The unsanded, original finish of the maple wood and the "rust finish" of the metal gives this rifle a unique look. The curl grain of the maple is evident in the upper stock. The delicate wire inlay on the stock is typical of this period of gun making.

My Southern Virginia Muzzleloader - built by craftsman and builder Jim Parker from Warrior, Alabama

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Bill-Haycock > The "Queen Anne" lock was a popular style lock of English origin of the late 1700s period. The maple wood with a slight "curly" grain is shown here. Note the fine hand work done by Jim Parker. No sanding was done to maintain the "original" look of rifles found during that period of rifle-making. The "double set" trigger is a L & R trigger. The L & R lock with the deep pan, large frizzen and ornate hammer are typical of English design locks of this period.

Bill-Haycock > The unsanded, original finish of the maple wood and the "rust finish" of the metal gives this rifle a unique look. The curl grain of the maple is evident in the upper stock. The delicate wire inlay on the stock is typical of this period of gun making.

Bill-Haycock > This image shows the L & R double set trigger with the Early American design of the trigger guard. The maple stock is carved by Jim Parker to duplicate the typical stock of the Southern Virginia design found on rifles of this period. The wire inlay is also typical. Jim's trade mark signature is found on the rear butt plate - three cross's inlaid into the wood.

Bill-Haycock > This is the 50 yard zero target used to determine the best combination of ball size, powder load and patch size. The load determined best for a 50 yard group was a .500 Round Ball, 60 grains of fff black powder, and a .015 Teflon coated patch. The sights are perfectly set by Jim Parker as no correction was needed in either elevation or windage. The wind was calm on the day of this grouping.

Bill-Haycock > This is the 100 yard zero target. The fluorescent three inch square paper is a "Post it" note paper glued onto a 9 inch diameter paper plate. Many combinations of Ball size, powder load and patch were fired to come up with the final load for 100 yards! The load that presented the tightest group was a .500 Round Ball, 80 grains of fff powder, and a .015 Teflon coated patch. The wind was calm on the day of this zero.

Bill-Haycock > These two "Post It" note squares show the result of zeroing the Southern Virginia at 50 yards after tuning up the trigger. Jim Parker, the builder did some extra work to make the trigger absolutely fine. Note that four round balls impacted through the preceding hole of the first impact! I reduced the powder load from 60 grains to 55 grains fff powder and am now using a .500 ball in lieu of the original .495 ball. Patch is now a .015 Teflon coated patch.

The unsanded, original finish of the maple wood and the "rust finish" of the metal gives this rifle a unique look. The curl grain of the maple is evident in the upper stock. The delicate wire inlay on the stock is typical of this period of gun making.