Ian Pratt is left-handed, a main reason the Marshallville, Ohio, craftsman became a noted builder of muzzle-loading rifles. “I’ve always enjoyed shooting and hunting with muzzle-loading rifles, but my passion for creating rifles began because I’m left-handed,” said Pratt, who was teaching a small group of students to make flintlock rifles on a recent Saturday morning at the Log Cabin Sport Shop in Lodi. “Left-handed rifles are hard to find, and custom rifles are expensive. I figured I’d build my own.” Luckily, the Log Cabin Sport Shop is not far from Pratt’s Wayne County home. Opened by the Kindig family a half-century ago, the shop is filled with pioneer history - and most every part a primitive-rifle maker could need. The shop is also crowded with custom, collectable and production models of black-powder rifles and shooting supplies, catering to collectors, builders and especially Ohio’s army of deer hunters.
“After I built a left-handed target rifle, another left-handed guy wanted to buy it,” said Pratt. “So I sold it and made another - and it sold, too. Before I knew it, I had custom-rifle orders in hand that would take me a year to complete.” Pratt quit his construction job three years ago to devote all of his time to building custom rifles. A rifle he built for the Contemporary Long Rifle Association for its annual auction in Lexington, Ky., was proof he made the right decision. Pratt’s rifle topped the auction list by selling for $8,500, pushing Pratt into the spotlight as one of America’s top muzzle-loading rifle makers.
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“I love hunting with muzzle-loading rifles,” said Pratt. “I started hunting squirrels with a .32-caliber rifle I made, and have created a number of deer rifles. Starting in May, I’ll focus on building a .62-caliber deer rifle.” Pratt and Jim Kibler of Hanoverton, Ohio, teamed up this winter - and into spring - to teach a class of 10 men to make their own .50-caliber flintlock rifles, the most popular caliber for Ohio deer hunting. “It’s a step-by-step class, and we do most of the work at home,” said Bill Pachinger of Middleburg Heights. “At first, building a muzzle-loading rifle from scratch seemed pretty intimidating. Pratt and Kibler have been great, though, in bringing us along. I’ve found it only takes some basic skills, a few tools and lots of patience. If we get stuck, we can always call them for advice.”
The flintlock rifles, first created in the 17th century, are the oldest style of muzzle-loading rifle, requiring a shooter to load the rifle by pouring black powder down the barrel, followed by a patch, and a round lead bullet. Powder is poured in a small pan that is a part of the external action of the rifle. When the trigger is pulled, a piece of flint strikes steel to set off the powder charge in the pan, which ignites the powder inside the rifle barrel.
More reliable percussion rifles followed in the early 1800s, with the hammer of the rifle striking a small percussion cap to touch off the black powder in the rifle barrel. For Log Cabin Shop owner Dan Kindig, the more primitive the rifle, the better. Though he sells most every kind of muzzle-loading rifle, he’s not a fan of the newfangled in-line black-powder rifles many Ohio hunters use during the state’s special primitive-weapons deer season. Kindig is a traditionalist, enjoying the flash of powder, a cloud of white smoke and the surprising accuracy of firearms first created in the 1600s.
Kindig sells the students all of the parts they’ll need to build a rifle, which include barrel, lock and trigger. The cost ranges from $450 to $800, mostly depending on the maple, black walnut or cherry chosen for the rifle stock. Like Pratt and Kibler, Kindig does not charge for the all-day classes that are held once a month over a six-month period. “We want to encourage people to get more out of the sport by building a rifle,” said Kindig. “Whether people are target shooters, hunters or both, I know how much satisfaction there is in building and shooting your own rifle.”
Source: Cleveland.com
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