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Long rifle. The long rifle, also known as the Kentucky rifle, Pennsylvania rifle, or American long rifle, is a muzzle-loading firearm used for hunting and warfare. It was one of the first commonly-used rifles. [1] The American rifle was characterized by a very long barrel of relatively small caliber, uncommon in European rifles of the period.
May 4, 2020 · Its nickname was “the widow-maker,” a grim title bestowed by the British because of its depredations against officers. It went by various other names: long rifle, American Rifle, Dickert Rifle, and Pennsylvania Rifle. However, it is best remembered by a designation bestowed considerably later: the Kentucky Rifle. An 18th Century American rifle.
- More Barrel, Less Powder
- A “Typical” Kentucky Rifle
- Sinkers from Bullet Molds
- Many Kinds of Sights
- Turkey Shoots Were Fun
- Washington Asked For Riflemen
- Kentuckys Still in Use
Now it was lengthened, ranging in the early Kentucky models from 51 to 77 inches, or up to more than triple the length of the average big-game rifle of today. This meant that less powder was needed than before, because it burned cleaner. In the opinion of several authorities, this long barrel which gave great accuracy at the same time that it deade...
All these developments didn’t come at once. They were spread over years, but if it were possible to describe a “typical” or composite Kentucky rifle it might be approximately like this: Its 42-inch barrel, probably full octagon, gave the .45 caliber rifle an overall length of about 55 inches. The stock, which extended to the muzzle, was of curly ma...
Bullet molds were made of brass, stone, and even from old curling irons. They resembled pliers, with a hollow in one jaw to shape the bullet. Anglers of the day used them to cast weights for fish nets and seines. Powderhorns were carved with scenes, family histories, and maps. They were often scraped so thin that the black powder showed through, gi...
Plain open sights were preferred by the early hunters—some type of notch, say, for the rear with a post or a fin in front. Rear sights were placed on grooved slides, and horizontal adjustments were possible. Most frontiersmen sighted in their rifles to shoot a bit high at 50 yards. The ball reached its peak height between 50 and 100 yards; at 100 y...
A hunter needed all the practice he could get if he planned to enter a regular turkey shoot. Ranges depended on how much of the turkey was visible. If only the neck and head could be seen when the bird peered over a bulletproof plank, the range was shorter than if the entire bird was tied out in plain sight. Many shooting matches were held in the w...
George Washington had learned the value of Kentucky riflemen in the French and Indian War. When the Revolution began, he urged the Continental Congress to put in a call for them. So it happens that the first troops raised by a central government on this continent were companies of straight-shooting backwoodsmen—and this might be called the beginnin...
While these cold figures demolish some of the tall stories of frontier legend, the fact remains that the Kentucky rifle was a great firearm for its day. Compared with the best sporting and military arms of the time, it represented nothing less than a revolution in its field. Some flintlock Kentucky rifles are still in use today, mostly for target s...
Apr 1, 2005 · The American longrifle began to evolve from the European forms during the second quarter of the 18th century along the Pennsylvania frontier, in and about Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It emerged as an unique American creation following the French and Indian War. Its golden age is generally accepted to be the period from the end of the American ...
Jul 4, 2022 · It was the Kentucky/Pennsylvania long rifle that got me started as a collector. The lines, craftsmanship, and artistic value, as well as the mechanics and design caught my interest. 1 of my most prized pieces in my collection is a fairly plain, working man’s Lancaster type Long Rifle.
Aug 12, 2022 · —- Capt. John G. Dillon, 1924, From his book The Kentucky Rifle. It is hard to beat John Dillon’s description of an Kentucky Rifle, the popular name for the American longrifle. This hints at the fact that there are a lot of names for basically the same thing. There is even some disagreement as to whether you spell it longrifle or long rifle.
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Jun 13, 2024 · Wood, Iron, and Flame. Hershel House (above) is among the world’s most celebrated flintlock rifle makers. He lives on a wooded knoll overlooking the broad Green River floodplain valley just ...
