American Long Rifle Association

Hi all,

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Below is part of an email I received recently. Looking for any help in directing this gentleman to appropriate gunmakers, websites, etc. The gentleman who sent the email says he only has a budget of $1250 - 1500.

If you want to contact me off list, rkatz10706@aol.com

Roy


"I am a modest gun collector. I own several guns over a hundred years old, but I have never owned a flintlock. However, it has always been my dream to own one. For one reason, I have a rich military family history with ancestors serving in the French and Indian War as well as 10 recognized SAR patriots in the Revolutionary War. My 8th great grandmother was Sarah Cassandra Boone, Daniel Boone’s sister. I am a validated member of the National Ancestral Boone Society.

Anyway, to celebrate my heritage, I would like to purchase a flintlock rifle similar to that of what my ancestors would have used. I have been trying to put some money aside here and there in hopes that I would find one that I like and most importantly, can afford. After a lot of research, I know the weapon I am looking for would be somewhere along the lines of a Pennsylvania Long Rifle style with maybe a touch of German/French influence. However, because my family were farmers and frontiersmen, I know they would not have had something terribly ornate or something that would have belonged to a wealthy man. They would have used their weapons for hunting and for protection. I want to teach my daughter (who is 6 months now) how to shoot when she gets older, and I want her to know her family’s heritage."

Hi, Roy

There are lots of folks connected with the ALRA who have much deeper experience in this type of research than I, but let me simply state that there's a lot of room for interpretation available to this gentleman. He can find a serviceable rifle within his budget, mounted in brass but plain, approximately fifty-caliber, Pennsylvania style flintlock that will last a lifetime and he'll be a very happy man.

Or, I see this as a challenge for many ALRA members to cough up & post here their documentation on rifle guns that fit this same period, place and social standing as a Kentucky settler of the 1770s. And if that list of documentation grows, it's a opportunity for everyone on this forum to glean some very cool and fun information. We spend a lot of time hunting up this kind of stuff, so I think we should share what we know with each other and with this particular gentleman.

As for me, I'm a smoothbore guy so I'm of no help whatsoever.

Hope to hear from many others, and really get a list of documentation going that can be gleaned to answer this particular gentleman's needs.

-- Bill

Thanks Bill. Your comments are well thought out. I know there is a great deal of knowledge on this topic among our group and thought there would be more of a response. I have received some comments off-list. Hope all is well with you and your family,. hope our trails cross again soon. Roy

Got to thinking (a stretch I know), anyone in contact with G.L. Jones? His web site is down, but I think his Lancaster model flintlock might just fill the bill of what this person is looking for.

I'm not sure what the price on the Lancaster currently is, but years ago when I got mine it was within the proper price range, and mine has been serving me well for years.