Old west awesome

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WestKentucky

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I am considering an old school rifle of some sort that isn't of the Henry/Winchester lineage as those are far too mainstream. Looking at other bits of history that aren't as overdone by the modern crop of reproduction groups and cowboy game guys. I reload so making ammo is not a huge deal. I would like to rebarrel to a modern cartridge of medium pressure but maintain that old school look and feel. Looking at martinis, sharps, colt lightning, etc. what's your suggestion?
 
JMHO, but I'd think taking a classic old antique rifle like you're talking about, and then rebarreling it to a modern cartridge, would devalue that rifle immensely. It would also be a shame. If you're gonna get one, leave it as it is.

JMO.
 
A Hawken comes to mind if you like muzzle loaders or a Springfield from later in the century. People overlook Stevens and Krag-Jorgensen a lot. Stevens sold millions of rifles before inventing the .22 LR. They sold over 3 million falling block rifles with names like Crack Shot, Favorite and Marksman. They were high quality and low cost rifles making them very popular. They sold a lot of single shot rifles because of the low price. Ballard is another rifle maker that hasn't been mentioned.
 
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There are a lot of sporterized Springfield Single Shot Rifles (Trapdoors) available for futher customization. Gemmer and others made variations of them also. I know of several converted to 40 caliber black powder cartridges and a couple of 30 calibers. I always thought a 22 Hornet on the Trapdoor would be interesting. Or the 30-40 Krag.

A similar rifle, still in production is the Peabody.

http://www.providencetoolcompanyllc.com/

They can make something for you.
 
why not buy a repo and defarb it(make it look old). there are repo,s in just about all the old shell guns and makes. i have quite a lot of the old rifles and shoot them regularly, but i shoot a repo 74 sharps pedersol and a charles daley little sharps a lot with out worrying about harmimg a piece of history. eastbank
 
One of the best for putting together an Old West rifle is the Winchester 1885 High Wall. Because they were popular for building varmint rifles from the 1930's up through the 70's, there are many used rifles at moderate prices. Parts are no problem due to the several reproduction that have been made, and there is little to break anyway. Easy to rebarrel and I'm sure someone is making factory style stocks.
 
I'm kinda stuck on a cattlemans carbine. Not sure why but I'm somewhat enamored. I may convert my 15" .357 buntline to 16.5 inches by addition of...something... Then build a detachable shoulder stock. Seems like A reasonable way to go... Now, I know that I have to permanately fix an extension, but what else must I do to be legal?
 
Been looking for a Remington revolving carbine either in .44 percussion or .45 Colt myself.
 
I'm dead set on the cattleman, but it will be a much more intricate project (will take too darned long) so I'm looking at other things as well. Right now I'm happy with a buntline, but want a cool shooter that others don't have. I guess I could buy a Taurus fugly for the same purpose, but what's the fun in that...plus it's double action. There have been great suggestions so far, keep them coming. Looking seriously at sharps and trapdoors, maybe a spencer but the repeating part gets tough in a rechambering situation unless it's similar. That's why my k98 is a 308 ultra heavy benchrest beast.
 
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