Around the Web: Frank House

A Virginia Longrifle, .50 caliber 46" swamped octagon barrel, flint lock, maple stock, iron patina finished furniture, made and signed by Frank House. Stocked in dense maple, this beautiful flint longrifle is made in the style of the Lauck family, of Winchester, Virginia. Trimmed in hand made iron furniture, this rifle is a thing of beauty. Hand made by the well known contemporary maker, Frank House. The swamped octagon barrel is 46" in length. The swamped octagon barrel is thickest at the breech, tapers to a narrow waist, and flares slightly at the muzzle. The .50 caliber bore is cut rifled with seven equal lands and grooves in a slow twist for a patched round ball. The muzzle of the barrel appears to be coned to provide easy loading. Stocked in maple, the stock has a deep patina finish on both the stock and iron furniture. Hand carved, hand shaped, neatly hand inlet, this is a unique flint longrifle. Raised and incised carving form a cameo wrist, setting the comb above the wrist. The satin smooth finish has been hand rubbed to a mellow sheen. The forend is decorated with a raise carved moulding that runs above the entire length of the exposed ramrod, making the long gun look even more sleek and slender. In near new condition, but finished to appear as a well used antique. The top view shows the flared comb that joins the wrist. The raised cheek piece is cleverly angled to recoil away from the shooter's face. A silver oval thumbpiece inlay adorns the wrist, ready for your initials. The tang ends in a pointed finial, and the tang screw has the screw slot aligned with the barrel. The bottom view reveals the toe of the rifle. No toeplate is fitted to this rifle. Instead the toe of the buttplate extends slightly past the toes of the stock to help prevent damage to this fragile area. The hand forged triggerguard is mounted with a combination of pin and screw. The slot is neatly aligned with the barrel. Just to the rear of the triggerguard a small feather hole has been placed into the wood, this feature is seen on many original rifles. This hole is to carry the feather that was used to plug the touch hole during the evening to prevent moisture from wetting the powder. The ramrod pipes are hand forged with octagon flats. The tapered ramrod has a folded sheet metal tip on the hidden end. This tip is threaded 10-32 to accept loading and cleaning accessories. We would suggest using a loading and cleaning rod to save wear and tear on this nicely fitted ramrod. The unique flint lock has a hand forged appearance with a Germanic influence. The early style lock has a octagon pan with no pan bridle. The lock has a strong mainspring to throw a shower of sparks in the pan. This flint rifle shows a few scratches on the frizzen from use. The double lever double set triggers are properly tuned to fire from the set or unset position. You may cock the lock before or after setting the triggers. Further assisting the process is a stainless touchhole liner that has been installed in the barrel behind the pan. Internally coned the liner allows the main charge and priming charge to come very close together, it quickly transmits the heat and radiation of the priming charge resulting in fast, positive ignitions. The sideplate is neatly shaped and fills the side panel. The buttstock has an attractive geometry. Raised and incised rococo carving is found on either side of the cheek piece. The lock panels are tapered widest at the rear, correct flint long rifle geometry. The thumbnail finial of the breech plug is surrounded by raised and incised carving in a Fleur-de-Lis design. The butt is fitted with a hand forged iron patch box. The patchbox has the distinctive shape used by the Lauck family of Virginia. The head has a four petal flower head with heart shaped piercing. The side panels and door are engraved with a folk art style. The stock is finished with a hand scraped finish. Raised and incised carving extends from the wrist, below the cheek and into a raised carved scroll design.    

Sold on Gunbroker $5,750.00