Felix Settle

[gunsaholic]

Just thought I'd show a couple of pics of this "ole girl" I picked up this summer. It's a 45 caliber made by Felix Settle of Barren County Kentucky. The lock is marked as such. The barrel is also marked Felix Settle. I don't know the year it was made. There is a small number "69" stamped into the left side of the stock but I don't know if that has anything to do with the year made. It has a steel ram rod so I doubt it's original to the gun. Apparently the Settles were a well know family of rifle makers back in the day. I was told by the fellow I got it from that it belonged to a trapper up in Northern Manitoba but who knows if that's true. It is a mystery how it ended up in Manitoba though.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[dannya]

Nice looking old gun! Have you shot it? Have you seen many of these Settles rifles ?

[gunsaholic]

No, I have not shot it. It is the only one I have seen where I am in Canada. There is a gunsmith in Minnesota who builds custom muzzleloaders. He heard about it and would love for me to bring it down the next time I'm in Minesota so he can have a look at it.

[gew8805]

A very nice looking rifle and, as you surmise, it probably dates to the 1870s - 1890s.

You say the barrel is marked with the name "Felix Settle" like the lock? Can you show a photo of that marking on the barrel? I ask because the lock is certainly not the lock originally fitted to the rifle calling the provenance into question.

[gunsaholic]

Here is the barrel marking.

[gew8805]

Looks good. Perhaps the Settle shop replaced the original lock with a slightly smaller one when doing a repair?

[gsimmons]

Could the hammer have been changed(look at the angle of the face to the nipple)? Also the lock looks like it's sitting a little deeper in the mortise than it would normally, and the neck of the hammer marking the wood behind it.

[gunsaholic]

The pics are deceiving. The lock actually doesn't sit deep into the mortise and the hammer is not hitting the wood behind it. I also think the wood has shrunk some after 140 years of being in different climates. I can't say how much though.

[gew8805]

The wood may have shrunk some but the gap at the top edge is somewhat more than I would expect, quite a lot more actually, the maker was a better stock maker than this indicates so it is not a case of sloppy inletting in it's construction, it has to be a case of a replaced lock. Also, there is some pitting on the bolster - that is to be expected with the mercuric primer in the caps in use at the time this rifle was in use. However, the lock plate shows no pitting whatsoever, I would expect to see some light pitting on it to match that on the bolster. If it is not asking too much, could we see a photo of the lock recess? This may show some work done when/if the lock was replaced.

The relief on the molding behind the hammer is not unusual, the hammer on the original lock may have been of a type that had a stop to hit the plate in case of over-travel as the nipple and hammer recess wore with time and use (this helped to keep the mainspring from traveling past the bottom of the plate and damaging the bottom of the mortice) and that may have required the top molding be relieved for it. Such a stop on the hammer was normal on a flint hammer but is unusual on a percussion hammer.

Anyway, it is a nice rifle and you have done well acquiring it, I am sure that you will take as good care of it as it has received from owners/users in the past.

[gunsaholic]

Here is a pic with the lock removed. As evident, there is some wear and tear which I guess is not terribly unusual for a rifle of this vintage that wasn't a safe queen. Guess it kind of verifies its age. Also, you can see pitting on the lockpate below the semi-circle. If only these old guns could talk they could describe the journey of their life time. I think it deserves a well earned retirement.