About 10 years ago, a good friend /customer came to me with an idea for his "dream gun" He wanted a "Post golden age" period flintlock with plain dark wood , no carving & all decoration done in silver. This is a time period most of us contemporary builders ignore. I have seen guns by Derringer, Leman, & some Ohio builders that followed this theme. So with that being said, heres what my customer wanted. He wanted the gun to be very long & slender {like the pretty dance hall girls} all dressed up for show. He actually named this project before it started. "THE DANCE HALL QUEEN" He supplied a 44 inch custom Mark DeHaas barrel & had me build from there. The stock is straight grained walnut , the lock started from an L & R Bedford (with major reconstruction) & all other parts were made by myself. I could not have done this type of work if I had not become a part of the CLA. The many years of studying work by Gusler,Chambers,Silver, Price, Harn & Many others to numerous to list, gave me the insight to do this kind of art. Many thanks to all "for lending a hand". Even though this was ordered about 10 years ago, it did not start until last year. The owner had health problems then & had to retire early. Last year he gave the "go ahead" & off we went. To all the "primitive" partners" yes it is bright & shinny" BUT this was made for show & fits the "time & place" I hope to bring it to this years CLA in August by his permission.
