That is a great idea, Marty. Thanks.
My plan-
originally- was to choose and buy a barrel and get it shipped here ASAP. I had
made decisions regarding the kind of rifle to be built. As my wife is doing a conference at
the end of the week, I would then have time to drive the three hours to Hilljack's place.
We would laugh, joke, and carve wood.
An artist rendering of Hilljack's shop as we 'work' on rifles
Hoped for Result? One straight barrel laid into a big block o' wood and hands on doing and coaching
for the next step. This sounded like simple, doable, fun. All I needed to do was choose a barrel.
Easy, right?
Not so much as it turns out...
As more information came in, I realized that rifle building decisions must be made while considering the whole project.
As it progressed, it became clear that
better choices might be available.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Keep KC away from that innocent and helpless wood!
(Insert BIG, amused grin here) The
palpable concern (outright fear!) for that nice piece of
cherry wood... left in my
dangerous, newbie hands... came through loud and clear. :lol:
I have not seen a group of full grown men made that universally nervous in a long time.
This amused me (a lot), but also matched my own concerns. Alternatives were proposed.
Thanks for all the help.
This is what I just actually did.
1. We are making a match shooter with salutes to my family history. I have traced my family to
Bedford, PA. I have
Germanic, Irish, Welsh, Swiss, and
English roots. Three portions of my ancestry came into play with the early selections.
2. I have chosen a
Size A,
.40 calibre,
swamped,
38 inch, crowned, breech plugged, Early American style
Colerain barrel
3. I will ship that nice cherry block to Pecatonica where a Mr. Greenside will work it into a rough
Bedford style. He will also do the ram rod hole, lock inlet, trigger, and tang. Three tenons/underlocks will be added to the barrel. The barrel will be laid into the channel and shipped back to me. The barrel
is in stock. Allowing Mr. Greenside to do this allows me to go with the swamped barrel. I've always wanted a swamped barrel.
I just did not feel I had the skills to build it on the first try. Mr. Greenside to the rescue!
A sample Bedford stock as done by Track of the Wolf
4. In order to arrange the above, I had to make decisions regarding the lock and trigger set.
I decided on a large Siler flintlock, but will also buy the
interchangeable large Siler percussion lock. It is built modeled after a
Germanic style lock and the plate measures 5.25"X1" and uses 7/8 X 3/4 flints. The interchange is nice because I prefer to hunt with percussion in damp weather.
L & R is the normal choice for a Bedford.
Mr. Greenside almost talked me out of it. He is a history buff. But, I liked the family salute to Germanic roots in the construction of the lock. It will work well with the trigger set.
5. I chose a Small Davis Double Set Trigger, Model 004. This is an adaptable trigger set that serves well with lots of rifles. The choice of double triggers is my shooting preference. My Great Great Grandfather was a Davis so this ties nicely into my intent to make this a family tribute rifle.
English are now represented.
Great Great Grandpappy Alonso & Grandma Stella Davis
Obviously, this was a lot further along than I had set out to try. Fortunately, I have been doing a lot of research and thinking about this before things started at all. So, when opportunity/advise came, I was able to make confident decisions based on actual knowledge and pre-consideration. There is still an awful lot left to do.
Having
Hilljack to ask a lot of questions of was invaluable. There is no doubt that this would not be this far along without him. Thanks, man.
I hope you are enjoying this rifle ride. I am. :king:
Don't screw up that nice piece of wood right off, practice on another unworthy piece of wood,,,, :cry: 
:lol!:
