By Larry B. Schuknecht
This informal group of New York State firearms collectors attempts to meet at least once a year at one of the group member’s homes for Show and Tell, discussion and a meal. The group began these meetings in Late 2006. Their origin dates back decades to the Alexander Gun Show which Doc. (Harry) Spink operated. He and other like minded individuals would gather near the front door where Doc. held court, often with Mr. Holman J. (hereafter referred to as -Jerry as he was known by his friends) Swinney in attendance.
Jerry Swinney began his Study of New York State firearms makers in 1949 and in 1951 he published a 60 page booklet titled New York State Gunmakers. As the Director of several prominent Historical Societies and Museums, principally the Adirondack Museum and the Strong Museum, he had access to historical material and contacts which made his research easier. By the time he retired in 1982 he had amassed enough material to fill seventeen 2 inch notebooks. In 2003 the material was published by Mr. Tom Rowe as the five Volume set of books- The New York State Firearms Trade with the help and contributions of many others. While the material was limited to the Swinney research by practicality, we recognized that there was a lot more material on the Gunmakers out there, especially with the advent of the internet. For this reason our small group of collectors began meeting and in 2018 a sixth volume was printed titled An Addendum to The NY State Firearms Trade. We still continue to meet and do further research although our group is getting smaller each year.
The following images are both a memorial to those members who have passed on to lead the way for the rest of us (their names will be in Red in the captions) and a chronical of the group. Enjoy!
Some other members of the Study Group are- Craig Adamson, Chris Aherns, Willis Barschied, Tom Rowe, Al Stone and Alan Wolcott.
If anyone reading this has information about a New York State gunmaker or a Gun that they wish to share with the group, they may contact me and I will see that it is done.
Recently I became the new custodian of a group of stock makers tools which to me are significant and worthy of inclusion here. First some history of them. The following information was recorded during a conversation with Mr. Swinney.
In the 1940’s Jerry Swinney who had learned the stock making trade from M. S. Risley, entered into a partnership with Mr. Harlan G. Howe of 236 Marshal Ave., W. Hempstead, N.Y. Mr. Howe was a superb machinist and Jerry Swinney a superb stockmaker. According to Jerry the firm was known as Swinney & Howe and they built 25 to 30 custom rifles over a three to four year period. It is possible that many of the custom rifles from the 1940’s that are marked “Harlan G. Howe” on the barrel were stocked by Jerry. Recently a “Swinney & Howe” rifle no. 1 has come to light. Further on you will find Swinney’s story about that rifle and it’s creation in his own words. First we will look at the images of Jerry’s collection of Stock Maker’s tools.
Following are two images of a stock making pilot for the Sharps- Borchardt Rifle. I feel this is significant as it possibly ties Jerry to the Custom .225 Sharps Borchardt rifle sold by Christies in 1999.
Two more images of a three flute tapered reamer clearly ties these tools to Jerry. On the shank it is stamped “Expressly made for H. J. Swinney”.
The following image shows the relationships of the receiver bedding tools used for stocking Bolt Action rifles. First the two holes for the receiver bolts were drilled and with the short pilot screws the receiver and barrel were bedded to the wood and drawn down into the wood by removing the pilots and replacing with the “T” handled draw bolts. When the bedding was completed the pilots replaced the draw bolts and the hollow “T” handled cutters would be used to enlarge the bolt holes for the pillar between the receiver and the box magazine floor plate. Note- on a Mauser as shown, only the rear bolt had a pillar, the front floor plate boss seated directly against the receiver recoil boss.
Swinney & Howe #1
By Jerry Swinney
This rifle began when I discovered that Remington was scrapping obsolete spare parts in early 1943. This included spare barrels for model 30 rifles in obsolete calibers, which were .25 Remington, .30 Remington, .32 Remington, .35 Remington and 7 mm Mauser, the later being barrels for the Honduran military rifle in a metric length of about 26 inches. I got permission to buy 20 or 25 of these barrels for, as I now recall, 25 Cents apiece-on condition that that they be mutilated so that they would not screw into a Remington action and that the logo be polished off. I took them to a friendly Polisher Foreman who carefully took off the logo but removed as little metal as possible and I mutilated them myself. Holding the barrel in my right hand, I struck the corner of the extractor cut with a light blow with a light Machinist’s hammer. This raised a burr that prevented assembling the barrel to a Model 30 action by hand but that would be simple to file off. A Model 30 barrel is similar to an Enfield, and has the largest shank diameter of any commonplace barrel. This means that a model 30 barrel can easily be re-threaded for a Springfield or a Mauser, making these very useful barrels for a rifle maker.
In 1943 I was drafted and in 1944 I shipped out to England, where I became the regimental Armorer for the 3rd Military Government Regiment. Then we went to France and on to Germany. In Germany I acquired a number of guns, and I sent home all the good Mauser actions I could get hold of- probably 10 or more. One of these was a nicely-finished Czeck Mauser which became Swinney & Howe #1. My inventory tells me, to my surprise that this was finished in 1950, but I am sure that this is incorrect: it was about 1947. (The present owner upon removing the barrel and action from the stock found the date “1950” stamped on the bottom of the barrel.)
M. S, Risley fitted the barrel, and I asked him if he could chamber it for .300 Savage. I did not want to make the gun up in 30-06, for two reasons: First, the caliber has a severe report and muzzle blast in a short barrel, and second, a 30-06 is really too long for a Mauser action. Quite a lot of alteration to the magazine and feed rails is required. Thus I decided on .300 Savage, which was a good deal shorter than 30-06; .308 Winchester, which would be the best solution, had not yet appeared.
Risley said offhand that of course he could chamber it for .300 Savage; what he meant was that he could make a reamer. After his death, when his daughter Jean and I cleaned out his shop, I found a half reamer in .300 Savage; I am sure he made it to chamber that one rifle.
I was living in Brooklyn, and had joined the Roslyn (Long island) Rifle and Revolver Club, which had a 200 yard range north of Roslyn Village. A fellow member was Harlan G. Howe, a master Electrician by trade and a part time Gunsmith with whom I later developed a loose partnership. He was interested in the project and did the rough work on the small parts-nose-cap, front sling swivel, front sight ramp, etc. Click HERE to read about the life and creations of Harlan G. Howe.
I corresponded with Bishop and found that they could could not supply a full length Mannlicher type stock with fancy grain, but for a small extra fee (about $5.00) they would send a selected blank, to which I of course said yes.
Shortly I had the stock sanded all over, and I took it out to Harlan’s. He was sitting on a stool in front of his bench, and when I walked in carrying this rifle, he wordlessly held out his hand for it. I handed it to him, and he looked it all over, and finally reached it into a rack beside his bench. Not until then did he say “You’ll do, Start Monday and bring your lunch.” Of course he was kidding but the rifle had passed.
He made the floor plate which has an “H. J. S.” monogram in silver wire, he checkered the trigger, made the rough shaded ramp, altered the bolt handle, and did other small things. (If you disassemble the rifle, you’ll find that the safety spindle has been drilled through from side to side and a very small coil spring has been installed in the drill hole. This is just long enough to drag a trifle in the hole at each end. This keeps the Mauser safety from rattling- a minor but common fault. I never knew any other rifle-make to do this. (Don’t lose the spring).
The rifle was flooded in Boise in 1959. (When Swinney worked there as Director of the Idaho Historical Society from 1956 to 1965-L.B.S.) When I returned east in 1965 I took it to Lefever Arms. Co. in Lee Center, N.Y. and had it Rust Blued. Despite the very real skill of Bill Swartz, a partner in the firm, some obscure damage was done: the bolt was polished, and it has never worked as smoothly since. As I recall, there was a very slight stain on the edge of the barrel channel about half way up the barrel that was left after the flood. (the rifle was submerged in water and mud for several days.) There is a very small chip out of the wood of the barrel channel at about the same place; this was the result of a slip while inletting the barrel.
There is another mistake. The mortice for the rear tang of the receiver is really a little too deep, and by drawing up the rear guard screw strongly the tang can be bent down into the mortice. The head of the screw is contoured, and it should be backed out just enough to make the contour fit- say possibly 1/8 turn or so. This ought to affect accuracy, but my inventory says that the rifle will shoot into two minutes of angle, which is all anyone could ask for with iron sights. It has not been shot with good ammunition for a great many years.
Subsequently, Harlan and I made a good many rifles, and he always engraved them “Swinney & Howe” with a sequential number. I guess the numbers got into the 30’s by the time I left Brooklyn in 1954. Harlan was an ingenious workman and a quick one; he could fit and chamber a barrel in an hour, and I never knew him to botch one. He died of Cancer about 1975. I often think to myself “I’ll get Harlan to fix that before I recall that I can’t do it any more.
H. J. Swinney- January 7, 1999
In 1999 Jerry gave this rifle to a dear friend who was a fellow author and collector of Remington Firearms. He treasured and preserved the rifle until he recently gave it to the gentleman who contacted me and shared the pictures and Swinney’s story with us. Thank You!
Jerry Swinney had a long and varied career in Museum Management. His first such positions were with the Pratt Institute and Old Sturbridge Village. In 1956 to 1965 he was Director of the Idaho Historical Society, 1965 to 1971 the Director of the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mt. Lake in N.Y., and Director of the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum in Rochester, N.Y. from 1972 to 1982 when he retired. He was instrumental as a member of several important organizations related to History and Museums and served as an active Museum consultant. He authored many articles related to History and artifacts and in 1979 he developed a program for Museum Training at the University of Oklahoma where he taught classes on the subject.