The Rat Gun (based on the story of Roy Keeler's Legendary Mouse Gun)

Jud recently finished and has now delivered the rifle illustrated here which is an homage to Roy Keeler and his famous "Mouse Rifle" which was mentioned in The American Rifleman issue published in  September 1970. 

The Mouse Gun was a miniature flintlock rifle featuring a 10 in barrel with a .20 caliber bore and overall length of 18 inches. This rifle was said to be accurate and deadly on house mice in Roy's basement out to 10 yards or so!

The current rifle, dubbed "The Rat Gun" by Jud is also intended to be both accurate and deadly on small game, as shown by the photo of the target enclosed.

The rifle is in the style of a "Po Boy Rifle" but this Po Boy owner will surely appreciate the amazing  stylistic flourishes and handsome details including extensive carving and engraving. A careful inspection of the patchbox will show an image of an intended target.

 

 

A Beautiful Legacy of the Distant Past - A Bedforrd County Rifle

This rifle was built by Jud in his East Lansing days. In the late 70's and early 80's these small calibre, slim profile, light weight rifles with delicate locks were in high demand.

This example from Jud's early works incorporates the very best of these characteristics. It has found its way back to Jud's shop after 4 plus decades.

  

  

At Last! A New Rifle from Jud's Workshop!

On a recent trip to Tenderfoot Hill, breakup was in its full muddy glory, and I had some difficulty navigating the road between mud puddles and deep ruts in the defrosting dirt. It was well worth the trip though, with several rifles nearing completion (sorry, Jud won't let those photos go out to the public until the owner has taken possession) and one ready to ship which is shown here.

Photo Series on the Second Rifle Photographed Last Month

This rifle has been received by its new owner, so we can now feature the photos I have taken.

It has several unique features which will be evident on close examination of the photos, which are loaded at super high resolution.

SPOILER ALERT: One consists of the silver coin front sight. 

Also included are several photos from Tenderfoot Farm, including Doc and his just born Foal.