Mogan L. Rood was a contemporary and rival of Carlos Gove in Denver's gunsmithing community. Rood specialized in heavy, large caliber rifles such as this one chambered in .50-90. The rifle weighs about 13.25 lbs, so intended to fire from a rest or crosssticks.
This is the first rifle I have encountered by this builder. He is not mentioned in Marcot's book. Casual research has uncovered some muzzleloaders Rood built before relocating to Denver. Hoping someone in this community can shed additional light on the subject.
M.L. Rood Modified Rolling Block Rifle
M.L. Rood Modified Rolling Block Rifle
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marlinman93
- Posts: 464
- Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 10:47 pm
Re: M.L. Rood Modified Rolling Block Rifle
Rood was indeed another Denver gunsmith, and he and Gove had a real feud going over who was the best shooter. The Denver gunsmith feud was well publicized at the time and made the local papers with both men making jabs at each other.
Here's some more info from a Morphy auction some time ago that covers Rood pretty well.
"The name M.L. Maxwell is very lightly stamped on the lower tang. Maxwell along with Rood were known to be a shooting companions and friends of Kit Carson. This may have been his Denver made rifle. Morgan L. Rood was probably born in New York and moved to Michigan at a young age where he apprenticed gunsmithing and in 1849 left Michigan with the “Wolverine Rangers” for the California Gold Rush. They arrived late and were unable to do any prospecting until 1850 when the rivers subsided after the winter rains. There is a list of this party which includes Mr. Rood’s name. There was one mention of Mr. Rood having mined $10,000 in gold dust. He wound up in Denver in the 1860s and established his gun shop there becoming a major competitor and antagonist of Carlos Gove who had a competing shop nearby. Mr. Rood was a maker of fine hunting & target rifles and shotguns and a serious competitive shooter engaging in a number of shooting matches in the area, winning most. His shop sold all the popular makes of arms of the day plus sporting goods of all types, again in competition with Mr. Gove. In Sept. 1864 his gun shop blew up only slightly injuring him but damaging his eyesight. In 1866 Mr. Rood and Mr. Gove became engaged in a very spirited exchange of insulting articles in both the Denver Gazette and Rocky Mountain News with Mr. Rood challenging Mr. Gove to ten shooting matches at various distances using their respective rifles for $100 per match. Although the tirades continued for some time there is no evidence that they ever shot a match. Mr. Rood died on Nov. 26, 1881."
Here's some more info from a Morphy auction some time ago that covers Rood pretty well.
"The name M.L. Maxwell is very lightly stamped on the lower tang. Maxwell along with Rood were known to be a shooting companions and friends of Kit Carson. This may have been his Denver made rifle. Morgan L. Rood was probably born in New York and moved to Michigan at a young age where he apprenticed gunsmithing and in 1849 left Michigan with the “Wolverine Rangers” for the California Gold Rush. They arrived late and were unable to do any prospecting until 1850 when the rivers subsided after the winter rains. There is a list of this party which includes Mr. Rood’s name. There was one mention of Mr. Rood having mined $10,000 in gold dust. He wound up in Denver in the 1860s and established his gun shop there becoming a major competitor and antagonist of Carlos Gove who had a competing shop nearby. Mr. Rood was a maker of fine hunting & target rifles and shotguns and a serious competitive shooter engaging in a number of shooting matches in the area, winning most. His shop sold all the popular makes of arms of the day plus sporting goods of all types, again in competition with Mr. Gove. In Sept. 1864 his gun shop blew up only slightly injuring him but damaging his eyesight. In 1866 Mr. Rood and Mr. Gove became engaged in a very spirited exchange of insulting articles in both the Denver Gazette and Rocky Mountain News with Mr. Rood challenging Mr. Gove to ten shooting matches at various distances using their respective rifles for $100 per match. Although the tirades continued for some time there is no evidence that they ever shot a match. Mr. Rood died on Nov. 26, 1881."
Re: M.L. Rood Modified Rolling Block Rifle
Do you recall what type of rifle was in the Morphy auction?