Whitney Model 1861 "Plymouth" Rifle

This Model 1861 Whitney "Plymouth" Rifle was built by David Stavlo using a combination of original and custom-made parts. This museum-quality piece is a true recreation of Navy Ordnance Officer Captain John A. Dahlgren's famous naval rifle. The Plymouth rifle featured a .69 caliber rifled barrel and was developed and tested on board Dahlgren's ship, the U.S.S. Plymouth, 1856-1858. The Whitney Arms Company supplied the U.S. Navy with about ten thousand Plymouths.

The stock was carved from straight grained American Walnut. David hand-fit each component to the stock to make sure the fit was identical to the original Plymouth Rifles; using the dimensions of an original Plymouth Rifle here in the shop as a reference . David was able to work the stock down to the graceful profile of the original Plymouth Rifle with special attention paid to the lock mouldings, wrist, and forestock. The stock was burnished like the originals before being finished with linseed oil. As an added bonus, David copied the original "FCW" cartouche of civilian Naval arms inspector Frank C. Warner and applied it to the stock. 

With the stock finished, the work continued with the finishing of the gun's metal. The barrel was made by master barrel maker Bob Hoyt. David made the front sight and bayonet lug and installed them on the muzzle of the barrel and added a custom-made Plymouth rear sight to the breech. An "1863" date stamp was also added to the top breech flat, as well as a "VP/Eagle" proofmark and an additional subinspector stamp. Finally, David also added a proper serial number to the barrel tang - a feature unique to Plymouth rifles that featured barrels that were serialized to a corresponding-numbered saber bayonet. 

The lock was made from a blank and stamped with the correct early-style Whitney-ville "Spread-Winged Eagle" motif, as well as a corresponding 1863 date. The hammer was cast of an original Plymouth hammer that we made a custom-mold of and the checkering was hand-cut by David. 

The and furniture is primarily reproduction pieces cast off of originals by The Rifle Shoppe in OK. All of the correct stamps were applied to the furniture and everything was hand-polished to armory bright. The ram rod was custom-made for this project, and is an exact copy of the original Plymouth ram rod.  

Finally, David  test-fired the gun and was pleased with how well it handled; despite its hefty size!