That gunsmith is no longer with us but even after a year and a half henever got the rifle to where it’s function and fire because everything was sofar rusted shut. I know he was anoutstanding gunsmith, but I don’t know that he specialized in antiquemuzzleloaders in all fairness to him.
The whole reason this came up is because we recently movedand I had to dig this rifle out of the back of the safe for transport. Holding the rifle brought back memories and Iknow it’d make my grandpa happy if I got the thing shooting again. It’s not a rifle I’m going to go shoot a lot,but some day when I teach my kids about their grandpa, I’d like to be able tolet them take a shot with this old rifle and tell them a story or two abouthim.
If you know of anyone out there who could help me get anantique muzzleloader back up and running I’d sure appreciate the lead. Preferably in north east Indiana, but if notI can live with going farther away from home.
