This page comprises a listing of the traditional rifles and smoothbores that Doc is working on for his own entertainment and eventually for sale. He does it while waiting for the phone to ring when he’s on call. Some are pretty plain, some are fancy, most will have been fired at least enough to proof them, make sure the gun functions properly and the sights are reasonably close. Many times this is done at a match. Doc rarely takes the same gun to a match, prefers a new one every time, it makes the ordeal more challenging. Most of the guns illustrated are new, some are fix-up antiques and used trade-ins, inevitably some will be beaters, but all will be identified and thoroughly described.
When the gun is finally done, it will be deleted from this page and transferred to the ‘On Sale’ page. All are ON SALE at any time, whether as a rough kit, assembled in the white, carved, engraved , decorated, or beat to pieces, whether in the On Sale page or on this page. Just email doc@whitemuzzleloading.com and ask for the price. POR Feel free to make an offer. Dickering can be fun.
Once the gun is sold, the photo workup will be transferred to the ‘ Archives ‘ page. You can find a wide assortment of guns there, most everything that Doc has invented, collected or hand made over the last 30 plus years. It’s a great read, with good photos and text.
Doc’s custom guns are often shown on the Track of the Wolf webpage, amongst the many fabulous offerings that TOW displays. Their photos are truly great, with hard to see detail plainly shown. GoTo trackofthewolf.com, click on ‘guns’, then the catagory of gun you want to see, ie- flintlock, then scroll down the pages to find one of Doc’s offerings. There are usually 1 or 2 there.
EXAMPLE-
#539 Jaeger flintlock 69 caliber ‘masterwork’ by DOC. In the Germanic tradition, every journeyman had to produce a ‘masterwork’ in order to graduate into the top ranks of gunmakers. This one is ‘sold’ but is illustrated as an example of the work Doc can do.
The rifle includes many techniques, including complex bas releif carving, wire inlay, ivory carving and inlay, poetry (verse on the top flat of the barrel), flintlocks from scratch, sliding wooden patchboxes, chiseled furniture and scenic engraving, etc.
The flintlock is one I made. It’s the size of an English trade lock but with Germanic features. I also made the DST. The inlays in the butt-stock, the inlays at the wrist and opposite the flintlock are ivory, the real stuff from an elephant, carved to match the bas relief carving in the wood.
The large silver inlay on the cheek-piece is heavily engraved, showing a cupid in the tree to the left, a naked woman lying under the tree and an amorous cross-bow wielding gentleman kneeling over her.
The muzzle cap is antler, from a red deer in the best German tradition.
Both the brass trigger guard and butt-plate are heavily engraved, as are most brass and silver parts and inlays.
The wire work was tedious and time consuming, took me about a year to get it done. This rifle is a copy of an original masterwork by Hornheffer, who worked in the 1740-80 era in Germany. He was indeed a master.
The sidelock inlays shown here are ivory too, carved to match the wood. The rifle weighs in at 11 lbs. , but holds pretty well. It needs the weight, a shot with a 69 cal ball and 180 grains FFg will set you back a step. The recoil is solid, to say the least.
#595- Doc-built side by side 20 bore double flintlock smoothbore rifle, barrels tapered octagon to round, double hook patent breech, low rifle sights, side by side flintlocks, double trigger, rear trigger actuates left lock, front trigger does the right lock, lock panels tapered to the rear with inset locks for excellent grip conformation, double keys surrounded by silver ovals, barrels regulated for stout loads with patched round ball, can shoot shot loads as well. FOR SALE POR OBO
#617- Wender rollover flintlock rifle, 3/4 inch octagon barrels, 36 rifled and 45 smoothbore. Classy 4A maple stock, 2 pieces of course
This should be a great small game gun, from squirrels to turkey. FOR SALE POR OBO
#664- Over-under percussion rifle in .451 X .451 caliber, shallow groove, fast twist for White elongated slip fit bullets, regulated to strike center at 100 yards, figured walnut with grain selected to run through the wrist, original back action locks, double triggers, all iron furniture, including cap box, 2 ramrods, upper barrel rib, double triggers, scroll trigger guard. Very British in style. Sir Joseph Whitworth would have been proud. POR. OBO
#665- Flintlock drilling with side by side 20 gauge shot barrel on the right, 50 caliber round ball rifle barrel on the left and 36 caliber round ball rifle barrel underneath. Yes the flintlock for the under barrel will be upside down, which works surprisingly well.. All iron furniture. All three barrels regulated to center at 50 yards.
#673- 10 bore double side by side fowler, 32 inch barrels, beautiful piece of walnut, later goose neck flintlocks with panels nicely tapering to the rear, double triggers, all steel furniture finished antique blue or brown. POR
#674- 10 bore double side by side fowler, longer barrels at 38 inches, walnut nicely configures with elegant sweep through the wrist, late double throat flintlocks with panels tapering to the rear for a slimmer wrist, double stock keys, iron scroll trigger guard, wide iron buttplate, double fore-end keys. POR
#675- Doc made Pauley double side by side rifle 504 caliber for heavy White slip fit bullets, AAA walnut with great grain structure and strength, stainless steel barrels and actions, coil mainsprings, copies Pauley’s 1812 patent for the very first inline rifle, uses #11 or musket caps (for dangerous game), double triggers, all iron mounts and furniture, double safety with one incorporated in the separate cocking handles and another controlling both barrels (locks the sear) with thumb control adjustable for either left or right side. Pauley’s hammers are false and are used to cock the in-line hammer. The triggers are Doc’s invention, only improving on Pauley’s concept. SPOKEN FOR
This rifle is meant for big loads with big bullets for use on big, dangerous game. 150 grains 777 or Pyrodex P plus a 600 (+) grain bullet recommended. There are double recoil lugs to hold that recoil, plus hooked breeches for easy access and cleaning.
#676- Flintlock double fowler in 16 gauge with original nitro proofed barrels with full and modified chokes. Stock is lightweight cherry with good grain structure. Furniture brass with a bit of French influence. Double triggers actuate the Egg locks. Lock panels are tapered to the rear for a small grip. POR
#719- US Cadet musket, issued to military cadets at West Point and the Virginia Military Institute in the 1840’s, looks like a lightweight 1835 Flintlock musket but with shorter pull, shorter barrel and lighter barrel in 58 rather than 69 caliber. The stock will need cutting down to the smaller size of course. It will make a perfect trainer gun for a young man or woman. The pull will be 13 1/2 inches to fit a smaller person. POR
#725- The birth of a very elegant Jaeger with elegant European walnut stock, lots of carving to match the elegant chisled furniture. Caliber is 58. Watch for more photos as it comes along. I only work on guns like this one when an artistic fit hits me. I can’t push the artwork or I screw it up. Bear with me.
The furniture is deeply chisled with baroque scenes, the elegant lock has an internal frizzen. The walnut is real European that cost more than most rifles. The barrel is a 31″ Colerain with round bottom groove rifling. I haven’t yet decided on carving, THINKING OF A LION MOTIF, but it will be extensive as will engraving. I hope to make it a very elegant example of the art.
#726- Griffin English Gentleman’s Rifle in 62 caliber. all antique rust blued iron furniture, 3/8″ wood ramrod, Twigg designed lock, Colerain octagon-round rifled barrel 44 inches long, AAAA walnut, SST, only a bit of understated carving and checkering. The tigered walnut is absolutely indescribable.
The blank shown above has been carved into rough form. Too bad my lousy photographic skills don’t match the elegance of the wood. Watch for more photos as the project developes.
#729- Here is a nascent Club Butt Bess, actually an early Brown Bess musket, restocked by a hometown smith in the Old Northeast with strong Dutch influence, as if the original musket somehow lost its original stock and the parts were re-assembled by a Dutch influenced smith to create an elegant sporting fowler, often also used as a militia musket. The barrel is of course Bess’s nominal 77 caliber, 44″ long with Bess details at the breech, the lock is an early 1828 ‘Dublin Castle’, the brass furniture is early , matching the lock, except for the ramrod and ferrules which are Jaeger like with wooden ramrod. Such guns were made for both sporting and militia use, as most gun owners did both in the early days. A plug bayonet comes with it. The maple is just gorgeous!!! It will end up finished dark with Aqua Fortis, oil and elbow grease.
The flintlock needs finishing, the barrel needs pinning and sights, the trigger is ready to place and the ramrod pipes await placement. Won’t be long before it will be ready for sluicing geese or Redcoats.
#730- You are seeing the birth of a Fergusson Fullstock Sporting Rifle. This will end up a copy of the elegant fullstock Fergusson gentleman’s rifle that was in the Keith Neal collection, originally made by Egg. It’s 58 caliber, meant to throw a .600 caliber ball. The conformation of the stock will be typical 1770’s English with lightly engraved iron furniture and understated carving and checkering at the wrist
#731- Here’s an unusual project, something I have been wanting to make for a long time: a HAWKEN style WENDER rollover percussion rifle-shotgun. Rifle barrel is 62 caliber and shotgun barrel is 12 gauge smoothbore. Gorgeous wood, late Bridger Hawken buttplate , scroll trigger guard, fancier Hawken toeplate and patchbox, and, (I hope) a DST. Back action percussion lock but Hawken patent breeches, two ramrods- one for rifle, the other for shotgun. This is what I imagine Sam might have made on custom order for an adventuresome client.
Both barrels will be rifle sighted. You will be able to use the 12 gauge for single ball, too. The 12 gauge will have interchangable chokes. It should be a great hunting combination. AAAA maple, great wood!!
#732- The bare beginnings of a Dimmick, St. Louis, half-stock 58 caliber plains rifle, brass mounted with JBR buttplate, English drip bar lock butted up against a Manton style short tang English percussion breech, open rear sight, two brass surround keys, stylish pewter forend cap, traditional short bar DST in a brass Dimmick hooked trigger guard: all in all a strong, elegantly functional rifle equal to any Hawken.
The Manton style breeching is famous for its strength, the percussion lock is the best there is with an English style drip bar.
The DST will fire set or un-set. The walnut is AAA with elegant figure. I have saved it for years for this rifle. The barrel is tapered octagon, twist is 1-72, made by the master Kelley.
#736- The bare beginnings of a long anticipated project. I found this barrel in a Shanandoah Valley antique shop in 1961, during my second year of medical school in WashingtoN DC. It has served as a door stop until I finally had it re-lined . Sometime in the 70’s I found the English Sea Service lock pictured, in ratty condition, at an Eastern Rendevous. Both have been sitting around , waiting to get put back into a functioning rifle for nigh 40 years. Looks like it’s finally going to happen. Naturally, it will be a Virginia rifle, iron mounted, dark if not black. Watch for photos as it builds.
The barrel is hand forged, octagon, swamped, originally about 54 caliber and restored with a liner to the same caliber. It needs pipes, sideplate and sights plus stock.
The original front sight is very low, just a sliver, a ‘fine’ sight. The rear sight slot, not very deep at all, the blade broken off long ago. The touch-hole is obviously rusted out but even counting the rust, it was originally much larger than anything we would use at present. Barrel lugs are in filed slots, a fairly sophisticated treatment for such a crude barrel. QUESTION: Should I leave it rusty and pitted or clean it up? How about half and half with purposefully rusty/pitted/antique finish on all iron parts (except lock internals) to match?
The Sea Service lock was used on an English marine pistol. These used to be fairly common at gunshows and rendezvous. I have owned several and all were real sparkers. You can see the dimples in the barrel iron where the smith pounded the flats into the barrel. Perhaps barrel smiths found it easier to make a barrel octagon rather than round back in the days when modern engine lathes and milling machines were not available.
You can get a hint of the gorgeous curl all the way from heel to toe.
AND THIS IS WHAT THE BLANK LOOKS LIKE AFTER IT HAS BEEN CARVED TO ROUGH SHAPE. WATCH FOR MORE PHOTOS AS THE PROJECT DEVELOPS
#748 Fergusson breeched Eastern frontier rifle- We are illustrating the conception of a Christian Springs style 62 caliber flintlock rifle with a Wolfe’s Head side opening patchbox, built by a frontier smith with a Fergusson turn-breech picked up from the King’s Mountain battlefeild.
Fergusson’s infantry were using the common Brown Bess musket at that battle, so this particular turn-breech likely came from Fergusson’s personal breech loading rifle, which was lost after the battle and his death.
I know you can’t see the figure well but it is AAAA tiger striping. The rifle will be brass mounted, stained with aqua fortis (which means dark) with DST, traditional sights, patch box and a bit of carving. Watch for more photos as this bad boy grows up. SORRY, SPOKEN FOR
# 749- You are witnessing the birth of a classic John Noll flintlock copy. He was a Master, to say the least. His carving is as elegant as it gets, every rifle known a masterpiece.
The maple is AAAA, too bad you can’t yet see the figure. Watch for photos as it finishes up.
#750- Presenting the evolution of a late Manton Cavalry Carbine, the last one produced by the British before moving to the percussion system. All parts are cast from originals. The Lock, sidelock plate and lock screws are all original. Barrel is 62 caliber, rifled, by Colerain, 20 inches long, with a hook breech and steel swivel ramrod, along with a saddle bar and lanyard. The walnut is a bit better than ordinary military. the stock style is a modified Long Land Pattern, just a whole lot shorter. Watch for photos as this gun develops.
Now the stock is cut to the square. You can see it’s going to be a short little thing. Should be great in a treestand for whitetail. the originals were smoothbore, but this one is rifled. Pull will end up at 14 inches, trigger is single of course, weight should be around 6.5-7 lbs. The horse to carry it and you about 1000.
#762- French Fowler, fancy brass mounted, single 40″ octagon/round barrel in 20 bore with walnut full-stock.
You are going to have to use your imagination some as the walnut blank is not carved yet. Watch for more photos as she grows up.
Here are some closer close-ups of the butt plate, trigger guard and external parts of the lock kit for this single barrel fowler. There are also matching pipes for a skinny 1/4″ iron ramrod with tulip head.
This lock is about as elegant as they get. See #828 in ARCHIVES for a look at the double using the same furniture but different locks.
#764 HERE ARE THE BEGINNINGS OF A FERGUSSON ROTATING BREECH PISTOL
The crude drawing shows roughly what the pistol will look like eventually. The barrel brech and action/trigger guard are military rifle sized: they will get trimmed down a good deal in order to slim the pistol up. The lock is Queene Anne sized: it will match nicely with some period engraving added.
It will end up with the dimensions of a 1770 Heavy Horse Pistol. They were large calibered pistols, usually carried in a saddle holster, big enuff to take down your opponents horse then club the rider to insensibility with the brass butt of the now empty pistol. Watch for more photos as it developes.
#780- The birth of a strict copy of the famous rifle that Edward Marshall carried on his famous ‘long walk’, really a run as I understand the event. Caliber is 58 by Colerain. Barrel swamped at 38″, Maple is AAA
#814- You are getting in on the conception of a double barreled Jaeger fullstock flintlock rifle with side by side octagon barrels in 58 caliber.
Lynn Weimer made the barrels,He once worked for me at GRRW. The walnut is gorgeous but there was a knot in the left forestock. You can see where it has been repaired with a like piece of wood. Hopefully , it will disappear in the grain once finished.
There will be a hooked, standing breech, double Queene Anne flintlocks extensively re-worked, double triggers and a wooden patchbox, along with engraving and carving. The real issue here, though, is regulating the barrels while inletting them into a full- stock. Don’t know about the furniture yet, we will just have to wait and see what turns up.
#816- A 62 caliber English pistol aborning. Beautiful piece of walnut with perfect grain conformation through the wrist.
#816- Early English Doglock pistol
#817- Lemon butt snaphaunce pistol, lemon butt not shown yet. Early 1600’s pistol. Miles Standish probably carried one, if not two.
#825- Southern Mountain Rifle, 13/16 octagon barrel, 45 caliber, percussion
#826- Southern Mountain Rifle, 7/8 barrel in 50 caliber, percussion
#827 You are watching the birthing of a .75 caliber Dutch Snaphaunce Musket with copy of original 16th century lock.
That elegant piece of walnut with perfect grain running through the wrist cost more than some modern rifles. You can see the outline of the lock installation on the musket if you look close. The simple furniture will be forged iron.
This Dutch snaphaunce lock copy is 7 1/2″ long. It has a horizontal sear, like a wheelock. The makers intaglio mark is at the rear of the lockplate. It was probably designed in the early part of the 1600’s. After 300+ years, the thing still throws sparks.
#829- Here comes a repro of the only known signed J&S Hawken that once was a flintlock. Bill Fuller up in Alaska owned it once . It has classic Maryland longrifle configuration with flintlock converted to percussion, brass furniture, long swamped barrel , but with a Hawken style patent breech and the barrel is signed by Jake and Sam. Please see my article about it, ” An Unusual Hawken” in ‘Doc’s Ramblings’.
Here’s the beginnings of this fine rifle. Plain walnut stock, late flintlock and Maryland brass all the way through, just like the original.
And here is the original with Bill Fuller 1968 at his place on the Kenai River near where it debouches from Kenai Lake. There are more photos with my article, ‘An Unusual Hawken’. Goto the top of the page, click on ‘All About Doc’, then ‘Books and Articles’, then ‘Doc’s Ramblings’, then scroll down the page to find it. SPOKEN FOR
#833- A foreign baby from a far off land. Family name is Luttick, Russian by birth and breeding but there must have been a German Jaeger in the ancestry. A nicely designed and executed mid century carbine much resembling the English Brunswick rifle including the back action percussion lock.
Military round, tapered barrel, held by keys, military grade walnut stock, back action lock, brass furniture including patch box, sling swivels, all in kit form. Watch for more pics as this Cadet grows up.
#888- Fusil Fin from the Tulle arsenal. Here’s the beginnings of a finer than usual quality Fusil in 20 bore, 44 inch octagon-round swamped barrel, TULLE marked flintlock, engraved and chisled furniture in a nice piece of walnut.
If it wasn’t for my lousy photo skills, you could see the elegant chiseling and engraving on the trigger guard, buttplate and pipes.
The lock is pure French, marked TULLE on the plate, as is the brass furniture.
#901- J&S Hawken fullstock flintlock with Kelley 40″ taper barrel , 1″ at britch, 7/8″ at muzzle, 54 caliber, deep and slow twist for high hunting velocity patched ball, nice grained solid walnut chosen for flow through wrist, early iron furniture, flat to the wrist trigger guard, hot sparking Twigg lock. sun-setted quick firing stainless touch hole as only Doc can engineer. Long tang double bolted to long bar DST, all iron furniture, 3/8th inch ramrod with iron end tapped for accessories. Finished dark with oil and elbow grease. Crafted by original GRRW gunsmith Carl Walker for the GRRW Collector’s Ass’n. Carl’s name on it is a guarantee of its quality. FOR SALE POR OBO
#915- Here is one for the books. This 1870 Springfield 50/70 came off the nearby Ute reservation, finally pried it away from the collector who recovered it from “an old indian” decades ago. You can see it’s in ratty condition, bore corroded, beat up and well used with fore-stock amputated, a fore sight replacement and a beautiful original rawhide repair on the wrist, black with sweaty hands and use over many years. The 7th Cavalry was here 1864-1902 and this gun could well have originated there. They were called ‘buffalo soldiers’ then and since as many of them were black. If you want something really Indian, this as close as you can get, the rawhide repair is obviously old and original and it came from the right place. FOR SALE POR BEST OFFER
#917- Hawken flintlock Sporting Rifle with late British double throat flintlock, long Hawken tang and long bar double set trigger, twin barrel keys with silver surrounds, all iron furniture with Hawken style butt, British style fore-end with ebony fore-end cap, double ramrod pipes in the British style for 7/16th inch ramrod, English walnut stock with great grain, long bar adjustable rear sight, iron front.
The trigger guard is a full English scroll, larger than the common Hawken scroll but same style. The rifle comes with a hooked tang for easy take-apart and a sunsetted stainless touch-hole for fastest ignition as only Doc White can engineer it.
The flintlock is known to be an excellent sparker, the DST will fire the lock whether cocked or uncocked. It is bolted to the long tang with two bolts, Hawken style, for great strength . The rear sight can be drifted side to side and has a notched elevation bar..
The browned barrel is special, octagon at the breech, then 16 sided with a wedding band then tapered round for light weight, 36 inches long with a 1-90 deep-grooved twist for super accurate patched round ball with big high velocity loads. The rest of the iron furniture is deep blue-black antique rust blued. This is a hunting rifle, meant for big bears and tougher Injuns. This a GRRW Collectors Association rifle and is so marked, GRRW CA H-24, including DOC’s cipher at the breech. GoTo ‘ON SALE’ to order.
FOR SALE POR OBO
#920 Leman half stock cross plains rifle. Crafted by DOC
Leman half stock percussion, single trigger rifle crafted by DOC, 50 caliber x 66″ twist for patched round ball, one inch diameter quality new, but old stored octagon barrel by Austin/Halleck 32 inches long with deep grooves and slow twist for patched round ball.
Drum and Nipple fitted to Classic Leman square-backed flat-spring percussion lock. Hooked breech. Single fore-arm key. Iron Buttplate and brass trigger guard, brass rear pipe and fore-arm cap. Under-rib with double 3/8 inch pipes.
Maple stock with modest figure enhanced with brushed black striping, something Leman did a lot of. Surprizing how good it looks. FOR SALE POR OBO
Coming sometime (sooner or later) in no order of appearance
Brown Bess flintlock musket. long land pattern, classic 1742 brass fittings.
Several Double flintlock fowlers in 12, 16 and 2 slim twins in 20 gauge
.615 and .715 cal double percussion African rifle for 900 & 1200 grain SuperSlug.
1795 US flintlock musket
Another Dutch fowler
1816 flintlock 69 cal musket with original restored rusty lockplate, metal rustified to match the plate. Looks old. Works new.
1/3 scale 1.2 inch rifled cannon by Norman Wiard
5/8 scale rifled 1.2 inch breechloading cannon by Whitworth
Leman fullstock flintlock cross-mountain rifle with original Leman, Lancaster marked barrel
Schuetzen 10 lb target rifle Denver style
Hagerstown Christian Hawken flintlock
12 smoothbore X .69 rifled side by side double flintlock
pair 62 caliber flintlock round ball double rifles
69 caliber percussion round ball double rifle
69 caliber short fullstock Jaeger flintlock double rifle
Kentucky stocked BB gun
Beyer flintlock rifle
Haga flintlock rifle
3 Tennessee / Southern Mountain rifles
flintlock mortar gun for tennis balls
Southern perc rifle left hand with original Golcher lock
Wender flintlock 58 rifled & 20 Smoothbore iron mounted English style
English 12 gauge late half stock flint fowler, original Manton flintlock.
Several heavy caliber Plains and Hawken pistols
GRRW Collectors Association rifles, Bridger Hawken, Leman, Poor Boy and mountain pistols
several early doglock and snaphounce pistols
British Sargeant’s carbine 62 cal
Nock Volley gun in 45 caliber
7 barrel goose gun in 32 caliber
Steel barreled flintlock Blunderbus about 6 gauge
Short Austrian wheel-lock rifle with DST
2 Germanic fowlers, one iron, the other brass mounted.