long rifle , also known as longrifle , a Kentucky rifle , or the Pennsylvania Rifle , was one of the first to use a shotgun for hunting and battle. It is characterized by a very long barrel, widely believed to be the development of a very unique American rifle that is not common in European rifles in the same period.
Longrifle is an early example of firearms that use rifling (spiral groove in the hole). This gives the projectile (usually round ball) spiral motion, improving the stability of the trajectory. The more stable trajectory means dramatically improving the accuracy of the more commonly available bore rifles also used in that period. Firearms firearms saw the use of their first major battle in American colonies during the French and Indian Wars, and then the American Revolution of the 18th century.
Until the development of MiniÃÆ'® balls in the mid-19th century, the main disadvantage of rifles as compared to rifles was a slower reloading time due to the use of tight fitting ball leads and greater susceptibility to fouling of bore after prolonged use - such impurities would eventually prevent loading at all, render the weapon useless until it is thoroughly cleaned. The adoption of the MiniÃÆ'® baseball basically canceled this loss and allowed the shotgun to completely replace the shotgun.
Longrifle was made popular by German weapons experts who immigrated to America, bringing scratching technology from where it came from. Accuracy achieved by the longrifle makes it an ideal tool for hunting wildlife for food in colonial America.
The more common, but less precise, bold, known as the 'Kentucky rifle', has been described by Captain John GW Dillin in dedication to his 1924 seminal book, The Kentucky Rifle
From soft flat iron rods, hands are forged into the barrel of the rifle; painstakingly bored and churning out raw tools; equipped with stocks carved from maple trees in neighboring forests; and equipped with hammered keys to be formed on the runway; an unknown blacksmith, in an old shop from the moment of silence, made a rifle that changed the course of world history; allows the completion of a continent; and finally freeing our country from foreign domination. Light; graceful in line; economical in the consumption of powder and lead; very precise; obviously Americans; it became a direct popularity; and for a hundred years is a model that often varies slightly but never changes radically.
Video Long rifle
Origins
Longrifle was developed on the American border in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the early 1700s. It continued to be technically and artistically developed until it was out of fashion in the 19th century. Longrifle is a product of German thieves who immigrated to new settlements in southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s, and later in Virginia and other regions. Tax records from these places indicate the dates that the blacksmiths were in business. Powerful pockets of use and longfiber making continued in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina up to the 20th century as a practical and efficient firearm for the nation's rural segment. Longrifles can be made entirely with hand tools and hand-operated, in front-line settings.
Originally the weapon of choice on the border was a fine rifle, or a trade rifle, built in factories in England and France and shipped to the colony for purchase. Gradually, longrifles become more popular because of their longer effective range. While a fine bore rifle has an effective range of less than 100 yards, a sniper can reach a human-sized target within 200 yards or more. The price for this accuracy is longer reloading time. While the rifle can be recharged in about 20 seconds, the longrifle takes more time for the average hunter.
In Pennsylvania, the earliest thieves that can be documented are Robert Baker and Martin Meylin. Robert Baker established a partnership with his son, Caleb, and on August 15, 1719 founded a mill mill in Pequea Creek. In tax records Berks County, Pennsylvania, there are several thieves who trade along the banks of the Wyomissing River.
Gunshop Martin Meylin was built in 1719, and this is where the Swiss-German Mennonite pioneers created some of Pennsylvania's earliest rifles, and perhaps the first, Pennsylvania. None of the rifles discovered until recently were signed by Martin Meylin. Two have been linked with him-one at the Lancaster Historical Society has been found to be a later European musket date and the other by date 1705 has been found to be false-the Meylins did not arrive in America until 1710. The Martin Meylin Gunshop still stands today at Willow Street , Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Long Rifle Road. Archaeological excavations conducted in 2005 by Millersville University around the so-called Meylin gun shop found no evidence of firearm activity among the thousands of artifacts found - only blacksmith artifacts were found. The Lancaster County Historical Society has the original Pennsylvania Long Rifle made by Meylin that was passed down in the family for seven generations before being donated to society in the mid-20th century. This particular rifle was analyzed and the barrel removed during the Lancaster Long Rifle Exhibition at the Landis Valley Farm Museum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2005. Six experts at hand discovered the barrel was European and the stock itself dates from a later period from 1710-1750. The initials on the barrel - "MM" were found to be added later than other parts of the rifle, hence it was concluded that the rifles at the Lancaster County Historical Society could not be made by either son or father named Martin Meylin. A document explaining the history of Meylin, The Gunshop, and archeology of the store is available online from Millersville University.
Some historians have written that Martin Meylin's role as one of Lancaster's earliest shooters is unclear. The argument is that the will of Martin Meylin Sr. not to mention items of firearms while Martin Meylin Jr.'s whims are full of thieves, and thus the reference to Meylin as a thief is more precisely placed on boys. In any case, no rifle was found positively associated with Meylin.
There is documentation stating that the first high-quality American longrifles came from a gun expert named Jacob Dickert, who moved with his family from Germany to Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1740. The name 'Dickert Rifle' is considered a 'brand name' and the name 'Kentucky rifle 'was not created until much longer in history (circa 1820s) and became the "nickname" of this rifle. The reason for this was mainly because Dickert made a rifle for the Continental Army and then had a contract dated 1792 to deliver a rifle to the US Army. There is an internet reference for "Deckhard or Deckard Rifle", which is inaccurate, as there are no boroughs, townships, or city tax records to support this name in that time period and/or location.
Among the documented rifle makers are Adam Haymaker, who has developed trade in the Shenandoah Valley north of Virginia, Moravian workshops in Christian Spring in Pennsylvania, John Frederick Klette of Stevensburg, Virginia, and in the Salem area of ​​North Carolina. All three areas were busy and productive gun-making centers in the 1750s. The Great Wagon Road is a bustling borderline, and the gun shop trails the same route - from eastern Pennsylvania, down the Shenandoah Valley, and into the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky and the Yadkin River area (Salem) in North Carolina.
The settlers of West Virginia (Kentucky), Tennessee, and North Carolina soon gained a reputation for strong independence and snipers as a way of life, reinforced by the performances of shooters in the American Revolution, especially the Morgan Spy, which is essential in the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle Cowpens, as well as the War of 1812. In that war, the longrifle earned the more famous nickname Kentucky Rifle, after the popular song "The Hunters of Kentucky," about Andrew Jackson and his victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The American barrage was also used by the Texans in their War of Independence from Mexico.
The longitudinal reason for American longrifish characteristics is the problem of adaptation to the new world by German immigrant thieves. German gunmen working in America are very familiar with German rifles, which rarely have barrels over 30 inches, and large caliber rifles use large amounts of lead. New world forests are vast and require hunters to bring in more of their inventory. Smaller caliber rifles give them more ammunition and reduce the amount of weight they need to hunt. A longer barrel gives the black powder more time to burn, increasing the speed and accuracy of its muzzle. The rule of thumb used by some thieves is to make a rifle no more than the chin height of the customer because of the need to see the snout while loading. The longer barrel also allows for better viewing. In the 1750s it was common to see the frontiersmen carrying a new and distinctive shotgun style.
Evolution
In 1792 the US Army began modifying the American longitudo, shortening the barrel length to 42 inches in their 1792 contract rifle. Lewis and Clark's expeditions carry a shorter version, 33-36 inches, similar to the Harper Ferry Model 1803 that began production six months after Lewis paid an arsenal visit. The 1803 model resembles what is a 'plain gun'.
The "terrain rifle" or "Hawken Rifle" is a shorter rifle that is more suitable for horseback riding. It was popular among mountain men and North American bristles in the 19th century. The Hawken brothers (Samuel and Jacob) are one of the most famous thieves active in St. Louis. Louis in the 1830s 1860s. Many well-known weapon experts such as Horace (H.E.) Dimick and J. P. Gemmer produced a powerful and portable "short" powerful rifle for the Rocky Mountain fur trade, ground exploration, and transcontinental immigrant trains. The gun plane combines accuracy with portability in a package that is more concise than the extreme long weapons that have evolved. While many plain rifles are built to fire heavy rounds against dangerous games, more are bored around the.40 caliber range for medium game hunts. American Longrifles tend to be slimmer and more elegant than newer, larger, and barrel shorter Hawken rifles. The Hawken Rifle evolved from the American longrifle to be used against the bigger and more dangerous game faced in West America. To shoot larger and larger diameter shells and heavier powder loads, the thickness of the barrel wall must be strengthened, and the length of the Hawken barrel shortened to keep the carrying weight handled.
Maps Long rifle
Characteristics
Artistically, the American longrifle is known for its elegant stock, often made of curly maple, and ornamental decoration, ornamental decoration, and a well-built and well-built patchbox built into stock. Decorative art of furniture making, painting, silver smithing, thieves, etc. all take their cue style from the prevailing trend of the day, and as in many ways fashion is set in Paris. Baroque and rococo motifs then find their way into all decorative arts, and can be seen in acanthus scrolls so common on 18th-century and silver furniture. The best American Longrifles have the same art applied to those with Philadelphia cabinets or silver stores.
Initially rather innocent, in the 1770s every surface of a rifle could apply the artwork. An experienced thief should be a clever blacksmith, carpenter, woodcarver, brass and silver founder, sculptor, and wood finisher expert. European shops at the time had a significant specialization of trade, leading to separate traders who built each of the rifles. The American border does not have that luxury, and quite often only one gunmaker will make the whole rifle, a process that is almost unheard of in the practice of the 18th century trade. However, the flintlock action, with its spring mechanism, and a single action trigger, is often purchased en masse by thieves from the UK, and then made with the skill of being a complicated rifle. The initial locks were imported but key domestic production increased in America among the more skilled thieves in later years.
To conserve tin in frontier, smaller caliber is often preferred, ranging frequently from about 0.32 to 0.45 cal. As the rifles become worn out of use, with accumulated corrosion from the black powder fires causing the holes to enlarge, it's not uncommon to see many rifles getting bored and re-shaken to the larger caliber, to keep the shotgun accurately. Many copies of American historic longrifles are seen boring around.50 caliber.
The American Longrifle is said by modern experts to have a range of 80 to 100 meters. This figure is intended for the average user. A trained and experienced shooter who knows how to take variables into account such as load (gunpowder), windage, drop, etc. It can easily expand the median range of long guns up to 200-300 yards. In 1778 at the siege of Boonesborough, Kentucky, one of the joint British/Shawnee troopers hid behind a tree. He poked his head out from behind a tree and was instantly killed by a ball to the forehead fired by Daniel Boone, known for always firing the same fixed measuring load on his powder. The shot is then confirmed by the witness on both sides and the distance measured at 250 meters. Hitting targets very precisely at that range would probably make the American longrifle comparable in the effective range (length) with the British Baker rifle which is then at 300 to 400 yards.
Although less commonly owned or viewed on the border, the American longrifle style is also used on flintlock pistols during the same era. These pistols are often matched in caliber to the longrifle owned by the same user, to allow common round and round-sized rounded bulbs to shoot. With stock lines and stylish velvet that are just as elegant, and skilful, they look slimmer and have a longer barrel with a better view than those seen on previous colonial style pistols. Duel weapons sets in longrifle style are also made, sometimes in casing sets, for rich men.
Reject and rebirth
In the 20th century, there was little traditional longrifle left except in the remote pockets of the Appalachian mountains. Only a few people are left who can fully build a longrifle. The popular interest in shooting as a sport and also the sesecicentennial independence of the United States from Britain in 1925-1933 prompted an interest in the origins of the 'American Longrifle'. One of the first proofs of this new interest was the seminal work of 1924 by Captain John G.W. Dillin The Kentucky Rifle . The early pioneers of the 20th century longrifle culture are Walter Cline, Horace Kephart, Ned Roberts, Red Farris, Martin Hacker, Bill Large, Jack Weichold, Ben Hawkins, D.C. Addicks, L.M. Wolf, Dave Taylor, Win Woods, and Alvin Wagner.
Many men throughout the rest of the 20th century are working to expand our knowledge of the 'American Longrifle' and how to recreate it in the 18th and 19th centuries. The most important of them are Joe Kindig Jr., George Shumway, Earl Lanning, Wallace Gusler, John Bivins, Garry Brumfield and many others. In 1965, Wallace Gusler, as the first master of the Gunsmith store in Colonial Williamsburg, was the first to recreate 'American Longrifle' in modern times using 18th century tools and techniques. The film "Gunsmith of Williamsburg" 1968 documents the production of a second album, all handmade, longrifle. The film has been re-released on DVD and is available from a number of online sources. Since then, many other makers have been trained by these people and many other pioneers of the rebirth of the longrifle culture. The Gunsmith Shop at Colonial Williamsburg under Wallace Gusler and Gary Brumfield produces Dave Wagoner, Jon Laubach, George Suiter, Clay Smith, and Richard Frazier. It is the only one who emerged from Gunshop to date who has produced all handmade rifles. In addition to his influence in his popular series for Rifle magazine and his involvement with the Early South Art Decorative Art Museum (MESDA), John Bivins trained the extraordinary gunmen Jim Chambers and Mark Silver. Then there are others like Earl Lanning, Keith Casteel, Hershel and Frank House, Jack Brooks, Jud Brennon, Ron Ehlert, Robert Harn, Troy Roope and more. Their work and the work of others can be seen in the book: Three Medieval Traditions: Renaissance Custom Sporting Arms in America, published by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Scala Publishers, Ltd.
Although there have been many great builders over the past 50 years that have helped revive the historically true 'Longrifle America' recreation, there are many talented new builders like Allen Martin, Eric Kettenburg, Jim Kibler, Mark Wheland, Ken Eckenroth, Chuck Dixon, and others. There are more and more builders all the time as evidenced by AmericanLongrifles.org, a group of forums serving the interests of traditional muzzleloading gun builders, with over 3000 members including most of today's top builders alive today. AmericanLongrifles.org (ALR) was started in 1997 by Mark Elliott at the same time as Gordon Barlow created the Contemporary Longrifle Association (CLA). The CLA is a membership organization consisting of students, collectors, and artisans producing contemporary (20th century and later) that recreate the 'American Longrifles', their fixtures, and related weapons and crafts from pre-1840 America. The overflowing crowds that fill Lexington, the KY Convention Center every August for CLA annual meetings and events are a testament to the popularity of Longrifle's crafts and contemporary traditional crafts. There are also large suppliers for muzzleloading supplies such as Dixie Gun Works and Track of the Wolf as proof of the spirit of contemporary longrifle. Then there are many component suppliers like Jim Chambers Flintlocks, R.E. Davis, and L & amp; R, for keys; Rice, Rayl, and others for barrels, Dunlap Woodcraft, Tiger Hunt, and Freddie Harrison among others for wood stock. Then there are hundreds of other individual craftsmen who produce small parts and supplies for resale by a kind of Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gunworks, Dixons Muzzleloading Shop, Stonewall Creek Outfitters, Tip Curtis, and others.
The 'Longrift America' recreation continues.
In popular culture
- The 1955 film Kentucky Rifle rounds the trail cart containing one hundred longitudos. The gun, which is actually the movie's main star, is displayed beneath every corner and even becomes a lyrical descriptive monologue object by veteran actor Chill Wills.
- At the Antiques Roadshow event, a Kentucky Kentucky 1810 rifle was rated at $ 20,000
- The novel of 1826 by James Fenimore Cooper The Last of the Mohicans (and the films based on it) featured the long-held Hawfee character (played in the 1992 film by Daniel Day-Lewis) dubbed by other characters as La Longue Carabine ("LongRifle")
- The Kentucky Longrifle is featured in the fifth episode of the reality television show Channel Channel Top Shot .
- The rifle was used by George Washington's troops in the first episode of the third season of the Deadliest Warrior.
- Leonardo DiCaprio describes Hugh Glass in the hit fiction movie The Revenant (film of 2015) and uses the Bucks County longitudo made by modern American weaponist Ron Luckenbill until stolen by arch-rival Fitzgerald.
See also
- Hawken Rifle
- Jezail
- Sharp shotgun
- Buffalo rifle
References
External links
- America Long Rifle - Pedersoli Rifles
- Demonstration of American flintlock long rifle (video)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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