J. Henry & Son 20 bore

[rollingb]

Here is a J. Henry & Son 20 bore percussion that I traded for at the Chadron Fur Trade Rendezvous.

[Uncle Russ]

Now that's a real beauty!
 

Uncle Russ...

[ridjrunr]

Very nice👍👍

[rollingb]

Thanks fellas,.... the guy I got it from said he'd been shootin' it.
When I asked what load he'd been usin', he said "round ball over 80 grs. of FFFG, and she bucked purty good."
I had reason to believe him,.... as I doubt this little girl even weighs 5 lbs. when she's "loaded".   

Anyway,.... I figger he had "proofed" her numerous times with his quoted load, so I might reduce his load to 60-65 grs. and keep usin' her for what she was built to do.
Another option I have,... is to build a "replica" of her (usin' modern parts) and retire her to the wall. 

Thoughts from you fellas are welcome (as always). 

[Ohio Joe]

Thanks fellas,.... the guy I got it from said he'd been shootin' it.
When I asked what load he'd been usin', he said "round ball over 80 grs. of FFFG, and she bucked purty good."
I had reason to believe him,.... as I doubt this little girl even weighs 5 lbs. when she's "loaded".   

Anyway,.... I figger he had "proofed" her numerous times with his quoted load, so I might reduce his load to 60-65 grs. and keep usin' her for what she was built to do.
Another option I have,... is to build a "replica" of her (usin' modern parts) and retire her to the wall. 

Thoughts from you fellas are welcome (as always). 

I got to see this J Henry & Son muzzle loader up close at the Rendezvous, and it's a true piece of history for sure! I'd be tempted to shoot her with some reduced loads, after all,,, how many times do you get a chance to shoot a piece of history?

I also really like the idea of building a replica of it. It'd make a great camp gun for sure - with a good feel of history about it. 

[Hanshi]

SWEET!  It's in too good a shape not to use at least occasionally. 

[rollingb]

SWEET!  It's in too good a shape not to use at least occasionally. 

That's what I'm thinkin'. 

[Feltwad]

Here is a J. Henry & Son 20 bore percussion that I traded for at the Chadron Fur Trade Rendezvous.

You have a good piece of history in your buy or trade original a full stocked flint converted to percussion keep it that way it is part of the guns heritage.
Feltwad

[Ironhand]

Shooting her occasionally would be fun but I would hate to see her come to harm. Best to build a replica for everyday use.

IronHand

[Roaddog]

Good for you Rondo!That is a sweethart

[AxelP]

...and don't forget where your face is when you touch her off... if the breech decides to let go, the gun aint the only thing in danger of being destroyed.

I own an antique Belgium import from around 1860-70 SXS percussion shotgun that I really wanted to hunt quail with, but the barrels are dark and pitted and the muzzles are very thin. My local gunsmith did not recommend it, so it now hangs on my wall. Beautiful simple old farmers gun...

[rollingb]

Wise words indeed,.... and I've had those same thoughts runnin' through my head ever since I traded for it. 
The thought of makin' my ugly mug even uglier, doesn't bother me too much,.... but I'd sure hate to destroy a gun that has probably already seen it's share of tough times in the last 150-160 years.

The damascus barrel is in surprisingly good shape for it's age with only a bit of (very minor) pitting on the outside towards the breech area, the bore itself is nice and shiney. 

Another thing is,... I've always wanted to build a (short & light) halfstock fowler like this J Henry, and now I have the perfect "pattern" by which to go by. 

[rollingb]

Well I thought I'd give everyone an update relating to this J. Henry shotgun.

I'm still gathering parts to build a replica, and so far it's going like this,.....

The chunk of walnut from "Dunlap Woodcraft" showed up at my door last week,.... http://dunlapwoodcrafts.com/gunstocks 

I contacted "Charles Burton" at ..... http://fcibarrels.tripod.com/ .... who sent an email stating,...
Dimensions are not a problem. Cost is $200.00 plus shipping with a 50% deposit. Lead time is 6-8 months. Thanks!

Charles Burton
www.fcibarrels.com

(For everyone's information,.... Charles is 87 years young, and makes darn good barrels )

After a short hunt for a percussion lock, I lucked out with Siler's Mountain percussion lock matching the lock on the J. Henry perfectly,.... 
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/784/1/LOCK-SM-CL-RH

Sent both the locks to "Jerry Rice" in Georgia to have the new lock engraved with J.
 Henry & Son

Jerry's price to match the original lock's "stamp" is costing (IMO) a VERY REASONABLE $3.00 per-letter,.... for a grand total of $45.00 for engraving and return shipping. 

As for the other parts for this build, they were also ordered the same time I ordered the lock from Track of The Wolf,...

New Butt plate,.... close but will need modified
New Trigger guard,.... close but will need modified
New Ramrod pipes,.... will need little modification to match the originals
New Tear-drop side washer for lock bolt,.... matches original
New Percussion drum,.... will need a bit of modification

6-8 months of waiting on the barrel to get here from FCI, will give me time to do the modifications on the parts that need it, and whittle on the block of walnut a bit. 

[Uncle Russ]

Good on you old Hoss!

 

I somehow knew you'd make that original really proud!

Uncle Russ...

[Ohio Joe]

Rondo, I see you're making that J. Henry you picked up at Rondy last year? That was really something to see. History in your hands! You're gonna have some fun for sure!