The black powder cartridge news TruePDF spring 2019

Here at The BPC News, we have always held to the motto, “For Shooters, By Shooters.” This means that rather than give subscribers shooting “fluff,” we try to provide solid information t

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Spring 2019 – Issue No 105

In this Issue:

From the Editor 2

Steve Garbe

About the Cover 4

Little Big Shoot

The Don KettelkampSingle Shot Stalking Rifle Shoot 6

Tom Schiffer

Testing Different Bullet-Nose Shapes 12

Steve Brooks

Horatio Ross & the “Queen of the Forest” 16

Miles Gilbert & James Donohue

• Peter Bergerson - Cheyenne Rifleman Steve Garbe

• Jim Gier Memorial Schuetzen Match Cody Smith

Match Results 56

• Smithmoor Winter 22 BPCR Series Cody Smith

• Richard Hicks Slug Gun Memorial Match Mark Barnhill

Competitions 60

Advertisers’ Index 68

The Black Powder Cartridge News

magazine is written by shooters for shooters –

whether you’re hunting, collecting or competing.

Publisher/President - Don Polacek

Editor in Chief - Steven P Garbe

Managing Editor - Sheryll P Garbe

Copy Editor - Andrew Buskey Art Director - Chris Downs Production Director - Becky Pinkley

Graphic Designer - Matthew West

Contributing Writers:

Croft Barker, Steve Bookout, Miles Gilbert,

Bob Glodt, Don Kettelkamp, Mike Nesbitt, Tom Oppel,

Cal Pappas, Harvey Pennington, Leo Remiger,

Cody Smith, Zac Taylor

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From the Editor

Steve Garbe

Walk the Walk

I ’d like to bring up a topic that I have touched on in

the past, but I think it bears repeating Recently, I

had become curious about a different shooting discipline

Interested about what equipment was used, I thought I’d

pick up a magazine that featured articles and results from

several of the matches that were held across the U.S I was

disappointed, however, as the winners of each match were

listed, but there wasn’t really much mentioned in the way of

what they had used to garner the win It actually took a good

bit of looking on the Internet to draw some conclusions as to

what was being used by the top shooters, how much the rifle

and equipment would cost and who to contact in case I was

interested in participating

While I was on the Internet, I visited several BPCR

and Schuetzen websites and noticed more than a couple of

“threads” dedicated to how we, as black powder cartridge

shooters, need to promote our sports, get new people

involved, introduce young shooters to the sport and the

general cheerleading that is necessary if we want to see our

vintage-rifle disciplines grow I couldn’t argue with any of the

suggestions, knowing all too well that it takes effort on the

part of all and real dedication from a few to keep matches

going year after year

Then it was time to begin work on another issue and as

always, we try to include match results and equipment lists

that are sent to us from match directors Some of the reported

matches only included scores, and the few that had equipment

lists were far from complete It’s no fault of the individuals that

took it upon themselves to gather up equipment lists from the

participating competitors; some shooters simply jotted down

the barest of information in regard to rifles and loads used

To be honest, much of what was provided wouldn’t have

been very useful to a prospective competitor trying to make

important (and expensive) decisions on what to buy in order

to participate in our sports

Now, it’s not my intention to come across as your

nagging Aunt Martha Whether or not a competitor fills out

an equipment list is entirely up to them, as it is up to a match

director to go through the bother of providing forms and then

gathering them up Having a little experience in this regard, I

can say that match directors generally are under-appreciated

and short-handed; it’s very easily understood how getting

equipment lists would simply be yet another job on a long list

of necessary things to get done

All that being said, let me point out a few things that

weigh on the plus side of equipment lists There is no better advertisement for a manufacturer of shooting equipment than

to see shooters, especially top shooters, using its products If you as a match director have sent out “gimme” letters in the hopes of having merchandise donated for prizes, having an equipment list published is a great way of giving something back to the folks who support your match Prospective customers will read what is being used and will contact the company when they decide to outfit themselves for competition

Match results and accompanying equipment lists are also

a “reloading manual” of sorts for new shooters As publishers,

we caution folks to use judgment and common sense when

it comes to published data, but a good equipment list will let

a tyro know that entering a 1,000-yard competition with a 32-40 is not something that should be tried That’s a bit of

an exaggeration, but I think you get the idea The equipment list that is provided from a match has the added advantage

of giving an idea of what worked and what didn’t This is something that store-bought manuals don’t generally provide

Here at The BPC News, we have always held to the

motto, “For Shooters, By Shooters.” This means that rather than give subscribers shooting “fluff,” we try to provide solid information that one can actually use in reloading and shooting black powder cartridge rifles Many firearms magazines do not provide match scores, let alone equipment lists, most likely for the reason that space in a magazine equals advertising dollars Reporting on a match is one thing, but using up space with the “nuts and bolts” is many times

regarded as unnecessary We disagree The BPC News has

a standard form for reporting scores and equipment lists available free of charge to any match director Simply contact

us (sheryll@wolfepub.com) and we will forward those layout forms to you Priority on publication has always been placed

on match scores accompanied by an equipment list

In my experience as a match director, I have occasionally been told by some shooters, “I’m not going to give out my hard-earned information so that some new guy can beat me

at the next match.” My personal feelings are if those are a shooter’s sentiments, they are going to be out-shot at the next match simply because they need to work on their mental game Thinking that the only way to win a match is because

of some “secret” edge clearly shows a lack of confidence If that’s your crutch, you will eventually fall flat on your face I’ve had match directors tell me that they have given up

About the Cover

Our cover photo in this issue is from

our good friend Mr Tom Schiffer;

black powder shooter, riverboat

captain and general gun crank who

is known to frequent the immediate

area of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky Tom

was there at Rabbit Hash when

the Don Kettelkamp Single Shot

Stalking Rifle Shoot was pulled off

The cover shows rifleman Jim Poyner

addressing the “knock-down” target

with his 450-.400 (2 3 ⁄ 8 ) Boss single

shot rifle.

Tom has provided us with a full

report on the Kettelkamp shoot, which

will be of interest to anyone who has

an appreciation for fine stalking

rifles of either English or German

persuasion Check out Tom’s article

in this issue for all the particulars,

and see if you don’t agree that these

guys had way too much fun.

trying to get competitors to fill out equipment lists at matches

because people said they couldn’t be bothered I don’t think

I’ve ever been to a match where at some point I didn’t have

five minutes to fill out an equipment list form

We all talk about getting new people into our sport by being

positive, helping beginners get started, loaning equipment and

the like Providing something as simple as an equipment list at the next match is a great way of promoting our sport, helps out the match director and takes a minimum of your time If we

“talk the talk” about making our black powder shooting sports grow, we also need to “walk the walk.” C

– Gut Ziel

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T his shoot was originally conceived by Bob Woodfill,

the African hunting enthusiast of Vevay, Indiana It

was respectfully named for Don Kettelkamp, a modern-day

African hunter, who wrote prolifically about his African

experiences with the late Don Malsen in a 1996 book,

Hunting Southern Africa with Muzzle Loading Rifles Don

Kettelkamp also wrote black powder hunting articles, too

numerous to mention, for Muzzle Blasts, the house organ of

the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association These articles

started about 1980

Another avid hunter Randy Cochran bought a fair-sized

farm near Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, and established it as a

tree farm A serious sportsman, he built two cabins on it and

used the original farmhouse as a bunk house/storage area A

number of his friends congregate there each fall to hunt the

many deer on the farm The Don Kettelkamp Shoot was

created with Randy’s full cooperation

Two years before this event, a group met here to indulge

in some English stalking rifle shooting The shoot was

Little Big Shoot

The Don Kettelkamp Single Shot Stalking Rifle Shoot

Tom Schiffer

designed and run by Bob Woodfill, who is no stranger to running memorable invitational matches in Indiana While primarily for English stalking rifles, two German rifles among the English examples attracted the attention of the German Gun Collectors Association (GGCA)

Dialogue about these two rifles led to an invitation for some GGCA members to attend the 2017 shoot While the focus was originally on English-made stalking rifles, German stalking rifles were displayed in some numbers at the 2017 event Such was the enthusiasm that the decision was made to

do it again in 2018, and even more German rifles appeared

On October 27, 2018, this group of stalwart, historically minded shooters met to engage in a joint German/English stalking rifle shoot Participants from the GGCA, American Single Shot Rifle Association (ASSRA) and National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) were represented, although no muzzle loading rifles appeared in 2018 due to the time constraints of the match

The definition of a stalking rifle is a bit less than

Present at the dedication on October 7, 2017, were shoot founder, Bob Woodfill (right) and Don Kettelkamp, the African hunter for who the competition was named.

universally agreed upon, but with this group, the focus was on

light, single shot rifles of English or German origin intended

for deer-size game They were of tip-up (Kipplauf ) or

falling-block design While scopes and aperture sights are seen on

many stalking rifles of the current day, the use of scope or

peep sights in this match resulted, by the rules, in cutting a

shooter’s score in half!

There were no repeating rifles at this event All of the

cartridges used with the exception of three (a 30-06, a 7x57

and a 7.92x57) were introduced as black powder cartridges,

and all but three of the stalking rifles used in this match were

antique

Many people wonder if “Rabbit Hash” is actually a real

place, and if so, where is it? Rabbit Hash is indeed a real place and is located on the Ohio River (river mile 506.1) on the west side of the northern-most part of Boone county in Kentucky But this particular farm is within a few hundred yards of where Lick Creek flows south into the Ohio River

at mile 512.0 – some six miles from Rabbit Hash This seeming anomaly is occasioned by the snake-like Ohio River flowing back to the east at this point Some wags say the Ohio River got as far as Rabbit Hash and decided to go back

to Pittsburgh! If so, it soon met tough-going and resumed its gentle meandering westward to the Mississippi And, yes, Indiana is south of Kentucky at this exact point, and the sun goes down “up river”! (As an aside, passengers on the

A table full of fine German stalking rifles.

Tom Devers, president of the GGCA, giving a

presentation about German stalking rifles at

the Don Kettelkamp Shoot on October 7, 2017.

Fairly typical of the German rifles used in this match, this

Kipplauf has double-set triggers This rifle has had a Lyman

sight added which was designed for the Model 99 Savage It

is chambered in 8.15x46R Belonging to the author, his score did not attract enough attention to be cut in half, through no fault of the rifle or load It delivered a three-shot group of 1.25 inches at 100 yards but scared nobody at the match.

steamboat Delta Queen were warned about river pirates with

a cannon down a bit past Rabbit Hash and on the Kentucky

side Details are sketchy, and the statute of limitations may

have expired, but that’s another story.)

This was held to be a really fun shoot by all participants

It will be noted that bundled-up clothing, damp/cold weather,

inadequate preparation, and age were mitigating factors on

some of the scores! Nearly, if not all shooters had reached their

half-century mark and at least one was in his 84th year All

that having been said, there was some very excellent shooting

exhibited by the top competitors Several days of rain had

come grudgingly to a stop that morning, but the ground was

slippery and boots weighed heavily with mud

The hospitality was great The environs arrayed in fall’s

splendid colors, and Randy opened his cabins to the few who

spent their nights there A “pitch-in” dinner was held the

night before at Randy Cochran’s house overlooking the Ohio

River above Rabbit Hash An impressive array of rifles were brought in by the shooters and displayed in Randy’s shop.The next day’s shooting was done at Randy’s tree farm Shooters started to arrive about 10:00 in the morning A chronograph was set up and the velocity of cartridges were

The “show and tell” session on Friday night saw some

interesting hardware brought in by the shooters.

Some of the German guns showed impressive engraving.

A feast of pulled pork and buffalo wings with all the fixins greeted

appetites sharpened by the day’s shooting and damp/cold

weather Those interested in “sundowners” were indulged after all

the rifles were put away A cadre of helpers were recruited to aid

the shooters, operate the more animated targets and serve food

Four ATVs were there to carry those less sure-footed among us.

The running deer target can be seen above Roscoe’s (shooter) right elbow It is controlled by the “trapper” on the right The deer is suspended from a trolley run by a garage door opener – geared to run a great deal faster than your garage door!

Don Kettelkamp Shoot • Rifles & Handloads

competitor caliber mfg./action bullet diameter bullet weight powder charge velocity

(inches) (grains) (grains) (fps)

Hoeweler 8.15x46 Greifelt/Tip-up 318 180 IMR-4198 15.0 1,375 Devers 8.15x46 Greifelt/Falling Blk 316 160 factory ND 1,354 Poynor 450/.400 (2 3/8) Boss/Tip-up 411 240 OE BP 85.0 1,449

G Freking 8x51 Bruns Ghf/Tip-up 319 180 IMR-4227 14.0 1,490 Stephenson 450 (3¼) Henry/Falling Blk 459 330 OE BP 110.0 1,727

Simpson 303 British Ruger No.1/Falling Blk 314 210 RL-7 27.5 1,871 Wilt 303 British Gibbs/Farquharson 314 205 Unique 14.0 1,516 Spencer 8.15x46R Unknown/Falling Blk 316 160 factory ND 1,353

D Cochran 9.3x72R Unknown/Tip-up 359 200 IMR-4227 18.0 1,420 Rowe 303 British Gibbs/Farquharson 306 200 IMR-4227 19.2 1,456 Woodfill 303 British Jeffery/Farquharson 312 185 IMR-4895 24.0 1,448

Schiffer 8.15x46R Unknown/Tip-up 325 170 IMR-4227 11.0 1,345

R Cochran 450/.400 Churchill/Tip-up 418 240 IMR-4198 32.0 ND

Mink 7x57 Ruger No 1/Falling Blk 284 140 A-2520 27.1 1,870

Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data Listed loads are only valid in the test firearms used.

recorded A canopy and ample seating accommodated a talk

given by African hunter and GGCA Director, Gary Fatheree

The subject was black powder hunting in Africa, especially

concerning the things you need to know if you go At noon,

a fine luncheon preceded the shooting

The shooters were divided into four squads and each squad started on a different part of the course Nine steel-plate swingers were set at various distances in the woods from about 50 to 130 yards These were static targets until hit Cool deliberation could be indulged in addressing the two shots required at each But, there were two dynamic targets

to get the shooter’s juices flowing! A “running deer” and a

“charging boar” were targets that were moving and bouncing right along! Then, there was a knock-down target that took a rifle with real authority to knock it down

As this article is written for The BPC News, the focus

here is black powder Two of the more successful shooters were Jim Poynor and Roscoe Stephenson, both traveled here from Virginia They finished in forth place (Jim) and sixth place (Roscoe) with both shooters using Olde Eynsford black powder, lube cookies and grooved/lubricated bullets They did no cleaning during the 24 shots of the match Each of

Roscoe Stephenson is shooting the “charging boar” The target

is a milk jug speeding and bouncing toward the shooter The

target is located just above the log almost obscured by the

cloud of white smoke from 110 grains of 1½ Fg Olde Eynsford

powder from his 45 (3¼) Yes, he hit the target on both runs.

Roscoe’s 450 (3¼) Alex Henry flattened the knock-down both times The target is the small square on the right This frame from a video shows the rifle firing but the bullet not yet arrived A later frame shows the bullet splatter as the target begins to fall.

their rifles demonstrated a generous lube-star at the muzzle

and excellent accuracy, even at the end of the shoot Jim used

85 grains of 1½ Fg behind a 240-grain bullet in his 450/.400

(23⁄8) Boss rifle Roscoe used 110 grains of FFg behind a

330-grain bullet in his 45 (3¼) Alex Henry Roscoe’s rifle is a fine

Alexander Henry and Jim’s is a very nice tip-up Boss Roscoe

admitted he has other qualifying rifles that he shoots better,

but wanted to honor the fine Henry by bringing it, the oldest

rifle among them

The “charging boar” was represented by a kill-zone-size

plastic milk jug, which was suspended from a hand-powered,

bicycle-wheel trolley Suspended by a rope long enough to

allow the jug to hit the ground and logs, the target charged,

leaping and racing toward the shooter

Most of the shooters, the writer included, used cartridges

of modest recoil, or loaded to modest levels for the

knock-down target All of the targets except the knock-knock-down favored

the low-recoil loads The 303 British and 8.15x46R were

both well represented There was one 9.3x72R, one 30-06,

one 8x57 and one 7x57 All were fueled to modest energy

levels, quite capable of taking deer-size game at close ranges

but they would not flatten the knock-down target

Shooters came from Virginia, northern and southern

Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Utah

This was really a fun shoot You could be a partisan of

English, German or American rifles You could be a user

of black or smokeless powder; all were represented and all

showed merit in greater or lesser degree It is a rare black

powder shooter who owns no smokeless firearms and an

increasingly rare smokeless powder shooter who does not have

a “smoke pole” in the closet The latter, thanks in no small

part to The BPC News As for the partisanship of the author,

well, he’s been known to work both sides of the street!

It takes a lot of work and not a little coin to put on a shoot like this that attracts folks from diverse and distant parts of the country; and sees them happily homeward bound

in spite of damp and threatening weather We shooters owe a lot of thanks to Randy Cochran He pulled in many markers among his friends and squandered a good bit of his own time and coin to make this event happen Nor should the efforts of Bob Woodfill be overlooked for his planning, communication and advice, plus being a lightning rod for anything that goes wrong!

As our German friends say – Waidmannsheil! or from our

British friends – Cheers! C

Back row: Tom Devers, Jim Poynor, David Simpson, Roscoe Stephenson, Jon Spencer, Alan Hoeweler, Jerry Freking, Pete Hutton, Tom Rowe, Gary Fatheree, Gregg Mink and Kevin Bond Front row: Randy Cochran, Tom Schiffer, Dennis Cochran, Bob Woodfill, John Bugden, Mark French, Dick Hummel, Marshall Wilt and Gary Freking.

The day’s top three shooters were Gary Fatheree (center) who had the top score; Alan Hoeweler (right) came in second place and Tom Devers finished in third place.

Last spring was the first time I heard about the

LabRadar chronograph (myLabRadar.com) It is a

ballistic doppler radar that will read a bullet’s velocity every 25

yards from the muzzle out to 125 yards I showed it to Gayle

and said, “If we were still shooting, I sure would have one of

these.” Well, guess what showed up for my 66th birthday?

Being “computer challenged,” it took a few trips to the range

and some calls to the manufacturer to learn how to run it

successfully But, I endeavored to persevere, and I did! The LabRadar technicians were very understanding and helpful

I rummaged through my mould stash and found four different bullets that were close to the same weight and had very similar grease grooves and seating depths The only real difference was the nose shape I loaded them all with the same components and headed for the range It was an almost perfect testing day with very mild 5-mph winds from 4 to 5 Steve Brooks

Testing Different

Bullet-Nose

Shapes

Cast bullets shown in firing order (left to right): Dan Theodore elliptical-nose bullet, 417 grains;

New Postel, 417 grains; Pointed “Turkey Killer,” 421 grains; “No Slump,” 420 grains.

o’clock I shot 10-shot groups from a benchrest at 200 yards,

starting with what looked like the bullet with the best ballistic

coefficient and going through to the worst I shot four foulers

before I went for record and adjusted the scope after the first

two shots on target No 1 A blow tube was used between

shots and 44 rounds were fired without cleaning; this was how

I used to shoot matches After the first two shots on target No

1, I adjusted the scope and had it pretty well sighted on the

25 ring I left elevation the same for target Nos 2 and No 3, but had to move up after the first shot on target No 4 so the group didn’t fall off the bottom of the target The differences

in average bullet velocity among the four 125-yard targets were as follows: targets 1/2, 7 fps; targets 2/3, 12 fps; targets 3/4, 7 fps; targets 1/4, 26 fps (moved the point of impact 6.5 inches at 200 yards)

The rifle was a Shiloh No 1 Sporter 40-65 that was

These 40-65 cartridges were used for testing in firing order (left to right): Dan Theodore elliptical-nose with 200 long bore ride (.399), 800 of unsupported nose; New Postel with 460 long bore ride (.399); Pointed “Turkey Killer” with 430 long bore ride (.399); “No Slump” with 580 long bore ride (.399).

used to win the BPCR Silhouette Nationals in 1998, the

Nationals in 2001 and placed second overall in 2000 and

2002 Needless to say, it is a proven performer

TEST RESULTS

Gayle and I have shot thousands of rounds over a

chronograph with her spotting and numbering the shots on

paper We have never found that the slower shots hit at the

bottom of the group In this test, individual groups all had

extreme velocity spreads over 8 fps and the groups are all

about 2 minutes of angle (MOA) in size The difference in

the average fps between the groups was from 7 to 12 fps, and

that moved the groups 1 to 2 MOA on the target The target

No 2 group is the largest group and had the poorest standard

deviation and extreme spread It also has the best core group

if you throw out two shots It may be that standard deviation

is more important to group size than I had thought

I’ve had these moulds for more than seven years and this is

Cast Bullet Shooting Results

cast bullet powder charge muzzle velocity 125-yard velocity standard deviation extreme velocity spread

(grains) (grains) (fps) (fps) (fps) (fps)

417 Dan Theodore elliptical-nose GOEX FFg 65.0 1,215 1,132 3.0 11

421 Pointed “Turkey Killer” GOEX FFg 65.0 1,212 1,113 3.0 11

Notes: A Shiloh No 1 Sporter 40-65 with a Montana Vintage Arms 6X scope was used to test all loads Winchester brass, CCI BR-2 primers and 060-inch Walters Wads

were used throughout All bullets were cast of 30:1 (lead-to-tin) alloy and lubed with SPG Lube.

Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data Listed loads are only valid in the test firearms used.

the first time bullets were shot from target Nos 1, 2 and 4 on paper I made the moulds and didn’t take time to test them A real test is as many 10-shot groups as can be afforded in time and money It takes a lot of personal investment to really learn what will win matches It is questionable if the better ballistic coefficient actually makes a more accurate bullet

The pointed No 3 bullet “Turkey Killer” is the nose I used to win the BPCRS Championship in 1998 and 2001 and shot second overall in 2000 and 2002 For 12 years, some variation of this bullet was used to win 8 prize rifles shooting BPCR Silhouette I shot the Oregon State BPCR Silhouette Championship in 2011 and again in 2012, winning the Scope Class using the “No Slump” bullet – I never shot it on paper

I also shot the Shiloh Invitational in 2013 and won the Scope Class with the same bullet; these were my last three matches

I wouldn’t read much into these group sizes Load development shooting hasn’t been done for seven years and

I am very rusty Since I am not competing, shooting groups

The Dan Theodore elliptical-nose bullet produced this group The New Postel bullet provided this 10-shot group.

This 10-shot group was produced with the “No Slump” bullet.

and testing doesn’t seem very important at this time Only one

shot was put on the wrong target I’m sure everybody agrees

that one 10-shot group is not a test The interesting thing is

how much the ballistic coefficient of the bullet can affect the

point of impact These loads were also shot off a bench, which

I have done very little of All previous load development was

done prone, off cross-sticks

The LabRadar chronograph is pretty hard to run from

the prone position because it is out at the end of the barrel

and you can’t reach it, but it sure seems to work well and

gives some fun figures to play with The standard deviation

was usually just under 10 with my old Oehler Research

chronograph I don’t know why this is different with the

LabRadar

It probably should be mentioned that since I stopped

shooting 30 to 40 BPCR Silhouette matches a year and

loading 3,000 to 4,000 rounds a year, I have had a lot

of extra time My game was BPCR Silhouette (with my

wife Gayle as my spotter) and we shot a few black powder

offhand Schuetzen matches each year at the Butte Gun Club

Schuetzen house I have used this extra time to make blank

mould blocks and now have about a 10-year supply on hand,

ready to fill your custom orders! C

The cartridge loaded with the Pointed “Turkey Killer” bullet

delivered this group.

H oratio Ross was

born at Rossie

Castle, Forfarshire (near Montrose)

about 35 miles northeast of Dundee,

Scotland, on September 5, 1801 He was the

son of Hercules Ross and Henrietta (nee Parish) Ross and

named for his godfather Lord Horatio Nelson Hercules Ross

and Lord Horatio Nelson corresponded over the period 1780

to 1802 and their letters are

in the Archives of the Royal Naval Museum

Horatio Ross joined the 14th Light Dragoons in 1821 and retired as Captain in

1826 He won large sums in prizes for shooting and steeple chasing1 He became a member of Parliament for Aberdeen in

1831, and in 1834, he married Justina Henriette, daughter of

Colin Macrae, Chief of the Clan Macrae They had five sons,

three of whom shot with their father as four of the Scotch

eight competing with the English for the international trophy,

the Elcho Shield Horatio Ross was so often successful and so

highly regarded that the British NRA honored him with some

long-range shoots at the Bisley Ranges The firm of Holland

& Holland also named a model of rook rifle for him

Obituaries published in The Scotsman on December 7

and in The Highlander December 9, 1886, described him as,

“ one of the best athletes and sportsmen of his day in the

early part of the present (19th) century,” as well as, “A shot

without equal one of the best riders of the day.”

It was also reported that he won the first steeplechase

on record; that he, together with three of his five sons, was

part of a team of eight competitors shooting for Scotland in

1863, and that he was regularly out on the Glorious Twelfth

of August for the opening of the grouse season In a letter

to an old friend, he said that he was preparing for his 69th

consecutive Twelfth A keen deer hunter, he shot his last stag

in the season of 1884 when he was in his 83rd year Prior to

that he had once taken eight deer in 20 minutes, as well as

shooting 13 deer with 14 shots Sir Edwin Landseer was a

close friend of Ross, who, along with Queen Victoria, was

one of his wealthy patrons According to Ormond, Landseer

painted Ross in hunting scenes 2

In addition to hunting, fishing, target shooting and

steeplechasing, Horatio Ross was a passionately keen amateur

photographer He was a daguerreotypist from 1847 and a

calotypist from 1849 He was taught the calotype process by James Ross He helped to establish the Photographic Society

of Scotland, and he became the Society’s vice president from its foundation in 1856 He led the case for the amateur photographers in the Society at the Special General Meeting

in 1858 when there was a rivalry between the amateur and professional members

The original Henry records for the beautiful single shot rifle No 3575 under consideration here verify that it was sold to Captain Horatio Ross on June 8, 1875 It is listed as a

“Best” quality single shot 450 Express with a 32-inch full rib,

145⁄8-inch length of pull, 111⁄16-inch drop at comb, 2¼-inch drop at heel, and pistol grip Alexander Henry was one of the very best gunmakers of his day Everything he turned out was handsomely crafted with great attention to detail “The lock, action, barrel and furniture look as if they have been nailed to

a tree and the wood grew around them, so expert is the fit.” 3

Alexander Henry petitioned for patent protection and was granted Patent No 1071, April 17, 1865 His outside hammer, back action lock, falling block action is similar to the Sharps system, but in my opinion it is simply elegant by comparison A friend once traded a Sharps Business rifle with Freund “More Light” sights for the first of several Alexander Henry falling block rifles that he has owned There is no accounting for impulsive action, is there?

Was Horatio Ross impulsive when he block-stamped

“Queen of the Forest” on the right side of the rifle stock? That

he thought highly of the rifle and used it very well is manifest

Horatio Ross and sons Horatio is third from right.

in his correspondence First, a letter to Alexander Henry

written in June 18764:

Dear Mr Henry,

Yesterday I gave the ‘Queen of the Forest’ a severer

trial than I ever did previously

I was anxious to take advantage of the rifle range

and target here, to ascertain exactly what its trajectory

really is I got Mr Ferguson to assist me, as I consider

him to be one of the most careful and painstaking rifle

shots we have

We began at 100 yards and fired at 130, 150, 180,

200, 220, 230, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, and 400 yards

We aimed at the same spot as at 100 yards Up to

250 yards, using the first sight, we found that up to 230

yards there was no perceptible drop

At 250 yards we had to put up the flap sight, which gave very satisfactory results as far as 350 yards, after that, at 400 yards, we found the drop considerable and sudden

Mr Ferguson said that, until he had shot this rifle,

he had no conception that it was possible to make a rifle which, up to 230 yards, had such a flat trajectory

Yours very truly,– Horatio Ross

This hunting scene titled “The Deerstalkers’ Return” was painted by Edwin Landseer and includes Ross

Henry’s Edinburgh address on the 32-inch file cut rib.

Alexander Henry 450 Express rifle No 3575

Next, a letter written from Ross’ hunting lodge, Wyvis

Lodge near Loch Ness, to famous Scot gunmaker, Hugh

Snowie of Inverness, dated Saturday, August 27, 18815:

Dear Snowie,

You like to hear of anything connected with

Highland sport I therefore send you a very curious

account of what occurred last Monday to me I may say

that I do not recall anything like it during the more than

half a century that deerstalking has been my favorite

sport I was stalking three stags and slowly slipping down

a hill when two sheep saw me The stags saw the sheep

and knew at once that danger of some sort was near and

from their manner it was evident that they were about to

bolt They were a long way off but I had confidence in

my Henry rifle I fired at one whose horns were clear of

velvet To my surprise they never moved I fired again at

the same stag, then they started at a gallop The stag I

had shot at, after going about thirty yards fell down dead

On going up to him I found that both my bullets had

hit him, one passed through the liver, the other through

his heart and the two bullet holes were not more than

four inches apart There is no great merit or difficulty in

hitting a stag standing steadily broadside although the

distance was considerable (200 yards by measurement)

but that he should not have moved after a bullet has

passed through his body is quite unaccountable

It is noteworthy that Ross was in his 80th year, and the iron sights on the rifle were not user friendly to such chronologically enhanced eyes

However, Ross had exceptionally good vision as demonstrated in his ability as a pistol shot He killed 20 swallows one morning before breakfast, most of them on the wing He was, in fact, known to be the best pistol shot in all

of Europe In an interview with Sir Henry Halford in 1893, Halford recalled,

So great was he with the use of a pistol that a Spaniard came over specially to study his methods, querying whether Ross was as proficient with the weapon

as avowed A match was arranged between the two men with dueling pistols- the distance being twenty yards, and the target a bull’s-eye, the size of a sixpence (.764 inch diameter) The Spaniard hurried off home after seeing Ross hit the bull’s-eye with twenty consecutive shots

Ross was chosen to act as Second in 16 duels and was always successful in dissuading the combatants from carrying them out So, it is with great pleasure that this thumbnail biography of a remarkable rifleman and his “Queen of the

Forest” is presented to the readers of The BPC News C

Acknowledgment

Grant Cypher at Ron Peterson Guns, Albuquerque for photographs of Horatio Ross’ Henry rifle

References:

1 Gilbert, Miles “Thomas Kennedy, Maker to HRH Prince

Albert.” Double Gun Journal, winter 2010.

2 Ormond, Richard The Monarch of the Glen: Landseer in

the Highlands National Galleries of Scotland, 2005 pg 70

3 Winfer, Wal “Alex Henry and his Falling Block Rifles.” The

Gun Digest, 1979 pg 78

4 Walsh, J.H The Modern Sportsman’s Gun and Rifle Vol II

Wolfe Publishing Co Prescott, AZ

5 The Englishman Jan 9, 1887

The Alexander Henry falling block single shot action The

rifle was refinished and re-casehardened by London-trained

McKenzie Highsmith of Memphis many years ago.

“The lock, action, barrel and furniture look as if they have been nailed to a tree and the wood grew around them, so expert is the fit.” – Wal Winfer

QUEEN OF THE FOREST on lovely walnut.

W e came across this short article in the December

1887 issue of The Rifle and thought that it would

be of interest to our readers, especially those with an interest

in the Sharps 1878 rifle The sight mentioned was apparently

controversial in the military rifle matches of the time, being

protested at the 15th Annual NRA matches which were held

at Creedmoor The protest was not held up by the NRA

Executive Committee, which incensed several competitors

who felt the sight represented an unfair advantage over the

other nonwindage-adjustable military sights of the day

It is obvious to any rifleman that this sight, being

windage adjustable, would indeed be an advantage It also

seems, from the accompanying text, that the boys from

Michigan engaged in a little skullduggery when it came to

the chambers on the Model 1878s Extending the leade or

actually throating the chamber would seem to be what they

accomplished, but it was an alteration of the original

military-specification chamber Maybe it was just sour grapes by the other competitors, or simply pushing hard on the rules by the Michigan team, but it goes to show that even in the “Good Old Days” rifle matches were not without controversy:

EDITOR OF THE RIFLE

In regard to your request I would say, the sight used

at Creedmoor by the Michigan team was the regular model used on the Sharps Military Rifle, just as they came from the factory, except the wind-gauge, which was my own invention (please find enclosed a cut of the same) The first wind-gauge used by the Sharps Company was made by myself in 1872; it consisted of a plain sliding-bar, dovetailed into the regular cross-bar

of the sight; in 1880 I invented the one represented in the cut, which I enclose, which proved to be very clever

I made them with a very broad V and straight on top, Steve Garbe

so as to enable the shooter to level his gun by the straight bar We have never used any other sight in Michigan on the Sharps rifle, at home or abroad

I do not consider a peep-hole

in a sight practical for military purposes; it is too complicated The sight that is now used on the Springfield, if placed in the hands of a soldier in actual service, he would not know what to do with it The lateral movements are all right, but the peep-hole they would never stop

to look through

I speak from experience, having spent three years in actual service I think the National Rifle Association ought not to allow any sight used on the range, except such

as adopted by the Government, and then there would be no grounds for protests

Our guns were not re- chambered for a longer shell But you will find that the Sharps Military Rifle will take from a

21⁄10 to 23⁄10-inch shell, just as you like I recommended the use of a 22⁄10-inch shell for the matches at Creedmoor, and I went to Bridgeport and had Mr Hobbs make the ammunition just as I wanted; it consisted of

a 22⁄10-inch shell, 78 grains of Hazards F.G powder, a thin felt lubricated wad and 480-grain patched Wolcott bullet I also beveled the lands at the end

I will send you a sight if you like, if the above description does not satisfy, and would be very glad to furnish you with any information that I can

Respectfully yours,– F.M Barnes

The editor of The Rifle, A.C

Gould, responded with this:

Notwithstanding the action of the Executive

Committee of the National Rifle Association, it has been

proved that no State or Territory uses or has issued to it’s

troops a Sharps rifle equipped as the one against which

Sergeant Mountjoy protested It has been shown that

if, as General Wingate says, the protest was overruled

on the ground that his (Sergeant Dolan’s) rifle was the

same as that which was authorized by the authorities of

Michigan, “that the action was taken with insufficient or

incorrect information

All practical riflemen, by noting the illustration of

the sight used by the Michigan riflemen and comparing

it with the special Remington sight used by the New

York Guardsmen, will perceive that there is a great

advantage to the one using the latter; and when it

is shown that no State has issued such sights to its

volunteers, the action of the Executive Committee of

the National Rifle Association, in permitting it in a

match which represents the military championship

of the United States of America, is inexplicable It has

caused a feeling among American riflemen that a great

injustice has been done, and unless time softens the

feeling now existing, and new rules governing matches

be made, which will clearly define what constitutes a

strictly military rifle, there will never again be meetings

at Creedmoor in which the volunteers from several

States will participate Already the officials from two

States have stated that they are not likely to again have

State teams at the annual meeting at Creedmoor; and shooting rules clearer, more explicit, and fairer than those of the National Association have been adopted

by prominent rifle clubs and military organizations throughout the country

It sure seems like history repeats itself, doesn’t it? C

The sight used by the Michigan State Military Team at Creedmoor in 1883.

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they changed to the square Enfield design and we have Lee Enfields as they are known today The challenge of finding a black powder load with acceptable accuracy beckoned to me.When I first started shooting the No 4 Mk I in 2007,

I was using 200-grain, gas check, roundnose bullets from Lyman mould No 314299, but accuracy was lacking A year later I purchased a second rifle, a No 1 Mk III

After poor shooting results, I tried several other bullets with smokeless powder and discovered the two rifles’ bores were very different, and a different bullet would be needed John Rhodes

The 303 British and

Black Powder

M y interest in shooting black powder in the 303

British took root back in 2007 when I read that

the cartridge’s original load was 70 grains of “fine-grained”

black powder I guessed I would have a few problems since

the only rifle I had at the time was a No 4 Mk I SMLE

Back when the cartridge was first being developed and black

powder was used, Britain was employing the Lee-Metford

rifle, which used the rounded Metford land/groove design

When the cartridge was later loaded with smokeless

powder, it didn’t take long to burn out the rifle’s lands, so

for each The two rifles’ dimensions are listed here: No 1 Mk

III with a 3035-inch bore diameter and 312-inch groove

diameter; No 4 Mk I with a 3037-inch bore diameter and a

.03153-inch groove diameter

The Lyman No 314299 dropped bullets measuring 313

inch, which were too small for the bore of the No 4 Mk I

and were printing an average of 3.54 inches for six, three-shot

groups using a load of 25 grains of IMR-3031 In the hopes

of getting a mould that might drop a bullet to match the bore

size, I purchased Lee mould No C312-185-1R, 185-grain

roundnose bullet As luck would have it, the mould turned

out to be oversized and fit perfectly Shooting this bullet in

the No 4 Mk I, it printed an average of 2.33 inches for six,

three-shot groups using the same 25-grain load of IMR-3031

After purchasing the No 1 Mk III, I found it preferred the

Lyman No 314299, 200-grain bullet That rifle would print

an average of 2.34 inches for six, three-shot groups using 25

grains of IMR-4895 The point here is each of the rifles with

the correct bullet combination would produce good accuracy

I needed to know this before I tried black powder The bullet

dimensions are listed as follows: Lyman 314299, 200-grains,

.303-inch bore-ride section, 313-inch driving band section;

Lee C312-185-1R, 185-grains, 3035-inch bore-ride section,

.315-inch driving band section

The bullets used for shooting and reported in this feature

were cast of wheel-weight alloy and heat-treated They were

not sized but left as cast The bullets used in the smokeless

powder loads were lubed with NECO’s Taurak T250, dusted

with mica and dressed with a Hornady gas check The bullets used in the black powder loads were also heat-treated and left

as cast but they were lubed with Lyman’s Black Powder Gold, and also dressed with Hornady gas checks I also used Serbia’s Prvi Partizan brass and CCI 200 Large Rifle primers

The first trial using black powder took place in 2007 with the No 4 Mk I At that time, I used 51 grains of FFFg GOEX powder It completely filled the case, leaving just enough room for the bullet to be seated with the gas check

at the cartridge shoulder There wasn’t much compression; I’m guessing about 1⁄8 inch I ended up shooting most of the rounds on target, ending up with two, three-shot groups, one being 3 inches and the last, 5½ inches I wasn’t happy with this shooting and spent many hours contemplating what I could do to get better accuracy

Going back to that written statement I had read, “The cartridge’s original load was 70 grains of fine-grained black powder” kept returning and I couldn’t help wondering if what they meant by “fine-grained” was something much finer than FFFg powder If this was the case, then why couldn’t I use FFFFg flintlock priming powder? I didn’t want to overly compress the powder, so I didn’t try to force 70 grains in the case Fifty-nine grains fit well with minimal compression; just enough to seat the bullet such that the gas check didn’t extend below the bottom of the case neck Actually, 60 grains would have fit but I stopped at 59 grains, only to keep the amount

of compression to a minimum or at about the same as that used with the FFFg loads I haven’t read anything where black

A No 1 Mk III SMLE 303 from Ishapore, India, dated 1952 Though not used, it was planned to be in the shooting tests It’s interesting that India was still producing this early version well after World War II whereas England had adopted the later No 4 The No 4 Mk I SMLE 303 from Shirley, England, dated 1943 that was used in the shooting tests.

powder cartridge shooters have used FFFFg powder and that

is to be expected, since it is flintlock priming powder I don’t

recommend this, but my reasoning for trying it was that

smokeless powder is never used in muzzleloaders because they

can’t withstand the pressure generated Modern steel barrels

on smokeless powder bolt-action rifles that can withstand

smokeless loads would also be capable of withstanding the

pressure generated by black powder So, the question remains,

should FFFFg priming powder be used in a modern cartridge?

There probably isn’t a book written that would so much as

comment on this, but my thinking was that any

medium-sized cartridge would take the pressure of the load, otherwise

the original 303 cartridge wouldn’t have been able to be

loaded as it was I don’t recommend FFFFg for any cartridges,

especially large-capacity cartridges This is strictly what I did in

my rifle and not all rifles are the same

I’m sure the FFFFg was sending the 185-grain bullet

downrange much faster than the FFFg load I was able to drop

the No 4 Mk I rifle’s ladder-style target rear sight to its bottom

or lowest possible setting while shooting the FFFFg loads and

they were hitting the target at point of aim, right in the black

bull While shooting the FFFg loads, I had to raise the peep

sight’s aperture some distance up the ladder in order to hit the

black bull The lowest peep sight has a large aperture that looks

like a Mack truck could drive though it, and this made shooting

difficult I like my 1⁄8-inch aperture peep sights on my hunting

muzzleloaders because they are used in low-light hunting

situations, not target shooting as I was doing for this article

While shooting the three-shot group test loads in the No

4 Mk I, I ran two wet patches and two dry patches through the bore after each three-shot group The first three shots formed a group of 4¾ inches and didn’t get my hopes up Granted, the following two groups got smaller, but the next groups opened to over 6 inches At the time, I thought this could be due to my sight picture or fouling The morning was passing and the wind was picking up, so I fired one shot

in the No 1 Mk III and wished I hadn’t when it came time

to clean it

When I took the rifles home and started cleaning the No

4 Mk I, it wasn’t cleaning up as easily as it did when I used the 51-grain charges of FFFg black powder I was very happy

I only fired one round through the No 1 Mk III because as

it was, it took six hours to clean both rifles This became an exercise of deep cleaning I didn’t count the number of patches used, but I started with soap and water, and then switched

to the green Three Rivers Black Powder Solvent This stuff is good but it didn’t appear to touch the fouling I then ran steel wool through the bore and followed that with Hoppe’s No 9 solvent Granted, that’s not a black powder solvent, but while using it, a nylon brush was used, followed by more patches

I still wasn’t happy, so I ended up with J-B Bore Cleaner followed by more patches By comparison, I can clean one of

my muzzleloaders in an hour

In my opinion, I believe the Lee 185-grain bullet doesn’t hold enough lube for black powder shooting The FFFFg black powder fouling most likely caked and hardened in the

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.303 British No 4 Mk I • Shirley, England • Shooting Results

bullet powder charge 3-shot 100-yard group

(grains) (grains) (inches)

150 Hornady SP (.312) IMR-4350 44.0 3 3 ⁄ 4 , 2 3 ⁄ 8 , 2 1 ⁄ 4 , 3 1 ⁄ 2

185 Lee 312-185-1R RN, (.315) cast IMR-3031 25.0 3 7 ⁄ 8 , 1 1 ⁄ 4 , 1 5 ⁄ 8 , 2 7 ⁄ 16 , 1 5 ⁄ 16 , 3 7 ⁄ 8

GOEX FFFFg 59.0 4 3 ⁄ 4 , 4, 1 1 ⁄ 4 , 7 1 ⁄ 2 , 6 1 ⁄ 16 , 6 7 ⁄ 8

Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data Listed loads are only valid in the test firearms used.

bore, and if more lube could be used, it would help keep

the fouling softer This brings up a problem of case capacity

The only way more lube could be added would be to add a

grease cookie just under the bullet, the same as when paper

patch bullets are used Doing this would require the bullet to

be seated out farther or reducing the powder charge to make

room for the grease cookie Even though I was running two

wet and two dry patches through the bore after every

three-shot group, I believe the FFFFg powder was fouling the bore

and therefore produced the last three, six-inch and larger

groups The fouling was also being baked onto the bore,

possibly due to a combination of the fine powder burning at

a hotter temperature and the square Lee Enfield lands

I was planning on shooting both rifles, but after the

wind picked up, I decided to stop shooting After six hours

of cleaning, I abandoned any thought of continuing to try

black powder in these rifles Though it was a failure from

the accuracy standpoint, several lessons can be learned One,

though the bullet performed great when used with smokeless powder, it didn’t carry enough black powder lube for black powder shooting Since I didn’t have the cleaning problem when I was using FFFg, the second lesson might be that the FFFFg was burning hotter and frying the fouling to the bore, which was acerbated by the lack of sufficient lube That alone is a good reason for not using FFFFg black powder in cartridges Even though I didn’t chronograph the loads, I’m sure the velocity was much higher when using the FFFFg loads because I was able to use the lowest sight setting, yet when using FFFg, the sight had to be raised significantly The FFFFg loads hit dead-center with the peep sight on its lowest setting One last issue might have something to do with the Lee Enfield square rifling, whereas, when Britain was using black powder in the 303, that country was using the Lee-Metford rounded rifling The square corners collect more fouling, affecting the bullet’s travel and most certainly adding

to the clean-up problem C

C Sharps Arms is well known for making fine new

reproductions of the Sharps Models 1874, ’75 and

’77, the Remington Hepburn, plus 1885 High Walls and Low

Walls, but the company actually does much more There is a

lot of custom work that also goes on at the C Sharps Arms

shop, including shooter services that are not mentioned in

its catalog Allow me to describe some of these services along

with showing some photos of very good examples

While the C Sharps Arms catalog is devoted to the new

rifles, the ads in several magazines do mention custom firearm

restoration, color case hardening and bluing Those ads also

include “Specializing in Remington Rolling Blocks.” That’s

good to see, but maybe I can elaborate just a little on what

the company does

First to be mentioned is that C Sharps Arms is now

doing contouring on rifle barrels For the rifles produced

In Addition to

New Rifles

Mike’s 44-77

still shows the

very colorful pack

a Winchester For those of us who appreciate authenticity, that’s a real bonus

C Sharps will also contour a barrel provided by the customer to the shape and weight that the customer specifies This can be for a project to be completed at home or for a special job being done in the C Sharps Arms shop They will also sell custom-contoured barrels by Green Mountain

or McGowan, made for a special rifle the customer has in mind

Profiling barrels falls into restoration and rebuilding so well that I’ll show a good example of a restoration job that

A military Rolling Block was restored to Remington No.1 Sporting Rifle configuration.

included several of the individual services C Sharps Arms

provides An old friend of mine found a fine Remington

Hepburn that had been previously converted to a varmint

rifle in 22 Hornet The rifle appealed to my pal but not the

caliber So, it was taken to C Sharps Arms with the idea of

rebuilding it back to an authentic caliber, as well as giving it

the proper “old-time” profile

A new barrel was the first thing on the list for this

Hepburn and a 40-caliber tube by Green Mountain was

selected It was contoured to become a half-octagonal/

half-round barrel, 28-inches long with a weight and size

appropriate for a short-range target rifle using the Hepburn

action The caliber selected was the 40-50 Bottleneck

The barrel was completely contoured, fit and finished

before being added to the receiver Of course, that only

mentions the work done to the outside of the barrel It was

chambered for the 40-50 in addition to being fit for the

extractor The outside of the barrel is still mainly what can be

seen, and the photos included here of the finished rifle will

actually “say” much more than what I can describe

In addition to the shaping and fitting of the barrel,

C Sharps Arms did a very good job of finding wood for

the forearm that was a good match for the rifle’s existing buttstock It would have been very natural to fit the usual Remington cast steel nose cap to that forearm, but the rifle’s owner wanted something just a little more custom on this gun, so an ebony nose cap was made in the same shape as the steel forearm tip That’s just another example of the custom restoration work that can be done at C Sharps Arms

Custom finishing on rifle actions also needs some discussion here On the standard rifles made by C Sharps Arms, the finish on the actions, and usually the steel buttplates, are done by color casehardening; their color case hardening is very good and very colorful The Remington Rolling Block that I had rebuilt by C Sharps is a good example This rifle is in 44-77 and the company did all the metal work after the new barrel was made by Oregon Barrel Company Don’t blame C Sharps Arms for the woodwork on this rifle; I did that

With the help of C Sharps Arms, the military Rolling Block was rebuilt to be very similar to a No 1 Sporting Rifle; that was an excellent restoration in my opinion The only parts that are still “military” are the small flanges where the stock wood meets the metal and the short lower tang Those

This Remington Hepburn was restored by C Sharps Arms, making a short-range rifle.

Instead of a steel nose cap, an ebony nose cap was custom made.

process where the color casehardening

is carefully done along the contours of the parts, leaving the color outlined by the silver-grey areas that become the border of the pack hardening Once again, pictures can show this in a much better way than can be described A favorite Model 1874 Sharps in 44-77

by C Sharps Arms was ordered with pack hardening It shows that finish very well, coated with a clear sealant that brightens the colors and increases the contrast The sealing of the pack hardening was generally discontinued because some shooters were cleaning their rifles with smokeless powder solvents that would remove the clear coating I don’t use such solvents, and my black powder rifles generally don’t taste any smokeless powders, so I’ve not had that problem My 44-77 Sharps has seen more than a few years of rather constant service and no peeling of the coating can be seen

A good example of pack hardening without the clear coating can be seen in the pictures of the Hepburn that was commented on previously Many readers will notice how the noncoated pack hardening looks “older” and therefore is more appropriate for a restored rifle Either way, pack hardening is a finish on the rifle’s action that many shooters really appreciate.Prices for these services are available from C Sharps Arms and because every job can be somewhat different, prices are subject to the specific work ordered Also, C Sharps Arms reserves the right to turn down any work; perhaps because they might consider an old rifle unsafe to restore Contact C Sharps Arms (406) 932-4353 or info@csharpsarms.com C

This Low Wall in 44-40 shows the French Grey finish on the receiver.

things could quickly be fixed if a more accurate copy of the

old Remington Sporting Rifle was needed

Of course, there are other finishes that can be applied to

the actions and hardware of rifles, according to the customer’s

tastes One outstanding finish is called “French Grey” and

this is, putting it simply, color casehardening with the colors

polished away The result is an attractive “silver grey” color

that reminds one of nickel plating On hand is one rifle with

the French Grey finish on the action and buttplate; that’s my

1885 Low Wall in 44-40 You could say that 44-40 is “right

out of the catalog” with specific options, but the French Grey

finish is available for finishing custom rifles as well

The most striking finish on the actions and other steel

parts is done by “pack hardening.” This is a time-consuming

D N Heizer was born on

November 11, 1846, in

Ross County, Ohio His father Edward

Heizer and all of his brothers moved

to Iowa on the admission of Iowa as a

state into the Union He remained on the

Iowa farm, which was located 15 miles north

of Burlington, until he was 17 years old He then

enlisted in the latter part of the Civil War in Company M,

Second Iowa Cavalry, served 18 months of active service and

was mustered out at the close of the war at Selma, Alabama

When he returned home he spent a year on the old home farm,

and during the next five years, he spent the greater part of his

time taking courses at Iowa State University and teaching

He left some wonderful descriptions of various men and

incidents he encountered in his early days in Kansas For

instance, his description of Captain Griffin:

Captain Griffin was also a young man less than 30,

had been in the war and lost a leg; was a small man, but he possessed enough spirit and energy to fully make up for his size He could cover

as much territory with his one good and wooden leg, as many men with two good ones He was full of dash and afraid of nothing, and when later in that season, the Indians brought him to bay in a buffalo wallow in the Medicine Lodge country, seventy empty needle gun shells were found with his body, showing he made a game defense.”

He mentions a hunting accident that involved Judge Mitchell of Quincy, Illinois:

They were apparently on a buffalo hunt, from what Finn related to me, and seemed to be having a good time In charging a buffalo on the north side of

the Bottoms from Ft Zarah, Judge Mitchell had a horse

killed, but escaped unhurt himself

His colorful description of George N Moses:

About this time came Geo N Moses, “Mose,” as

he was familiarly called among the plainsmen “Mose”

impressed me, and I shall never forget the time he came

to my camp, then on the northwest quarter of section 22,

township 19, range 13, on the Walnut He rode up on a

fourteen-hand white Texas pony; he dismounted from

a big high-backed cowboy saddle with two cinches and wooden stirrups a foot wide “Mose” and the saddle were larger than the bronco He stood before me six feet high and straight as an Indian arrow; he had on a weather-worn cowboy hat with a rattlesnake band, a navy blue woolen shirt, a pair of much worn buckskin pants with fringe down the seams, cowboy boots, a heavy belt of cartridges with two Navy 44’s in it’s holsters, a five-day growth of beard and about a three-ply coat of tan on his face He reached out his hand and said, “How,” like an Injun As I took it and glanced him over, I made up my

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