Tell me about your guncart

[RattlesnakeJack]

I've posted pictures previously (although not in this thread) of the half-scale Red River Cart I completed last year.   This Spring I produced hoops and a canvas cover (both removeable) for rain protection ..... (Click on thumbnails to enlarge.)





The rather unattractive contraption at the front end of the shafts in the lower photo is something I rigged up for attachment to the shafts to hold them horizontal when the cart is "at rest", and also to afford someplace to sit down.  (The lower plank has dowels projecting from its upper ends which engage in holes drilled into the underside of the shafts, and the upper plank pivots over the top of the shafts to hold the unit in place.)

However, I am not impressed with either the stability or appearance of this system, so my next project is to make something along similar lines (as far as operation/attachment are concerned) but which utilizes the nail keg shown in the upper photo for the support system.  The whole thing will just lift up and come along with the cart when being pulled, but when the unit is "at rest" it will hopefully have a more appropriate appearance - as if someone placed a plank over the top of a barrel or keg to support the shafts and level the cart.

It seems logical that cart shafts must have been propped up in such a fashion "back in the day" (at least once in awhile) though admittedly most period images I've seen show them resting on the ground ....



You may be able to tell that I shortened the shafts a bit after the first photo was taken, and will likely shorten them again slightly to minimize over-all length for ease of transport.  Note that the shafts on original carts were often quite short - about the length of the "basket" section, if not less.  Only a single draft animal was used, with the usual harness system requiring the shafts to reach no farther than the shoulder ...

[Johnny McCrae]

Enclosed are pictures of a removable insert that fits into the bottom section of my gun cart. I've taken a piece of rubberized-bottom outdoor carpeting and folded it to form a cradle to hold my rifle & shotgun in place. It is glued together with Barge Cement. I'm hoping it will protect the butts of the guns.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Pards

              I guess I cheated, I bought mine from Bill Bower of Oak Tree, it has a large storage box in front and a box in the bottom back and a smaller box in the upper back , I did a little leather work on it and added a few do-dads and lined the gun box with green felt . I think its going to work just fine for me .

             Jonhny McCrae and Rattlesnake Jack , You Pards did a Rightous job on you gun carts , they should give you years of service..
Take care and shoot Straight  ;
                                                       Ten Wolves 

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

heres a close up   


                                Ten Wolves

[Deadeye Don]

My gun cart is in my avatar.

[RattlesnakeJack]

My gun cart is in my avatar.

Ahhh ... a true-blue NCOWS shooter: acts as his own packmule!   

The main reason I built my half-scale Red River cart was to have a 'NCOWS-legal' conveyance ...
though admittedly it's just a mite cumbersome to transport to shoots, it definitely can be done,
because I made it with the axle and wheels easily removeable.   Matter of fact, I hauled it about
1200 miles to the Grand Army of the Frontier Muster at Ackley, Iowa, just last month ....
(click to enlarge)


Prior to that trip I had shortened the shafts somewhat to make it fit better in the back of my SUV,
having noted from 'period' images of these Metis carts that the shafts were frequently quite short,
in keeping with the way the single draft animal was harnessed up:
   

I've also rigged a new 'shaft-support and sitting-down system', as seen in the first photo above. 
The previous system (visible in the photo in my first post showing the canvas cover in place) was
frankly rather 'chintzy-looking', and also none too stable as a chair ...  This version also temporarily
attaches to the shafts while in use as a guncart (top plank pivots to 'lock' it into position, or remove)
and thus just 'comes along' with the cart when moving it from position to position using a leather
strap affixed to the lower plank on either side of the keg ... just visible in the first photo.  Hopefully
it looks more 'realistic' - i.e. meant to appear like the cart shafts have been set up on a plank atop
a barrel, with another plank laid across the top to form a table or work surface ....  Have not yet
located a period image showing such, but it seems like a plausible thing to have done, and at any
rate this system is definitely much more solid for sitting down!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Your rig looks good, Jack. The barrel is a nice improvement over the other brace. It looks more plausible, not to mention more stable.

[Arcey]

Awful nice lookin’ werk.  I’d just hate ta push (pull) it some places I shoot. Ya need small ‘n light.  Real muddy in places too.

When I was a kid, Mechanics Illustrated had plans for a scale ‘03 curved dash Oldsmobile.  Really like to convert them plans o’er to electric motivation ‘n make a gun cart outtah the thing.  I’d have ta have a trailer to take it places but that ain’t difficult ta come by.

Pipe dreams…

[RattlesnakeJack]

Thanks for the kind words, Gents!

Awful nice lookin’ werk.  I’d just hate ta push (pull) it some places I shoot. Ya need small ‘n light.  Real muddy in places too.

Well, Arcey ... 'muddy' ... or even worse ... was a very traditional set of conditions for the original carts,
so I'm OK there, I think ... (click to enlarge)

   

FWIW, the third image above comes from the sketchbook of a fellow who was part of an 1862 overland expedition
from Fort Garry on the Red River (near present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba) to the Cariboo Goldfields in north-central
British Columbia ... about 2000 miles or so 'as the ox plods'.  (Which reminds me ... everyone keeps telling me to get
a miniature ox to pull my cart .....    )


Actually, as for ease of use, I've found that the bigger the wheels, the better a cart traverses rough or uneven ground. 
This cart is actually quite light and well balanced, and thus pulls quite easily, which is especially noticeable when I pass all
the other folks struggling with the more common smaller-wheeled guncarts in the ruts and bumps so often encountered ....

[Arcey]

What I was thinkin’ is them pretty wheels in the mud.  Nasty.

I’ve hoarded a dozen ¾ X 24 plywood disks.  Broken from wire spools from the building under restoration next door to my office.  I build carts from plans supplied by Russ N. Hound on kansascas.com I’ve modified. 

If  I ever get back to the state shoot, I’m buildin’ one just wide ‘nuff for two long guns ‘n usin’ the salvaged disks for wheels. There’s one stage set there ya walk straight up ta get to ‘n ta leave ya walk straight down on a red clay path.  My four wheeler ain’t real heavy but I thought it was gonna drag me down the hill ‘fore we made it to the bottom.  The incline is such the cart rode on it’s hind wheels all the way down.  One slip.....................

[Nine Toe Jim]

Did anyone happen to notice that it looks like Rattlesnake Jack in one of those original pictures? Wow has he been around that long??

NTJ

[RattlesnakeJack]

Well, I dunno Jim ...

I did a blowup to check and, except for some similarity in girth,
I just don't see the resemblance!



 



 




 




 

[Nine Toe Jim]

YOur right RSJ I just noticed the horns. Right age group wrong person HAW!

[Badlands Walker]

Dem' sure is some nice lookin' gun carts pards.  This is the one I prefer.  I designed & built this myself back in 2004 out at the ranch.  You can get a good look at it on my old pard's Coal Valley Hoss' webpage at: http://www.kansascas.com/ and iffn' you have a hankering to build one, just shoot me an email & I will get them plans right out to ya.

Ya'll have a great day, ya' hear! 

[boot strap jack]

BW that is one nice coach. I need to build one myself. Is it heavy? What kind of lumber did you use? How close to scale is it, or at all?

[Badlands Walker]

Boot Strap, thanks for the kind words pard.  The stagecoach fills the back of the old Ford Pick-up if that helps pard, lol.  I would guess the weight at about 45 to 55 pounds and it is made mostly of pine.  The wagon wheels are the most expensive part of the creation so, you may want to look around to get the best deal possible.  I had a pard tell me it's probably a little under 1/4 scale?

If you're interested in the plans for this thing, (instructions, diagrams & photos) shoot me an email (eosimages@suddenlink.net) and I will get them right out to ya pard.

[Arcey]

Seen one of them coaches, up close ‘n personal, built from those plans by Texas Ant, Mechanicsville, VA. Very, very nice. Ant tells me he got some technical advice from BW by phone.

Me? I wouldn’t attempt it. Ant is a craftsman. I’m a hack with a jigsaw who knows his limitations.

[Adirondack Jack]

That's a fine lookin stage!!!

Meanwhile, for something entirely different, I put this lightweight cart together.


four guns, folding, removable integral front "box" bucket.


Wheels and handle are salvaged from a an old "goat cart".


Bucket serves as ammo tray and cooler with a foam insert inside.

Haven't used it yet, but I think it'll be ok.

[Adirondack Jack]

Awful nice lookin’ werk.  I’d just hate ta push (pull) it some places I shoot. Ya need small ‘n light.  Real muddy in places too.

When I was a kid, Mechanics Illustrated had plans for a scale ‘03 curved dash Oldsmobile.  Really like to convert them plans o’er to electric motivation ‘n make a gun cart outtah the thing.  I’d have ta have a trailer to take it places but that ain’t difficult ta come by.

Pipe dreams…

Somewhere in my junk, I have a copy of that MI issue.  Arthur Godfrey and a buddy of his were selling those cars as kits (they had the olds and a ford), pushing em to folks in the then new gated retirement communities where they woulda been legal to use.

It's a big machinist job to build one, but it wure would be neat

[Arcey]

Happy ta hear someone else remembers it, Jack. Startin’ ta think I might have just dreamed it. Would be a unique cart.

[Adirondack Jack]

Happy ta hear someone else remembers it, Jack. Startin’ ta think I might have just dreamed it. Would be a unique cart.

http://cowboy45special.com/1901Olds.html

[Arcey]

That’s it. Thanks. It’s been a long time.

[Dick Dastardly]

Most gun carts I've seen share a common problem, or two.  Ever since I've been allowed to carry a gun, after my 6th birthday, I've been taught that the end of the gun with the round hole is where the violence comes out.  In other words, I hate looking down gun barrels, especially my own.

To that end, I've designed a minimalist gun cart that won't require the operator to look down his gun barrels when he's moving the cart.  It's a two wheel design that folds up easily and can be hung on wall pegs when not in use.  It'll transport easily, haul all the ammo needed for a full annual match and hold up to Four long guns.  I'm making Two of 'em.  One each for my Two Sons in Law.  They are great pards to shoot with.  My daughters made good choices.

Ok, I'll post photos when I get the first one finished.

FWIW, my own gun cart has me looking down the barrels and it'll get replaced when I'm done with the first two carts.  I'm thinkn' it will become a garden tool cart for my bride.  She will get a kick out of having a cart to move her garden stuff around in.

Stand by for photos in a couple of weeks.

DD-DLoS

[Flash Powder Hal]

Recently finished my own guncart,

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=7182544

A little differnt then most,

but I like it 

[Silver Creek Slim]

Looks good ta me, pard.

Slim