Probbly the wrong forum for this - looking at a very nice reproduction wheelock rifle marked J. Kirklin 1981. Anyone know of him?

Can anyone suggest a black powder forum that might supply information?

Try this: http://www.americanlongrifles.com/

or this: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/


This latter one even has a "pre-flintlock" board which includes wheel-locks!

Eldeg, thanks.

Eldeg, Americanlongrifles.com was a good tip, the experts there say Kirklin is a top maker.

Jerry Kirklin is one of the few craftsman who has dedicated his career to recreating muzzleloading firearms. His work was repreesented in the book Contemporary Makers of Muzzleloading Fireams published in in 1980 . I'm surprised you don't have this book Mark, and suggest you obtain a copy ASAP. Author Robert Weil, my "bible" for many years.
I'm relatively sure the gun is under-valued as are so many of this era.

The man made fine guns and rifles and they will be cherished at some point in time. He was born in 1938, according to this text was full time in 1975, and I believe is still working. I spent a lot of time looking at his work in this publication.
Muzzle Blasts would be they source.
SDH

Steve, I have Weil's book (and yours) but could not find it in the gunroom shambles - painters are due in the apartment and everything is moved. Kirklin did sound familiar but I could not fix the references. Will look into the wheelock. Am getting interested in the MLs, I have several classic interwar BL custom rifles but only two modern MLs, FLs by Hal Hartley and Monte Mandarino. The HH is nice, the MM is astounding.

Vigillinus,

I noticed you also posted this ? in the ML section. I doubt the guys that hang out there would even recognize who Jerry Kirklin is. I see you also have one of Mandarino's guns. He is a pretty good hand. I held the famous "Martial" rifle in Jack Haugh's shop in 1980. There were some of the best ML rifle makers there that night, including both of the builders of the "Bicentennial Rifles," and all were admiring his work.

quote:

Originally posted by vigillinus:
Eldeg, Americanlongrifles.com was a good tip, the experts there say Kirklin is a top maker.

Great!!

Oldguy, what is the "Martial" rifle. Is that a mispelling of "Marshall", the early PEnnsylvania pioneer whose FL rifle is now in a museum? It has been much copied by the BP repro makers and, even more than direct copies, has been a source of styling. My Mandarino FL is in early PA style, rather like an elongated Jaeger, flat buttplate, etc. Calibre is .62 and Monte made it circa 1978. I wonder if it is in fact the "Martial" rifle. Could ask Monte the next time I run into him - he covers the gun show circuit.

vigillinus,

Dunno - always heard it refered as the martial or marshall rifle. Don't know if I ever saw it in print and the pronunciation is the same. The one I saw was a jaeger style, but VERY fancy Tiger MAple stock and, IIRC, straight line shaded engrving by Jim Goodwin?. Because of the style, I just presumed it was "martial," and I was probably making a wrong presumption.

All in all, one of the most beautiful rifles I ever saw. As I was severely outclassed by the company I was in that night, I pretty much just looked and didn't ask a whole lot of questions.

Oldguy, rifle does have striking striped maple and line engraving, will have to call Mandarino and ask him it is the same one.

vigillinus - Maybe you could post a pic?

I have a mind like a steel trap - old & rusty , But I might be able to remember some of it. Damn- that was 25 years ago - I was just starting to build my 4th flintlock.

oldguy, spoke to Monte. He is not positive but thinks the rifle you saw at Jack Haugh's was not the Marshall style but a Jaeger with a very tightly figured maple stock, engraved by Dan Goodwin. My rifle, he says, is more on the Marshall early PA style than the Jaeger which was very Germanic, also, MOnte engraved my rifle. The Jaeger was built later than the Marshall. He was at more than one meeting at Jack Haugh's shop so the possibility of confusion still exists. Mark

What is somewhat puzzling is that if the rifle you saw was the Jaeger where did you hear of something called the Marshall rifle? Evidently I have it -- but Monte says it is not the one he brought to Jack's place !!!!

OK, things are coming back to me a little better now. I'm glad his memory is sharper than mine, as I was about to call Jack to see if he could help out. I somehow had wrong first name (Jim) for the engraver. How I got Marshall plugged into it may have been another discussion that transpired and my failing mind fused the two. As I said - I was more an observer than participant. Sorry to have created confusion for you.

The meeting was during the 1980 spring NMLRA National Matches. I was present, not because of my status, but rather I was staying with Jack during the matches. I seem to remember I bought a J. McCririck (sp) 2 bbl set from Jack during that trip. With the Rifle bbl (oct) installed, it looked amazing like a Birdseye Maple S.Hawken. I sold it much later to a Scot who took it back to Scotland.