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Author Topic: A Niel Fields Flintlock  (Read 1758 times)

Offline twisted_1in66

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2014, 09:31:44 AM »
Quote from: "gunmaker"
A beautiful piece--whatever it is.....What is the drop at nose & heal by the way....Really fine work.  Range report coming ?   ...Tom

Hi Tom,

I used to do the gun fittings at the Orvis San Francisco store in the 90's.  We sold custom fit shotguns and anyone on the West Coast who needed to be measured came to our store for that.  We had a try-gun which is a gun that is almost infinitely adjustable for drop at heel, drop at comb, length of pull, offset or onset, and pitch.  Drop at heel is how far below the level of the barrel the top of the butt stock measures.  Drop at comb is the distance measurement where the stock starts after the wrist.  An easy way to check your gun(s) is to rest them upside down on the barrel on a glass counter-top and pull out a ruler to measure it.

When I did the gun fittings, the goal was to adjust the gun so that your eye was centered over and directly above the barrel.  If you have a shotgun fit like that and you mount the gun correctly consistently, it will shoot where you are looking and you don't have to make any adjustments with your head to get the correct sight picture.

Problem with a large drop at heel and comb is that it magnifies the recoil of the rifle or shotgun.  It really pounds down on your shoulder.  I had one gentleman who had a 4¼" drop at heel.  He didn't want to move his head forward and down to the stock as you normally do when mounting a gun, so we did what was known as a "high-hat" fitting.  He was a big fellow so he wasn't concerned about the increased recoil.  His wife 's measurement, if I recall correctly, was a 2¼" drop at heel and 1¼" at comb, which was much more common in a normal gun fitting.

It was not uncommon to find large drop at heel with Lehigh and Buck's county rifles, but both of those styles had a very highly curved butt stock and the stock on this gun is so straight you could put a ruler along the bottom of this gun and their would be no gaps between it and the stock.  Like everyone else here though, I wouldn't be too concerned whether it fits into a particular school of gun building or another.  It's a beautiful piece and I'd just shoot it and enjoy it.

Twisted_1in66 :rt th
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Twisted_1in66

Offline Hanshi

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #16 on: October 24, 2014, 04:10:53 PM »
That target looks pretty darn good to me and I know first hand about these old cataract infested eyes.
Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.

Offline 4-Liberty

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2014, 01:09:00 AM »
I love that wood grain! Beautiful rifle you got there!
TMA Member #174

Offline RonC

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2014, 04:56:07 PM »
Thank you 4-Liberty!
I am staring at it right now! :)
Ron
« Last Edit: November 11, 2014, 06:16:48 PM by RonC »

Offline larryS

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #19 on: November 11, 2014, 05:40:13 PM »
Ron, that is one beautiful piece !!!   Your shooting is great as well !!

Offline RonC

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #20 on: November 14, 2014, 04:48:36 PM »
Quote from: "larryS"
Ron, that is one beautiful piece !!!   Your shooting is great as well !!
Thank you, Larry!
I just returned from Ecuador and Peru and went through muzzleloader shooting withdrawal. When the Colorado Front Range Snow stops, I will head off to the range to put some lead into the hillside.

Ron

Offline larryS

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #21 on: November 14, 2014, 06:02:03 PM »
Way to go Ron !!  Bet you saw some beautiful sights .

Offline RonC

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #22 on: November 14, 2014, 10:10:29 PM »
My wife and I planned and saved for years to go to the Galapagos Islands and Machu Pichu Inca ruins and it finally came to fruition. If there was an appropriate subforum, I would post photos of the trip. I still can hardly believe that we went.
Ron

Online Hank in WV

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #23 on: November 15, 2014, 08:02:18 AM »
Wow! Some trip. And I only went out west..
Hank in WV
TMA Charter Member #65, exp 4/30/2024
"Much of the social history of the western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. . ." Thomas Sowell

Offline larryS

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #24 on: November 15, 2014, 08:04:58 AM »
That does sound like an awesome trip !!  I only got to stay here in Pa. and cut, split , and load wood, in preperation for our very long and cold winter !!

Offline snake eyes

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #25 on: November 15, 2014, 08:58:23 AM »
Quote from: "RonC"
If there was an appropriate subforum, I would post photos of the trip.  
Ron
Ron,
   We're not that picky when in comes to photos.Just post them at the "PHOTO"
forum.

snake-eyes   :shake
Erin Go Bragh
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Ohio TMA State Rep[/color]
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"If you come to a fork in the road....take it!"
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Offline larryS

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #26 on: November 15, 2014, 08:59:42 AM »
I for one , would love to see some of those pics !!  Please let me know if you post them

Offline RonC

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #27 on: November 15, 2014, 10:03:42 AM »
Thank you all! I will.
Ron

Offline RonC

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #28 on: November 15, 2014, 12:14:20 PM »
The photos are up on the photo sub-forum.
Ron

Offline Riley/MN

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Re: A Niel Fields Flintlock
« Reply #29 on: November 15, 2014, 01:18:24 PM »
Quote from: "RonC"
My wife and I planned and saved for years to go to the Galapagos Islands and Machu Pichu Inca ruins and it finally came to fruition. If there was an appropriate subforum, I would post photos of the trip. I still can hardly believe that we went.
Ron

I'm sure some pics in the "general" forum would be well accepted!
~Riley
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