I just finished up this .45 Caliber Wesson Style Boxlock. There isn't anything really fancy about it but it is kind of a special build for me. It was commissioned by a Friend, who really deserves it in my opinion. Some of you probably know him, he used to go by GrizzlyGroundhog on several of the muzzleloading forums. For those who don't know him or his situation I'll give a brief background of what has happened to him. A couple years ago he was injured at work....basically someone turned on a piece of equipment that was supposed to be locked out for maintenance and he was electrocuted(nearly to death)...the resulting injuries of the accident have caused permanent heart problems, he's had multiple surgeries to deal with some of the physical injuries and some vision problems as well as various neurological problems and nerve damage....and that's just the short list, not to mention the side effects of some of the various medications he's been on....then he's been put through the wringer by Workmans Comp/Unemployment...Company Insurance, Doctors, lawyers, Judges....in general pretty much everybody for the last few years has had a turn at bend him over and screwing him.

Overall he's kept a pretty good outlook through all of this and still tried to be active in promoting muzzleloading and helping the younger generation get involved.

So when he contacted me wanting one of my Wesson Style Rifles I was more than happy to try and deliver what he wanted. He provided the .45 Caliber barrel and some money and I did the rest....I turned the barrel from a straight Octagon down to a Oct. to Tapered round with a wedding band transition. The Action is a casting by Pete Allan, the Stock is a pretty nice piece of Black Walnut and the rest of the Iron Furniture I made from scratch including the forearm cap. The wood is finished with an Oil and Wax finish and the Metal is Rust Blued.









I gave the stock some slight adjustments that I am hoping will help him shoot with his physical problems from the accident. I left a little bit of a swell in the cheek area to hopefully put his head and neck in a more comfortable alignment when shooting, I also left a slight swell in the grip area and a little swell in the forearm to aid in his handling of the rifle. The stock was also fitted to his measurements with the appropriate cast off. The Rear sight is farther forward than I would normally place it, and the notch is wider than a normal sight to give a better sight picture.

Colin

CowboyCS,

It is nice to know that people like you are still around, someone that goes out of his way to help someone else.
The rifle is beautiful, now I just have to get off my butt and start my 2 (or even a 4) bore.

todd

CSTOL,

You do beautiful work.

Steve

Colin, that is a very tasteful rendition of a Wesson boxlock. I've always admired these. You're a blessing to your injured friend.
Just for the heck of it, here is a (lousy) photo of a Wesson .42 caliber with lollipop rear sight carried by Texas Ranger Jack Hayes circa 1849. The rifle is part of the collection at the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco, Texas.