Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Restoration of old Kentucky Long rifle

I just inherited an old family heirloom which is either a Kentucky long rifle or something similar (Pennsylvania etc). It has been in the family for over 150 years. We have old family letters that document using this rifle for hunting and warding off at one Indian attack.

Unfortunately most of those years ended in neglect for this rifle.

All of the pieces are there minus the ramrod. The stock is mostly intact but it has the edges missing along the barrel channel and lock work. It also has numerous cracks and the wood is dry but not rotten.

It is a percussion not a flint lock. Caliber is roughly 43 by gauging the end of the barrel. Stock is a tiger stripe maple I believe. I can find absolutely no makers marks or marks of any kind. The rifle has been 100% disassembled.

Since this has a vast amount of family history I would like to get it restored. I have no desire to shoot it but I want to display it. I would like to get the metal restored and I am almost positive it needs a new stock.

I have three questions:
1. Are there any recommendations for someone to restore this old rifle to her former glory?
2. What would a rough estimate be for the cost of this restoration?
3. Without any marks how could I get additional information on when and where this rifle was made? I can trace my ancestors that used it but my limited research has turned up no leads on this rifle.

Thanks.

It's propbably worth more if you don't touch it. "Restoration" destroys over 150 years of patina and most of the value. The best advice I can give is: "First do no harm." I'd get someone knowledgable in those rifles to look it over and give you better advice before you destroy it.

Clarence

Not necessarily, museums have restorations done preserving what is original. It's a job for a specialist which means it costs. Then there's preservation to maintain what you have. Still a job for a specialist. NRA member? Good place to start asking, they do have the National Firearms Museum.

As stated, conservation should be on the menu for that rifle, not restoration. I have found that the technical staff at the NRA museum have been helpful with advice/suggestions when I queried them in the past.

Harsh cleansers, abrasives and steel wool, modern "preservatives", etc. all contribute to loss of patina and corresponding loss in value- both monetary and heirloom. After all, it took many generations of family use to make it look like it is today. You can't replace that once it's gone. Get professional advice.

Inspect it closely since you have it apart. Quite often these old full stock percussion guns started out life as a flint lock, and later converted to percussion. For Pete's sake use screw drivers that fit the screw slots perfectly. There's nothing worse than damaged screw slots from ill-fitting screwdrivers. Even if they were already buggered in the past there's no reason to make them worse. First rule: do no further harm.

Read an article by Bivens I think where he did a restoration. There were just a few odd pieces of the original left and he built around them without altering the original pieces past preservation. That's an honest, acceptable restoration that did nothing but add value.

The new work was made to match, marked so it was identifiable as new work, and documented. I don't even want to think about how many hours he must have had into it, research and work. I'd bet it cost more than it was worth except to the owner even though it was a rare piece.

Thanks for responses. Obviously more research is in order. You have all given me some starting points.

I would like to keep it original but I'm afraid the stock may be past that point. As everyone stated above I'll try and find an expert to make that decision for me but I don't have real high hopes.

To put your minds at ease the disassembly was accomplished using a set of gunsmith screw drivers.

I'll try and get some pictures so that I can accurately represent it.

What you could do, is find a different stock for the rifle for display purposes, so it doesn't look too junky above the fireplace. Keep the original stock in a safe place for preservation so the next generation can put it back together if they want.

Take some measurements and start looking for a new stock. Get one close, and you can do the final inletting. You can also distress the new stock so it looks closer to real.

There are a few places making new Kentucky long rifles, that would be where I'd start for a new stock.

First check that it is unloaded, many of these were kept loaded.
My granfathers musket had a charge topped by candles and such.
as a kid I used to shoot caps with it, one of my nine lives used up. There are books on the subject of restoration if you
wan't to go the distance. a half restoration is worse than none.
Start with a catalog fron Dixie gun Works $5.00. They sell parts
and reference books on the subject.
Remember any wood or metal uou remove won't grow back.
good luck!

Thanks for all the help.

I like the idea of replacing the stock for display purposes but keeping the original safe. That was my initial thoughts on the restoration / preservation.

The metal doesn't like the Gulf coast air very much. Lots of rust. Everything is coated in oil so the condition should not worsen.

Starting to research the ol' girl so we'll see what some experts have to say on the matter.

Pics to follow.

Thanks again!

Oh by the way....It is unloaded. First thing I checked.

I knew a "gunsmith" who, in the course of obliging a customer who assured him it was unloaded, clamped an 1863 Springfield barrel in a vice and threw the torch to the bolster to break it free so he could unscrew it. "BANG!" it went. It put that old Mini� ball right through the cinder block wall 10 feet away. Always double check an old muzzle loader's loaded status!