Part Number: AAQ-639
This Golden Age era long rifle has a Chambersburg influence. Rifles from the Chambersburg school have long straight combs with a very slender overall appearance. The Chambersburg school is thought to have developed with influences from the Emmitsburg school, and influenced the Bedford school. The rifle is neatly assembled with curly maple stock decorated with raised and incised carving and stained to best reveal the contrasting stripes in the curly maple. The 38" swamped octagon Colerain barrel and Jim Chambers' deluxe Siler lock are finished to a dark brown. The brass furniture is burnished bright and includes fine engraving. This is a lovely longrifle signed by contemporary builder John Latoche.
The .40 caliber Colerain swamped barrel gives this rifle a modest weight without being overly muzzle heavy. The swamped profile is thickest at the breech, tapers to a narrow waist, and flares slightly at the muzzle. The .40 caliber bore is cut rifled with six deep round bottom grooves and a slow twist for a tightly patched round ball. The "radius groove rifling", eliminates the sharp inside corner that accumulates fouling. We recommend our .395" pure lead round ball, patched with .017" Ox-Yoke ticking, lubricated with Mink Oil grease, or other animal fat lubricant, if you require best accuracy for target shooting. The barrel is finished with a dark matte brown finish. The flat top rear sight is mounted 10-1/2" from the breech. The front sight is a nickel silver blade with a silver base that is mounted 1-1/2" behind the muzzle. The top flat is signed J Latoche 2017.
Trigger reach is 13" to fit today's average size shooter. Weight is 7.3 pounds and it balances nicely due to the swamped barrel.
The buttstock is shaped with a long straight low comb found on some Western Pennsylvania longrifles. The comb is defined with a line of incised carving that flows into decorative raised and incised carved scrolls on the opposite side of the rifle. An engraved silver oval inlay is set between the carving behind the tang and the carving that defines the comb line. The brass buttplate has a pleasant curve, it engages your shoulder to minimize recoil. The buttplate comb is neatly paneled and accented with a raised wedding band. The push button release for the patchbox is positioned ahead of the heel. Look closely, and you may notice that the buttplate is not perfectly centered behind the tang. Rather, it is offset from the right hand shooter's cheek. This feature is called cast-off, and it places the right hand shooter's eye directly behind the line of sight, making this gun instinctive to point and shoot for a right hand shooter. An incised molding extends from the toe to the triggerguard.
The "cyclops" horse patchbox is well fitted. The patchbox was burnished bright and has aged to a mellow patina. The hand engraving on the head, side panels, and door is lightly shaded for contrast. Pushing the button release just ahead of the buttplate heel reveals a cut cavity for patches, flints, or other accessories.
This side view shows the engraved polished brass sideplate. Two polished dome bolts retain the lock. Well executed raised and incised carving flows down from the front edge of the low comb and ends below the square cheek. Additional raised carving covers the stock from the rear of the cheek out toward the heel and toe. In the style of antique longrifle carving, the carving appears bold due to the smooth clean backgrounds but is actually very shallow. A silver oval inlay is set into the cheek. A federal eagle image is engraved in the silver inlay.
The lock panels are shaped with a raised molding that continues as a raised carved floral panel around the tang of the breech plug. Silver hearts are inlet behind the tails of the lock panels. The slender toe is fitted with a long brass toeplate for protection. The toeplate is handsomely engraved and mounted with polished steel screws. The screw slots are neatly aligned with the barrel channel. The brass triggerguard and entry thimble are also elegantly engraved. The brass ramrod pipes are shaped with ringed ends for strength. The tapered ramrod is fitted with a brass tip with 10-32 threads for loading and cleaning accessories.
Ignition is provided by a Jim Chambers' deluxe Siler flintlock. Notice the slightly taller cock, top jaw and jaw screw, which sweep the frizzen from a higher point with more velocity, for better sparking. The frizzen is hardened through, for long life. It rides over a cam-action frizzen spring, that is as pretty as it is clever. The thin upper leaf and redesigned cam point allow the frizzen to snap open smartly. We recommend our 3/4" knapped English flints, #FLINT-ENG-6, for best performance int his lock. The face of the hammer is polished bright and engraved. The rest of the hammer along with the lock are browned dark to match the barrel.
The trigger is pinned high to provide good leverage against the sear, and a crisp release. Fast ignition is assured by the stainless vent liner, positioned above the bottom of the pan, centered on the heat of the flash. If your flint longrifle suffers from that infamous slow whoosh-bang ignition delay, study the work of today's best gun makers, and position your vent well centered on the pan, high above the bottom, to serve as a window on the center of the flash.
Signed by the maker, John Latoche, this contemporary longrifle will be a joy to shoot and own! Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.