A true American firearm: the Kentucky Long Rifle

[Jim McDougall]

Absolutely beautiful rifle Chris, and thank you for posting it with along with such a great write up as well!!! Like the long rifle itself, your well written detail is right on target
Interesting notes Norman as well. While always a sword guy, you guys have really sparked my interest in these fantastic and historic guns.

It really is interesting that these rifled guns had a bit of a slow start militarily, and were originally hunting guns, with smaller caliber and the long barrel to gain velocity. That is about the extent of my ballistics understanding.

It seems that these were a reflection of the rather unique tactics of the irregular forces against the British in the American Revolution. These guns were slow to load, thus were not too compatible with the smoothbore muskets of the time, which were loaded at three times the speed. Also, in pitched combat, accuracy was irrelevant when it became nearly impossible to see targets through the voluminous smoke produced in volley fire of British muskets.
As far as I know, none of these were fitted with bayonets, which was a key concern in warfare as once discharged, the soldier was vulnerable to impending attackers. One unit which was actually issued rifles by the government (Daniel Morgan's) concerned George Washington on this issue, and he ordered them to get spears for backup. The axe (tomahawk) became the most typically used secondary weapon by these riflemen as they neatly slid into the belt as opposed to the awkward spear or pole type weapon.

The reason for the success of the long rifle was due to the guerilla type tactics and accurate fire of the men using them. Most of the regular units of course used European type military muskets. Another problem with the rifle was lack of standardization in the military application, as thier calibers as well as individual dynamics varied so much. Still, the obvious effectiveness of these guns is legendary.

I think that the long rifle stands as a symbolic true American weapon is that it represents the character and innovation of the American colonists. While these were of course, the work of German immigrants originally, it was a country of immigrants, from many countries, all together seeking an ideal.
It was effective in the sense that it was used, though not immediately effective in a regulation military sense. It was a hunting weapon, which became employed against a military foe, by common men with remarkably uncommon valor. Therefore, like them, a true American icon, and as Chris notes, the first of the new Country.

When the acclaim of these marksmen with hunting rifles became well established with the British, it is said that George Washingon wanted to encourage the wearing of 'hunting shirts' among the men, as it suggested that all who wore them were such 'marksmen'. It seems that in much this same sense years later, during the Civil War, Berdan when developing his two units of 'Sharpshooters' for the Union army, the 2nd US Sharpshooters were primarily young woodsmen/ marksmen from Minnesota, and thier first 'uniforms' were the checkered woodsman type flannel shirts. Later, they were issued green uniforms (as opposed to Union blue, and mindful of the green worn by British rifle regiments in the 19th century). In the same manner, it is said these men in green were much feared as snipers by the Confederate forces.

All best regards,
Jim

[fernando]

Fascinating, Chris !
It is really amazing to see flintlocks equiped with a 'hair' trigger, something i would never realized
On the other hand, it is noteworthy that, exceptional sharp shooters like David Crockett, besides others already mentioned, could made their day without such a device ... that we know of.
I used to have two weapons with hair trigger: a saloon pistol and a magnificent olympic shuetzen, both in .22 caliber. But as i don't practice shooting and they were 'too modern' to be legal without a licence, i swaped them for earlier firearms .

[laEspadaAncha]

Cap'n Jim!

I see ye ship Work Horse has survived these Arctic strains and am always honored to welcome ye aboard me thread!

You're absolutely right in that it was the right tool for the tactics employed by Colonial forces... When one presents a volley fired by a rigid line of troops, aimed toward an opposing formation of the enemy, precision took a second seat to the sheer volume of shot, sustained by sheer numbers of men. To successfully engage an opposing force using guerilla tactics, accuracy was a necessary condition.

After reading Norman's post referencing the battle at King's Mountain, I did a little reading on the engagement, and it was interesting to read that the Patriot militias would break off their engagement every time the Loyalists would mount a bayonet charge, as they could not affix bayonets to their hunting rifles!

I would have to believe the tactics employed by the sharpshooters were a natural by-product of life on the frontier, where in addition to the skill required to hunt game, frontiersmen were often confronted by an equally stealthy foe in the hostile Native Americans hell-bent on driving the encroaching settlers off their ancestral lands.

Thank you as well for bridging the timeline of the discussion to include the Civil War. It is not difficult to imagine this rifle in the hands of a Confederate sharpshooter in one of North Carolina militia units that fought in the conflict... On the flip side of that coin, the same Sharps rifle used by the U.S. 2nd Sharpshooters was featured last night on the season premier of Top Shot! Sharpshooters have played an integral role in every major conflict in which we have fought, and their history is a long and storied one indeed.


*****


'Nando - The hair trigger on the Plains rifle is indeed a hair trigger! I have the trigger pull on my .308 set to a shade under 3 lbs... which is light. I would estimate the trigger pull on the long rifle to be just a shade under my .308. But with the Plains rifle, once the set trigger is pulled, I swear the air around my finger is enough to release the hammer!

The dual set trigger acted as a safety of sorts, allowing the primary trigger to be set to a very light pull. Breathing and trigger control are the two keys to precision shooting... poor control of the former results in a vertical spread, while poor control of the latter results in a loss of horizontal precision. The lighter a trigger pull, the less the tendency to literally "pull" the trigger. A light pull = a very gentle squeeze. The long rifle also has an additional integral safety, as the set trigger must be pulled before the hammer will cock, an interesting feature that again speaks to the quality of workmanship that went into its manufacture.

[fernando]

I have read that in cold (Nordic) countries, target shooters have a different hair trigger setting between summer and winter, to compensate the (triggering) finger stiffness.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Chris! and it does appear we are in the final stages of this bizarre winter blast to the southern plains, the powerful winds have kept chill factors at zero to single digits steadily.....I can totally relate to Nando's note about adjustments and stiffness in cold!!!

I have hardly ever handled firearms, so cant add much to the comments you guys have added in that regard. However once years ago, while in the remote mountain areas in Arkansas, I did get the chance to fire one of these flintlock rifles. Here I was, the most rank novice ever, yet despite being the farthest from a marksman imaginable....the rifle hit its target perfectly!!!
What an experience!!

[Zwielicht]

Wonderful thing! And quite nice condition.

[Lee]

Congratulations, espada, this appears to be a very nice southern long rifle! I must say that I like the simpler ones like this without too much in the way of added 'frills,' but with fine quality of the core components and construction.

I briefly collected American long rifles a couple of decades ago and I do continue to enjoy them.

When I got my new camera last fall I took down another 'late' example that hangs over my fireplace (a relatively 'modern' display position, I am told - as iconic as horned helmets on Vikings, but also not very likely where these rifles were actually kept 'in their day') while testing the camera out. I soon lost mild cloudy days and my driveway studio is now a frigid snow canyon. I posted those pictures on another forum specializing in this area. It was interesting to work out a hypothesis about who had actually made this rifle as my reference books are contradictory and confused about several riflesmiths named 'Christian Beck,' but I believe (and I know there are those better informed than I who disagree that the man existed) that this relatively late example is the work of the son of one of the most celebrated makers, J. P. Beck.

Discussions of American long rifles are most welcome here, but I would recommend members interested in the subject also peruse the American Longrifles forum.