May 2022 Gunmaker’s Hall Report
By Benjaman Quearry
Greetings from Indiana, the NMLRA June Shoot will be here before you know it. I can’t wait, every year before the spring shoot I’m like a kid just before Christmas. We have a lot planned for you at Gunmaker’s Hall this coming June. The Hall is the NMLRA’s showcase of early American muzzle loaders and their accoutrements. There will be finely crafted, handmade, muzzle loading firearms, horn work, knives, and period leather work on display in the old cabin. Demonstrations at the Pavilion behind the Hall will include hand rifling, barrel boring, engraving, carving, and more. On the back porch there will be nightly presentations on various aspects of muzzle loader building, horn work, leather work, knife making and early American life. Plenty for you to see and do! Plan to stop by and visit. While you are at the Hall you can also purchase tickets for the 2022 Gunmaker’s Hall Giveaway.
Every year craftsmen and women come together to support Gunmaker’s Hall and the NMLRA by making prizes, and then we have a drawing in September and give it all away. This year we have a French smooth bore flintlock by Larry Horrigan and a North Carolina style flintlock rifle made by Malachiah Pifer, a shooting pouch by Jeff Luke, and some incredible horn work by Orville Mumma. Orville’s work deserves its own article, more on that next month. Many more prizes will be added to the giveaway before the September drawing. Buy some tickets; get your chance to win.
This month I want to talk about some of the amazing prizes that we have for the 2022 Gunmaker’s Hall Giveaway. Jeff Luke has been making some of the finest hunting pouches you can find. He is a stickler for historically accurate work. He gave me a description of the pouch he made for us in a recent conversation. Jeff explained it like this.
“This piece is constructed of 3-4oz veg tan cowhide, which I dyed and aged to give the look of a pouch that was well used, but well cared for. The pouch is lined with pillow ticking, which has also been aged using walnut hull dye and bear grease. The flap has a hunter's star with inlay using the same ticking fabric. The leather strap is adjustable with a forged buckle by John Rader. This piece has a tapered gusset and full welts. Everything is hand stitched with linen thread I wax and dye.”
I hope this gives you some idea of the amount of thought, consideration for historical accuracy, and the incredible work that goes into making a pouch of this caliber. Jeff Luke is a great guy and I’m really in his dept for the work he has done for Gunmaker’s Hall. Jeff has been holding classes to share his knowledge. If you get a chance to take one, you should. He is also working with Henry Bowman from the Honorable Company of Horners to hold a youth class during the spring shoot. More will be coming forth later.
We have a beautiful flintlock rifle for the Incentive Gun this year. I asked the builder, Malchiah Pifer, to describe the rifle he made for the 2022 Gunmaker’s Hall Giveaway. Here’s what he had to say
“It’s a North Carolina style gun; I find the lines on North Carolina rifles to be very clean and appealing for a relatively plain gun. I chose a Rice 42” 40 caliber barrel, because I felt it would produce a nice sleek well handling rifle topped off with a chambers late Ketland lock for a fast and reliable ignition! I chose to do a swiveling wooden patch box, with a sterling silver diamond as the washer for the swivel. Overall, it’s an elegant little 40 caliber brass mounted walnut stocked North Carolina rifle that will be perfect for taking out in the woods for anything from target shooting to hunting! “
You can win the two guns or any of the other valuable items in the Gunmaker’s Hall Drawing by simply purchasing some tickets for the drawing. The schedule of ticket prices for the drawing will remain the same as last year: one ticket for $5, 3 tickets for $10, eight tickets for $20, and 25 tickets for $50. Those who subscribe to the $50 option will have their tickets held separate and entered first into the drawing for Malchiah’s Incentive Gun. After this drawing, all tickets will be brought together for the main drawing featuring Larry Horrigan’s French flintlock and the other prizes. You can purchase tickets at Gunmaker’s Hall during the national shoots, in the magazine, and on the NMLRA website nmlra.org. You may copy tickets printed from the magazine and the web, but please make sure the size stays the same. When you cut out the tickets, please trim them to size. When you put your contact information on the ticket, please put your NMLRA member number on there too. Tickets will be printed the month this article appears and each month until the September issue. Send your tickets and money to the NMLRA, PO Box 67, Friendship, IN 47021. You could win one of two custom flintlocks or any of the other handmade items provided to our drawing. We would appreciate your support! This drawing is not valid where prohibited by law.
If you, your company, or someone you know would like to contribute an appropriate prize item for our drawing, or simply make a donation to Gunmaker’s Hall, please contact me at gunmakershall@gmail.com Donations are greatly appreciated by me and others at the Gunmaker’s Hall Committee and the NMLRA.
I’ll see you at the Hall
Benjaman Quearry