A Steampunk Westley Richards

Think what you will of social media, but occasionally it can actually bring some good to the world. Such is the case with this project. Before us, we have a Westley Richards Improved Martini in for restocking. Its current owner, Steve, and I had connected via Instagram and communicated for the better part of a year when the conversation eventually lead to a restocking project.

The rifle up for discussion is a Westley Richards Improved Martini, Patent of 1869. In attempting to research the rifle, my calls to Westley Richards met an unfortunate dead end; the company’s archives were incomplete around the timeframe this rifle would have left their shop. So for now, all we know is that rifle was likely constructed some time between 1869 and 1872.

To be honest, I’d never given one of these rifles more than a passing glance prior to this project and knew virtually nothing about them. The action itself is hulking, with levers and humps that distort the clean lines British guns are known for. In our initial meeting about the project, Steve said, “This is as close as Westley Richards ever got to steampunk!” A more apt description eludes me. Nevertheless the nearly-full-coverage scroll engraving is well executed, as is the stippling at the back of the receiver, and a case colored trapdoor buttplate adds a touch of elegance. Westley Richards may have had reservations about using such an action as the basis of a build, but their execution is without compromise!

I have mixed feelings about restocking a historic firearm, especially one with a pedigree such as this. However, at some point in this fine rifle’s 150 year lifespan, the 28″ barrel had been bulged, rendering it unusable. Steve had Dennis Erhardt at Frontier Gun Shop in Helena, MT remove the bulge and sleeve the barrel to .458 caliber, then slow-rust blue the metal. Knowing that the rifle had already been thusly altered, I had no qualms about dressing it up in an elegant stick of walnut!

Rifle #1228 was originally chambered in .500-450 2 3/4″ BPE (or .450 No. 1 Express). According to Wal Winfer in British Single Shot Rifles Volume 4, Westley Richards would have regulated the .450 No. 1 Express with 100-127 grains of blackpowder under a 270-320 grain bullet. Pressures for such a load would be comparatively minimal, so in keeping to these parameters, the newly sleeved barrel was chambered for 45-70 Gov’t. After a brief discussion to explore stylistic options, I set to work on the new stock.

The first order of business was to evaluate what we had to work with. I was relieved to remove all the stock furniture without incident, carefully inventorying each piece for use on the replacement stock. It’s always nerve-wracking to work with small parts made from “unobtainium”, but it was quite a joy to dismantle, admire, and inspect such high level of craftsmanship. I marveled at the oringal maker’s skills as each benchmade item was withdrawn from the wood.

In dismantling the rifle, I immediately noticed that the top left side of the forend was broken its entire length. I rebuilt this area using Acraglass so that the original stock could be used as a pattern.

For wood, Steve chose to use one of the blanks I already had on hand. The blank itself was sourced from Cecil Fredi and had been aging in the dry Nevada heat for 11 years before I purchased it in 2017.

Once the original stock had been rebuilt, it and the blank were shipped to Gene Similion for duplicating. Always the consummate professional, Gene turned the blank around in record time and had the wood back to me in under 30 days. Its always exciting to see what the figure does when a square blank is shaped into the round. I wouldn’t have called this blank a “sleeper”, but it went up at least one full grade once it was machined. I kind of wish I would have kept it for me!

Steve wanted to keep the stock as authentic as possible, so in addition to reusing the original forend key, trapdoor buttplate, and sling stud, we decided to use horn for the forend cap. Sourcing a 2″ x 2″ block of horn proved to be a bit of a challenge, but in the end, I was able to find a supply of asiatic water buffalo horn on eBay. I ordered two blocks as a hedge against Mr. Murphy inviting himself to the party.

As the project evolved, Steve asked if the trap-door butt plate could be replaced with a classic Silver’s recoil pad. Although a considerable amount of time had already been devoted to fitting the steel plate, I couldn’t argue against the utilitarian virtues of a rubber recoil pad. In the end, I think the red pad was a great choice, even if it wasn’t original.

McLaughlin’s Old World Stock Finish was used to produce an in the wood finish, and 20 or more lightly buffed coats of Daly’s SeaFin were used as a top coat. After all, if Daly’s SeaFin is sufficient to protect teakwood on sailboats in the salty pacific northwest, then surely it should turn the trick on gunstocks!

I’m a bit biased, but I love the way the highly figured walnut of the new stock compliments the original metal work. The long barrel, complete with proof marks and original caliber designation harkens to time when an officer in the British Army may have taken this rifle to the jungles of India in search of leopard, chital, or even tigers.

Checkering was cut at 24 lines per inch in a simple point pattern approximating the style used on the original stock.

Steve says he’ll hunt the old rifle this fall, and I can’t wait to see some field photos. It’s tantalizing to think about all the places this Westley might have traveled in its century-and-a-half of existence.

Here’s to another 150 years of use for Westley Richards #1228!