Martin Fry was an iconic gunsmith in York Pennsylvaina, producing some of the highest quality rifles of the golden age. In the book “Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age”, Joe Kindig Jr wrote that “the Frys were a very important gunsmithing family in York” and “I hope that someone will study Martin Fry and his rifles more extensively, for he was a truly great American artisan”.
This custom built rifle is a great example of Martin Frys work and exhibits features of the originals shown in Kindigs book. It features a 44″ long .50 caliber Douglas XX barrel with 8 groove rifling, and has been hand coned for ease of loading. The lock is a small Siler that has been heavily modified and completely hand tuned for a fast ignition and a light, crisp trigger pull. It features an all hand forged and hand made trigger in the period style, hand made sideplate, and all hand made front and rear sights. The stock was stained with the traditional 18th Century aqua fortis, and finished with a hand rubbed linseed oil mix finish. The iron parts have been finished with a nice patina that replicates the originals and the brass furniture carries a soft mellow tone. This rifle is light in weight, has been very well built and very lightly used, and remains in “like new” condition.
The trigger pull length is 13 5/8″ long.
