Four Bore English Sporting Rifle, .98 caliber, 31" tapered barrel, Turkish walnut, brass, L&R late English flintlock, engraved, new unfired, signed by Bill Raby
This Four Bore English Sporting Rifle is signed by contemporary builder Bill Raby and the construction was documented in his video series. The rifle is stocked in Turkish walnut and trimmed in brass furniture with a ebony forend cap. A L&R late English flintlock is mated to a English style single trigger. The barrel, lock, and furniture are hand engraved and the buttplate is signed by Bill Raby and dated 2024. Trigger reach is 14" to fit a average size shooter. Weight is substantial at 17.8 pounds.
This rifle includes:
A Round Ball Mold
Cleaning Jag
Ball puller
The Oregon Barrel Works barrel is a massive 1-3/4" at the breech tapering to 1-3/8" at the muzzle with a 31" overall length. The .98 caliber has a .985" land to land, with a .998" diameter grooves with a 104" rate of twist. The bore is bright in as-new condition. The barrel is finished to a blue with a gray undertone. The sights are hand made for the rifle and appropriately fill the dovetails. The front sight is a steel blade, while the rear sight is a semi buckhorn style dovetailed 8-1/2" ahead of the breech. The breech end of the barrel is hand engraved with scrolls over the top 12" with the quarter flats engraved for 8" on each side. The muzzle end is also hand engraved with 8" of coverage with 6" on each quarter flat.
The rifle is stocked in Turkish walnut that displays a good amount of the typical brown and black pattern. Mr. Raby installed a 5/8" diameter steel rod from the buttplate to the breech during initial construction to strength the stock from recoil. The profile is a classic early 1800's English sporting rifle that is upscaled to accept the large bore barrel. The buttplate is wide, tall, nearly flat to help spread the felt recoil over a large area. The buttplate has a long stepped English style comb that extends to the mid-point of the butt. The buttplate is hand engraved in the same style as the barrel and the engraving extends down the over the heel where it is signed and dated Bill Raby 2024. The wrist is decorated with raised carving in a classic English style shell pattern. The thumbnail flared tang is neatly hand inlet and hand engraved. The lock panels are as trim as the barrel allows with the upper edge correctly defined by the side and quarter flat of the barrel. The lock panels are framed with raised moldings and a beaver tail finial. The forearm is fitted with a ebony forend cap. The rounded toe of the rifle fades into the wrist. The brass English style pistol grip triggerguard is neatly fitted and engraved. The brass ramrod pipes are a classic English style with raised rings and a short pointed skirt on the entry pipe. The ramrod is a stout 1/2' diameter and is fitted with a brass tip with 10-32 threads for accessories. The side panel has a simple brass washer style sideplate and the side panel is framed with raised moldings. The stock is shaped with a raised cheek piece for a right hand shooter.
This Four Bore English Sporting Rifle is fitted with L&R's late English flintlock. This 1820 to 1830 era flintlock has a blue with gray undertone that matches the finish to match the barrel. This flintlock features a waterproof pan with drains on either side. The frizzen spring has a roller bearing, for fast lock action. Both features found on late flintlocks. We recommend our #FLINT-ENG-6 3/4" knapped English flints for best performance in this lock. The lock is very correctly positioned with the flash fence at the breech of the barrel, a architectural detail found on most antique guns. The stainless touch hole liner brings the main charge very close to the priming flash. This vent is perfectly centered over the pan, correctly positioned to find the hottest center of the ignition flash. The single trigger is pinned high for good leverage and has no creep with a crisp break.
This large bore rifle is new with only a few strikes on the frizzen face from testing by the maker, Mr. Bill Raby. The Turkish walnut has attractive pattern. The lock, barrel, and furniture are all neatly fitted and finished with hand engraved accents. Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.
