Here are photos of the Rupp style Lehigh rifle that Allen Martin made for me recently. I ordered it two years ago as “the best Lehigh rifle you’ve ever made.” Believe me, I got what I wanted. It’s a really special rifle.
Allen bought the highly figured curly maple stock blank several years ago to save for a special project. As you can see, it is just beautiful.
The lock was made in the 60s by Doc Haddaway, but Allen added some new components and did a lot of filing to make everything correct for the geography and time period. The custom barrel by Robert Hoyt is swamped, 48-inch, .52 cal that is very slim. The whole rifle weighs only about 7-1/3 lbs. It just feels wonderful. The brass castings are all commercial, but were re-worked extensively to be appropriate for the rifle. Everything else was custom made by Allen. His carving and engraving are outstanding on this rifle.
The last item we agreed on was to add lots of schmutz, which In German literally means to add dirt, but in this case means to make it look old. Allen did a fine job aging the rifle. It looks good, feels good, and I couldn’t be more pleased with it.
Allen is incredible with any style rifle. But on a Lehigh, he is incomparable.
ReplyDeleteLucky guy. One of my favorites
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