Rare Tennessee ROYLAND SOUTHGATE Flintlock Pistol

Rare Tennessee ROYLAND SOUTHGATE Flintlock Pistol
Rare hand-made Flintlock Pistol by famed Nashville (Franklin), Tennessee Gunsmith Royland Ives Southgate - one of only approx. 75 made | Pistol has a rifled 10" octagon barrel of .45 cal, rifled; A brass/ bronze flint lock with R. Southgate in script below pan, with a matching brass trigger guard and single rod pipe. Two engraved German silver diamond inlays on grip and two corresponding German silver inlays on the opposing side of the lock. The stock appears to be Cherry. The barrel is marked R+ SOUTHGATE and has a simple blade front sight and fixed rear sight. Very fine original condition.

Royland Southgate (1915-1979) was among the early gunmakers to revive traditional American gun making. Southgate hand built only 158 pistols (approx. half flintlock and half percussion). These very fine pistols not replicas, but true originals crafted the old fashioned way he learned from the last of the Appalachian craftsmen such as his mentor, Hacker Martin. Most of Southgate's machinery was homemade and "self powered". He cast and machined all his own metalwork to include hand planning the octagonal barrels and hand cutting the screws. His last and one of the most elaborate guns was commissioned by Slim Pickens of movie fame. Reference: "The Guns of Royland Southgate" by Rick Hacker, Gun Digest, 1990, 44th Annual Edition.