Anyone else have a long range muzzle loader?

[The Hero of Canton]

35 inch octagonal barrel. 

Smith markings have M.C. Timmerman 1999 on it. 

Double triggers, and a good lock.

 

Picked up this .50 cal Thompson center's? ( Logo on barrel is green mountain) So ... a whitlock like  long range muzzle loader for $220 at the gunshow. Had some surface rust. Just fuzz. Lifted easily. 

 

Look at the double barrel wedges. And yes... there are barrel seat loops that align for them.

 

Oddest rifle I've come acros this year.

 

After I cleaned it up its in fine shape, and has good hammer alignment to nipple. Rifling is crisp. It's been shot, but well cared for. 

 

Looking forward to geting pics for y'all in daylight.  And a range report.

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Hero,

What you appear to have there is a CVA Mountain rifle. It seems to have been rebarreled since it has a Green Mountain mark on the barrel. The makers name might reflect who rebarreled the gun or built it from a kit. The rest of the gun, trigger guard, lock, sights, patch box, etc. appear CVA OEM. It should be a good shooter.

 

Rev Chase

[J-BAR #18287]

I’m eager to see your range report.  Muzzleloaders used in long range competition in the late 1800s were capable of breathtaking accuracy.  Look at the description of the matches in Ned Roberts’s book,  “ The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle”.  Original Hawken rifles had two wedges in the forend, not just one like modern Thompson-Centers.  Your rifle was apparently built with respect for historical accuracy.  That’s exciting!

[Waxahachie Kid #17017 L]

I have a Pennsylvania long rifle, flintlock, in .50 caliber, and it has a 42 inch swamped barrel. 

It can reach out there, and seems to be only limited by me. 

It's a lot of fun.   

[Ramblin Gambler]

On 4/25/2021 at 9:36 PM, Reverend P. Babcock Chase said:

What you appear to have there is a CVA Mountain rifle.  It seems to have been rebarreled since it has a Green Mountain mark on the barrel.

 

I would think it's not a CVA. I had a CVA kit gun 20 - 30 years ago.  I wanted to get a green mountain barrel but they didn't make barrels for them.  Seems the barrel was mounted in a non standard way.  That could have changed, but since it says Thompson, it's probably a TC gun. 

 

I'm a little confused though because it seems like he described 2 guns and only showed us a pic of one. 

 

I do not have a long range muzzle loader but it's on my list of wants.  I already shoot long range matches at my club with a 45/70 sharps, but doing it with a muzzle loader would be too cool. 

 

I'm thinking of one of these.  They are all supposed to be capable of 1000 yard shots and my club's furtherest target is 600 yards. 

 

Gibs

 

Mortimer Whitworth

 

Parker Hale Whitworth. 

the mortimer whitworth was my top choice until I found out whitworth slugs are a weirdly shaped bullet.  Now I'm rethinking it. 

 

 

 

 

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Ramblin and others,

 

There is no question the that is a CVA Mountain Rifle with a new barrel. I was the guy at CVA that honchoed the development of the mountain rifle. All the parts are CVA OEM. A competent gunsmith could easily fit a new, longer barrel, hence the gunsmith mark. Most had maple stocks; however, very early kits (guns) had european walnut. That could be an early version but it's hard to tell from the photo. A few early models had barrels that were not great, but later models had really good shooting barrels. 

 

Rev. Chase

[Ramblin Gambler]

3 hours ago, Reverend P. Babcock Chase said:

There is no question the that is a CVA Mountain Rifle with a new barrel. I was the guy at CVA that honchoed the development of the mountain rifle.

 

That's pretty cool.  How long ago was that? 

 

Mine was a kentucky rifle kit (or maybe Pennsylvania rifle, my memory is fuzzy and I never could tell the difference in them).  I wanted a green mountain barrel because the twist on mine was 1 in 48 and I couldn't shoot minute of deer at 50 yards. 

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

Folks forget that the Irish team that shot at the famous Creedmoor Match in the 1874 did it with front stuffers while the US shooters used Remington and Sharps breechloaders in .44-90.

 

Folks also tend to forget that the Irish lost to the US team by 3 points- and it came down to the 1000 yard targets.

 

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Ramblin,

 

I was at CVA most of the 70's. Those CVA Kentuckies had the faster twist. The mountain rifles were 1/66". The Spanish company that made the basic barrel used a unique technology that extruded the octagon exterior and the rifling at the same time. Surprisingly, that made a really good shooting barrel. 

 

Rev. Chase

[watab kid]

yes - i have a kentucky flintlock rifle that shoots pretty good , but its not what i use for cowboy longrange , its more for fun 

[Sedalia Dave]

17 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

the mortimer whitworth was my top choice until I found out whitworth slugs are a weirdly shaped bullet.  Now I'm rethinking it. 

 

That odd shaped bullet is why Whitworth rifles are incredibly accurate at extreme long range. Side by side testing in 1857 showed that a Whitworth rifle was significantly more accurate than a conventional rifle shooting the hollow based Enfield bullet.

 

There were also a number of artillery pieces that used Whitworth rifling and projectiles. They were also incredibly accurate for the time period.

 

I would love to have one. What I would really like is a breach loading version similar to the 1859 Sharps.

 

CIVIL WAR WHITWORTH SNIPER RIFLE

 

 

 

[Sedalia Dave]

 

 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

I've got the 58 cal. Mississippi rifle myself.  Made by Bernardelli.

Horace