Was .50 Common in 18th Century America?

minuteman.boards.net/thread/505/rifles-molds

Read through the above, good post from one of our very knowledgeable members.

Guns of the period were not manufactured to a caliber, in short no a .50 wasn't common like it is today. Each maker matched a mold to the specific rifle being built.

This video is one of the absolute best documentaries on rifle building of the period and will give you a look at the rifling process.

youtu.be/bAzJOULyx5c

The actual "Mountain Rifle" as you commonly see today was more prevalent during the 19th century.

What are you looking to build? A Kentucky rifle is a very generic term for a firelock and what you want will depend on many factors and those factors are up to you.

The most HC rifle you will get is those made by the craftsman of Colonial Williamsburg, which will set you back one hefty price. Best advice would be to do what your doing by asking questions and research. Then, secondly figure out exactly what your goal is with the rifle, will you just hunt? Personal use? Do you plan on getting into living history? What school do you want your rifle to mimic?

My understanding is that in general, the most common calibers tended to be small. For instance Daniel Boone's rifle was I believe a .44 caliber. Smoothbores were of a larger caliber. However, As Hawkeyes has pointed out, the caliber for any individual rifle was not standardised, & could be made in any caliber the buyer desired, & although there seems to have been a leaning towards the smaller calibers for long rifles, there were exceptions.


Rifle Calibers 18th century.

German gunsmiths brought a tradition of hunting with rifles with them when they settled in Pennsylvania at the beginning of the eighteenth century (Lagemann and Manucy 1993; Madaus 1981; Moore 1967). However, rifles were adapted to the needs of American colonists (Lagemann and Manucy 1993; Madaus 1981; Moore 1967). 37 Adaptations were almost universal in the colonies by 1775 (Lagemann and Manucy 1993). These adaptations created a rifle that was quite different from the original Jaeger rifle (Figure 3.2). This colonial firearm came to be known as the American Rifle, Long Rifle, or Pennsylvania Rifle. Changes included a lengthened barrel (Lagemann and Manucy 1993) and a smaller bore (Moore 1967; Plaster 2009). The Jaeger rifle was larger than .60 cal. as compared to the .35 - .60 cal. American rifle (Plaster 2009). The American rifle also took less powder, less lead, and was more efficient; its lightweight and fast projectile was more accurate whereas the Jaeger rifle ball was heavier and slower. Table 3.1 Differences between the Jaeger and the American Long Rifle (Lagemann and Manucy 1993: 6) A key element in loading the rifle was patching, or wrapping the projectile in a piece of greased linen. Patching allowed for a slight decrease in the diameter of the ball, which made it easier to load lead shot into the muzzle while still maintaining a tight fit within the bore (Lagemann and Manucy 1993; Madaus 1981). Patching also quieted the sound of the ram rod forcing the lead shot down into the barrel (Lagemann and Manucy 1993).




scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3536&context=etd

Personally I think there is enough information to justify the use of a .50 caliber long rifle, & even if there were not, I would not let this stop you from enjoying 18th century living history. 
As an aside, I seem to remember that the original rifles built for The Last Of The Mohicans movie were Jaegers, but the director wanted the more typical long rifles instead.
Regards, Keith.

Wow, I’m gratefully overwhelmed by the vast amount of rapid responses, replete with such a treasure trove of information! I’m processing all of it now! I appreciate you all & your contributions! This is exactly why I joined this Board.

Yes, I own many reproduction arms but I’m going to research this hand made rifle as well as I can so it is of museum level quality. With our collective knowledge, I’ll spare no reasonable expense of time or $ to do it right. I hope I can post photos of the end product once she is finished. Then we can judge her for what she is.

I’ll prepare my 2nd post Friday. I’ve already chosen the topic 😏

A .50 would be perfectly OK.

I have a book by the Kentucky Rifle Association, 1967, which shows pictures and details of 100 Kentucky rifles. These are the average in the three major categories of guns:

Flintlock, rifled, 60 guns, average caliber 46.8, most represented .50 caliber, 14 guns

Flintlock, smooth rifle, 20 guns, average 50.95, most represented .50 caliber, 5 guns

Percussion, rifled, 20 guns, average 43, most represented .50 caliber, 6 guns

The range across all categories was from .32 to .59 caliber.

There is no information as to the date the guns were originally made or what part of the country they were from.

Spence

From whom are you planning to commission a rifle, Jason, if you don’t mind my asking?

There are many good makers out there, but some specialize in particular eras or styles. As an extreme example, if you get a rifle from Herschel House, you’ll get a beautiful heirloom piece, but it probably won’t be “correct” for any historic place or era, because from the pictures and articles I’ve seen, he makes rifles in his own particular style.

Allen Martin, for example, makes beautiful Lehigh and Bucks County rifles, as well as a few other styles. I’m sure he could make a nice Jäger, but there are others who specialize in that style and might be able to do an even better, more correct.

Make sure your builder uses a swamped barrel - it makes a big difference in the looks and handling.

Brokennock,

Excellent approach. During my reenacting days I kept to French & Indian & American-Rev & it was simple. I just used a battle field pick up Brown Bess, bayonet & hawk.

I've attached a short biography of one of my direct ancestors from the 18th Century. It reads like a Louis L'Amour "Chantry" novel.

Robert Leslie bio by Jason Reichenbach.pdf (253.56 KB)

I wrote this single page bio for the National Society of the Sons of American Revolution in Kentucky. Ironically, I was born on 12 October. We all know that we can't chose our family, & apparently mine were rather rough, with a penchant for being mercenaries, & likely had a criminal history in England, Scotland & Ireland, but it's pretty cool that my ancestor traded rifles with Daniel Boone not very far from my home here in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.

So I can easily draw upon my Leslie ancestry to create a historically accurate personality & a comfortable economic status.

Is it swamped?