Greetings from Indiana,

As I write this the governor of Indiana has closed down the state due to the COVID-19 virus. Many businesses are closed. Schools are closed. Right now, we are at home, doing our civic duty to prevent the spread of this terrible virus. This is scary stuff. Without my faith in God even I’d be nervous. 

My generation may be a little more prepared, if only emotionally, for this crisis. Our parents survived the great depression. We heard stories of food shortages, bread lines and poverty in America. My parents lived like another disaster could strike again, always gardening and canning, keeping a freezer full of meat, stacking wood up behind the house for the stove. We used to make fun of mom and her stock of toilet paper in the bathroom. Now not so much.

Dad and I built my first long rifle during the “great blizzard of 1978”. I learned how to polish metal that winter. My dad was a master Tool & Die Maker. He knew how to file and polish metal the right way and made sure I learned it too. How to push, and never pull a file. How to reach into every little rough place of a casting and smooth it out with needle files, maintaining the aesthetic lines of the casting. Learning when to change grits of sandpaper and how to back up that paper so it doesn’t round over edges. I tried to emulate everything dad showed me. Also, I learned a few things not to do. There were a lot of mistakes made on that first long rifle. I had made a pistol from a kit before, but this rifle started out as a pile of parts and a piece of wood. She was ugly, but she was a shooter and I loved to shoot. It was not historically accurate, but boy was it ballistically accurate. I had a muzzle loader that I had made, and I was proud of it, whatever it looked like. On top of that, I got to where I could outshoot the neighborhood kids and their 22 rifles. The point is, something I made while stuck at home turned into one of my most prized possessions.

When cooped up for a while, be it due to the weather or any other crisis, you need to have something to do. If you’ve been waiting to build that rifle, bag or knife, now is your chance. Fix those buckskins, make a powder measure, put together your first, or most recent knife. This would be a fine time to make that powder horn you have always wanted. Don’t have enough parts laying around to start on that gun, knife or horn? Our vendors from commercial row and the advertisers in Muzzle Blasts would love to have your business. You can find everything from pre-carved kits for the beginner to individual parts for the more experienced maker. Tools can be found with our vendors too. You can find information on our commercial row vendors in the December 2019 issue of Muzzle Blasts and links to vendors on our website at NMLRA.org. Go to your workshop and get out of your spouse’s way. They will thank me for suggesting it to you.

Currently on my bench, or more accurately what I have in my stock carving vise, is a little iron mounted Virginia rifle. I’m building it for my dear friend Ron Borron. The original I’m working from is a Bogle. Joseph Bogle was a Revolutionary War Veteran that had moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia. This early (for the region of its construction) frontier rifle reflects the influences of Pennsylvania, Virginia and early artistic work in iron mounted firearms of the South. Getting everything just the way I want it on that rifle will keep me holed up in the shop for a while.

Now would be a good time to read that book you’ve had on the shelf waiting to be cracked open. Do you have a copy of Tom Schiffer’s book “The History of the NMLRA”? Now would be a good time to read it. Not just look at the pictures, which are awesome by the way, but actually read it. It’s a really good book. It’s time to learn about Simon Kenton, Squire Boone and other Americans that lived through rougher times than these. I’ve been working my way through Shelby Foote’s massive “Narrative History of the Civil War”. If you think our world is rough, imagine what it was like to be caught up in America’s Civil War, with its battles, casualties, diseases and destruction of civilian property. The point is we can survive this. We are Americans, overcoming adversity is what we do.

Looking forward to better times, we are going to have the 2020 Gunmaker’s Hall Giveaway in September. You can check the website NMLRA.org for details and updates. This is a great opportunity to win some great handmade prizes. We have Mike Miller’s Gun, Malchiah Pifer’s Incentive gun along with a bag by Jeff Po Boy Luke and several other really nice items. 

We are still looking for donations for the drawing. If you or someone you know would like to contribute to the future of Gunmaker’s Hall and the NMLRA please contact me at gunmakershall@gmail.com . Knives, bags, horns, quilts and long rifle culture Americana are always welcome. 

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 Incentive drawing for Malchiah Pifer’s rifle. After this drawing, all tickets will be brought together for the main drawing. You can purchase tickets at Gunmaker’s Hall during the national shoots and in the magazine.

You may copy tickets printed in the magazine, but do not change the size. You may cut out the tickets printed in the magazine, but please trim them to size.  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 flintlock rifles or any of the other custom items provided to our drawing. We would appreciate your support!

This drawing is not valid where prohibited by law.

Written by Benjamin Quearry, Gunmaker’s Hall Chairman