Lock and trigger work: Inletting the lock.

Applying Finish to the Stock on the Antes Rifle

Jud says that this is one of the best pieces of curly maple he has seen for how well it takes up the stain. In these pictures are illustrated the first steps in building up the color of the finished stock wood.

Finishing the Lock and Triggers for the Wrought Iron Barrel Rifle

Early Stages of Building a Rifle: Roughing out a Stock

For the first time in this blog, in this series of photographs, we show Jud taking the initial steps in shaping the stock of a rifle. First is the inletting of the butt plate, the laying out of the principle lines of the architecture of the stock. Then amazingly, Jud removes nearly all excess stock wood freehand with the band saw leaving just a minimum of rasping before final shaping.

This rifle is unusual in that it features a wrought iron barrel, with a liner, custom bored, rifled and profiled by John Getz. Also shown are the early stages in building a handmade lock and the brass trigger guard and entry thimble. The small voids that are characteristic of wrought iron are also shown.

The progress of this rifle will be featured over the next few weeks.

Shooting the Antes Rifle!

The lock parts have been hardened and the touch hole has been drilled.

Time to see how it shoots!

(the answer is very well, thank you - even my shots were all in the black)

During the coming week: staining the stock.