This H. E. Leman half stock rifle was hand finished from the H. E. Leman rifle kit once made by Green River Rifle Works, of Roosevelt, Utah. Although they closed years ago, their fine rifles are highly collectible. Perhaps the most famous of the Lancaster makers, Henry Eicholtz Leman (also spelled Lehman early in his career), created a factory to produce arms for westbound settlers, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This percussion half stock plains rifle is modeled after his 1840 to 1880 period work. Trigger reach is 13-7/8" to fit today's average size shooter. Weight is 9.1 pounds.

The seven groove cut rifled 1" octagon barrel is 34" length. These Green River Rifle Works (GRRW) barrels were famous for accuracy, during the 1970 era of their production. Cut rifled with seven deep equal lands and grooves, the bore is bright, clean, and has been well maintained. The top flat of the barrel is stamped GRRW and CA just ahead of the breech. The left oblique flat is stamped L-02, LB the touch mark for Les Bennet, and .50. The barrel is fitted with a browned iron blade front sight and a semi-buckhorn rear sight is dovetailed 8" ahead of the breech. A single bolt passes through the rounded tang to engage the trigger plate below. A small wedge key surrounded by brass escutcheons retains the barrel to the forearm.

The maple stock has faux figure hand painted stripes, which was a common finish on antique H.E. Leman rifles. The stock has a few minor handling marks, along with a few small areas of marks left from being clamped in a vise. We note streaks and flaking in the finish, and epoxy can be seen around the toeplate and escutcheons. The rifle is trimmed in brass furniture with a poured pewter muzzlecap. We note the brass furniture has many small file marks that were not polished out during the build process. The buttstock has the Leman style straight line comb architecture. The bottom view shows the toeplate and triggerguard. The single trigger and unique triggerguard with large loop and grip rail, instantly identify this as the work of Henry Leman. The pewter forend cap acts as the ramrod entry pipe. The ramrod is fitted with a brass tip with 10-32 threads for loading and cleaning accessories. A .50 caliber button jag is fitted on the end of the ramrod and extends 1/2" past the muzzle. A single lock bolt retains the lock, and a simple brass tear drop inlay serves as a sideplate. The beaver tail cheekpiece is a typical feature of plains rifles from this period.

Ignition is provided by this percussion lock, by Bud Siler, of Asheville, North Carolina. The lock has a smooth nice trigger release, short hammer travel, and fast lock time. The Siler Mountain caplock was introduced late in the production and not many of the Green River Rifle Works Leman Rifles were fitted with Siler Mountain locks. The lock is browned to match the barrel. The drum is fitted with a 1/4-28 stainless steel nipple for No. 11 percussion caps. The single trigger is leveraged with a high pivot point, for a light trigger release.

Assembled from one of the GRRW original kits, by one of the original craftsmen. Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.