Finally, the Peerless Faeton™

PEERLESS FAETON™

For some time now I have made reference to a new project which, when completed, I would share with you loyal readers. Well, the time has arrived for the unveiling of my new creation which has taken well over a year to complete when you include the services of the barrel maker, engraver and the casehardening service.

So, without further ado, may I present for your consideration my Peerless Faeton™.  

Through the years of building Zephyrs and now, the Faeton, I’ve wanted to make an English pattern underhammer that emulates the architecture and sensibilities of the fine English sporting rifles of the late percussion period. Many feel that those English sporting guns represent the epitome of gun design and are truly functional art. The Peerless Faeton is the result of my effort to honor those designs of old in an underhammer format.

 Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them. Clicking the White X in the upper right corner will return you to the text.

The Peerless Faeton™  is a takedown design which means it also has multi-barrel capability and is available as a high-velocity round ball rifle in .577 calibre with Genuine Forsyth Rifling™, and in .450 calibre with Genuine Alex Henry Rifling™. You may recall that Alexander Henry presented his patented rifling around 1870 and his target rifles beat the pants off the previous champion, the Whitworth rifle, with its hexagonal bore and 6-sided bullet. 

I have chosen to resurrect the true Henry rifling, that is, with 7 lands and grooves, for those wishing to hunt with cylindrical bullets. Genuine Alex Henry Rifling™ will also shoot patched round balls with reduced charges for plinking or hunting of small game.

Only high-grade English walnut will be used for crafting the Peerless and the forearm is tastefully tipped with ebony. The receiver, triggerguard, patchbox, and buttplate are embellished with restrained engraving and are casehardened. Also available is a fine English-fitted oak case which is available in single barrel or two-barrel configuration. 

The photos will provide answers to most other questions, however, if you have interest and more questions regarding options, pricing and lead time, please feel free to contact me at: Underhammers@RadicalConcepts.info

 Cheers!

Update

Since the original posting, a customer requested a variation on the Peerless Faeton theme to include a full wood pistol grip with steel grip cap and checkering. Here, then, are a few pics of the results, with which I am most pleased. 

I would like to say that the English-style checkering was the challenge as most of the checkering people I contacted were not willing/able to accomplish this pattern to our specs.

However, Bob Oates of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan rose to the challenge and delivered the service just as I requested. I can wholeheartedly recommend his work for quality, price, and reasonable delivery time. I am glad to have found him and he is now the official checkering artisan for all of my Faeton rifles!  

You can email Bob at:  rdoatesmtp@hotmail.com.

Clicking on the photo will enlarge it for closer viewing of the English-pattern checkering. Clicking the White X in the upper right corner of the screen will return you to the text.