Flintlock Gunmakers
The next time you wish they still made things they way they used to, think of the small, but devoted group of artisans still building fine flintlock rifles the way they were made 200 years ago — one at a time with each part filed and fitted to precision. We’re visiting with two of the gunmakers in this country who preserve the art of fine rifle-making.
They are part artist and part craftsman. They build their firearms one at a time, carving stocks from select blocks of wood and by shaping each part from raw steel, or brass. Imagine trying to make a single screw from scratch in your garage or workshop and you’ll get the picture. The old ways are not the easy way, especially if you do it well.
In the pioneer days of the late 18th century there were many well-known gunmakers. In those days, a rifle was a tool of survival on the Western frontier, in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Pioneer families needed rifles for protection from wild animals and from Indians who often resisted the settling of their lands. A flintlock was also a source of food, putting meat on the table after a successful hunt and used to protect the settler’s garden and crops. Early rifles also created commercial trade in deerskins and animal pelts. They were a tool and usually looked like one.
Today flintlocks are sporting arms, recalling our early history. And today’s Master Gunmakers stay true to that history, in the traditions of the early gunmakers. They build rifles that are exact replicas of traditional flintlocks of the past, modeling their firearms on the work of some 18th century master.
Others follow the traditions of the past while creating rifles that are purely of their own imagination and nothing less than works of art. Picture a flintlock with gold and silver and jewelry-quality engraving. Even then, it’s truly hard to imagine some of magnificent rifles these artists turn out.
We’re profiling two of the Master Gunmakers of this century — Greg Murry of Liepers Fork, Tennessee and Richard Miller of Grandview, Michigan.
