BlackPowderMag.com Flintlock Rifles and Black Powder Guns
CLA Auction Item: SOUTHERN BANDED HORN by Billy Griner
Length, outside curve: 11 ½”
By Joshua Shepherd Photography by H. David Wright
A reliable powder horn is a necessity for the blackpowder shooter, and this year’s CLF fundraising auction features a truly exceptional example of the horner’s craft by artist Billy Griner.
Griner’s donation is a quintessential example of the southern banded horn. “This particular horn,” explains the artist, “is a contemporary squirrel rifle horn made in my Satilla River style.” The horn measures eleven and a half inches along the long curve, and features three decorative bands turned in suite. The turnip shaped base plug is Griner’s own design and was turned from beautifully figured gunstock maple. “The horn,” says Griner, is intended to be attached “to the small bag typically used to support a squirrel rifle.”
The entire piece is capped off with a custom spout also of the artist’s design. The spout is a three-piece affair crafted from white tailed deer antler with a copper accent band. The horn’s stopper is made from crape myrtle. Featuring elegant lines and ideal proportions, this stunning horn was colored with the artist’s proprietary blend of dyes, resulting in a piece that features beautifully contrasting patinas. The final finish on the horn is a hand rubbed finish of bear oil, linseed oil, and bees wax.
Artist Billy Griner is a member of the Contemporary Longrifle Association and a Freeman Horner in the Honourable Company of Horners. “I love being able to donate to the CLA,” he says. “It’s a great organization that I will always support.”
For more information on the work of Billy Griner, contact him directly:
To see all the Artists’ contributions to the 2020 CLF Live Fund Raising Auction, visit our website at http://www.contemporarylongriflefoundation.org/2020-live-auction/
Larry Pletcher, editor
www.blackpowdermag.com
