We often make them for reasons that seem sound at the time and later come to regret it. This is one such story. I wish I could say that it is the only one in my life but I'd be lying. I'll let the legion of others remain private unless we should sit around a campfire and trade story for story because I know you have yours as well. You bring the jug of adult beverage. Then I'll tell the story about the blonde that got away. She was a goddess. Very exotic and rare. A blonde stocked flintlock, of course.
Regardless, this particular story has to do with another flintlock rifle and a beauty in its own right. It was made by Matt Avance of TVM as what he calls an "Early Virginia". Curly maple stock, Siler lock, double-set triggers, .50 caliber barrel, iron furniture, and a sling. I'd call it a "transitional" as it bears features that reflect its Jaeger parents but also points to the classic American Longrifle it evolved into. I came across it on an online auction site. Something about the rifle in the photos just spoke to me. The clincher was that it was left handed, as am I. I placed a bid for more than I could really afford. I won.
The seller shipped USPS Priority from Montana and the rifle was delivered to me in Texas three days later. I'm sure you all know the feeling of unpacking a "new" gun, especially one you have purchased online and have not actually handled. Is it what the photos seemed to promise? Did I get a bum deal? Not in this case. It looked better in person than it did in the photos. I almost reverently removed it from its bubble wrap casing and brought it to my shoulder, eyes closed. When I opened my eyes I had a perfect sight picture. Incredible. It was like the rifle was made for me. My father was the longrifle builder in the family. That sort of fit was his goal whenever he made a rifle for a customer. I made custom bolt action rifles and that was my goal as well with my more modern guns. It's almost magic, the kind of magic that works for the shooter when everything fits "just right".
The magic continued at the range as I developed a load for the rifle. I quickly had it shooting into 1.5" at 100 yards from the bench. I was using Dutch Schoultz "dry patch" method and it worked as well as it always has. Not bad for an old guy whose eyes aren't what they used to be and shooting over open sights. Not only was my TVM Early Virginia a looker, she was a shooter.
If you are independently wealthy you won't understand what happened next. Have you priced a college education lately? If you have then you understand why my hair is this shade of grey. More like white. If you have then you will understand why I sold my rifle to finance part of a year of college for my stepdaughter. Not ALL of a year, just part. I advertised and sold the rifle along with a hunting bag and other accessories. I had a sinking feeling as I delivered the rifle to its new owner. This rifle was special. I got him to agree to call me if he should ever decide to sell it. I wanted "first dibs" as we called it when I was a kid.
A few months later we recovered somewhat financially and I got lucky and replaced the rifle with a TVM Fowler. I seem to be hooked on TVM guns. Beautiful curly maple stock and .62 cal/20 gauge smooth bore barrel. It taught me that a smooth bore is capable of far better accuracy than I had believed possible, at least at shorter ranges. I convinced myself to appreciate the practicality of a gun that can shoot everything from a huge single patched ball to birdshot. Who needs to drop a ball into the kill zone of a deer at 100 yards?
Then came the phone call. The buyer of my TVM EV wanted to know if I was really interested in buying back the rifle? Errr, ummm, ahhhh, yes. If it was still in good condition. He said he had never fired it. He had bought another flintlock in .45 caliber and had been shooting it instead and he needed money for some dental work. It was one of those "holy moments" if you get my meaning. So today I drove a round trip distance of 248 miles to bring my Lady home. After I got her here I closed my eyes and brought her to my shoulder. When I opened my eyes I was looking right across the sights. Incredible.
Storm
Topic: Sometimes we make mistakes... (Read 1247 times)