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Research ?

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So,

there is alot of speculation about what passes for knowledgable information on these forums as well as who is qualified to give it.

Alot of statements concerning having rifles built that state "I did my research, its correct for the time/place I wanted it for" etc.

Its a "early virginia"/"early lancaster".

As a student of the American Longrifle I am curious as to what material was/is used in the research, I am always looking for accurate information/documentation from which to learn.

Inquiring minds would like to know
 
So which information are you looking for?
Early Virginia?
Early Lancaster?
Or American Longrifle?
And which of the persons that publish this information or historical note are you particulaly interested in?

There are many.

My point is there are many avenues to presue in each catagory and any individual can delve deeply into any of those area's for the absolute end.

Is there an Absolute?

Are all the guns of an era, area or genra made the same?

Did each noted maker of rifles make each of his surviving rifles the same?

Or are we of this era simply so used too being able to buy the same name brand coffee pot or pickup truck from any dealer at the best price just unable to devine the various nuiance of the individual?

Where is the line drawn and who is the one that make the mark in the sand?
 
For me, it was as simple as purchasing a book with pictures of original rifles made by an original gunsmith in Vincennes, IN in the late 18th and early 19th century.

I found a builder, sent him all the pictures and said, "I want this rifle."
 
Nice,

So did you end up with the builders interpretation of the information you sent him or did you recieve a bench copy ?
 
As a student of the American Longrifle you should look for:

THOUGHTS ON THE KENTUCKY RIFLE IN ITS GOLDEN AGE by Kindig,

RIFLES of COLONIAL AMERICA, Vol I & II by G. Shumway,

Firearms of the American Westby Louis A Garavaglia & Charles G. Worman,

The Kentucky Rifle...a True American Heritage in Picture, THE KENTUCKY RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

KENTUCKY RIFLES & PISTOLS 1750-1850, THE KENTUCKY RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

THE PENNSYLVANIA-KENTUCKY RIFLE, H. Kauffman

THE MUZZLE-LOADING CAP LOCK RIFLE, N. Roberts

not to mention the many school specific books by Dr. James Whisker.

There are dozens of other books, both generalities and school specific available and too numerous to mention by name.

Many of the books are out of print but is one is lucky they can be found in Used Book Stores.
 
I started collecting books when I decided to have a custom built and looked for anything I could find on New England style guns. That ranged from books, mag articles and pic's sent to me by people with the same interest. This led to looking into and gather info on gunsmiths that actually lived here in my little State. I decided to have guns built showcasing a couple of gunsmiths (Mathewson's) work. Cherry was the preferred stocking wood of Welcome Mathewson who lived here and instead of carvings he worked quite a bit with wire inlay. I gathered pics and it was important to me to have his wire work duplicated as much as possible on my rifle. Also the horse head patch box he liked to use. I even went so far as to have Roy line up the screw heads exactly as those shown in the best picture we had of Welcomes personal rifles patch box. Just seemed right thing to do....

My Squirrel rifle which was stocked in Apple wood with a tapered barrel, I had Roy duplicate tang carving which is on one of G.Mathewson's guns and another type of patch box that was used up here. It's also a New England style half stock with the wooden under rib that was used here.

I found trigger guards and butt plates casted from an original N.E gun from Reaves Gorhing, that were used on the guns and going by the pic's we had, I had Roy hand make the tapered entry pipe and ramrod pipes like the originals.

I found the whole process or researching and gathering everything and drawing up how the build will go very enjoyable.
 
ApprenticeBuilder said:
Nice,

So did you end up with the builders interpretation of the information you sent him or did you recieve a bench copy ?

I would say it is going to be more of an interpretation. He's still working on the color of the finish. There are elements of it that I know aren't exact. For instance, I'm using a Late Ketland lock that closely matches the English lock on the rifle, but the original does not have a roller frizzen. I went with a 44" .45 caliber barrel where the original has about a 45" .48 caliber barrel. You can only expect so much from somone when you just give them pictures without dimensions. However, based on the builders previous work, I should end up with a very close representation of the original. So far as I know, this may be only the 2nd rifle ever based on a John Small rifle. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!
 
The books listed by Zoonie are excellant sources. Also a trip to Dixie gun works museum, or Log Cabin in Lodi ( Owned by the Kindig family ) will show that while there are definate styles there were also many "one of a kind" guns made in the old days. Researching is a great excuse for buying great books and taking trips! :idunno:
 
Research can take many forms. In my case I examined photos of original guns and paid attention to those I saw in museums. Since I didn't want to copy any of the guns I examined, I sent my builder some dimensions as well as my suggestions on certain aspects of the build. For all my work and planning I got a very good rendition of an EL built to MY dimensions and tastes.
 
Zonie,

Those are all excellent sources of research information and a formidible library for any student to attain to.

Thanks
 
Seems that you put a huge amount of effort into researching for a particular area of the country, very well thought out.
 
This brings up another great research resource, museums.

Those that live near to these places or that can take the time to travel to them are fortunate indeed.
 
For sure there are varying degrees of research, many being very in depth, others much more casual and less precise.
 
Ok then,

One improtant form of research that was not mentioned was to actually handle originals.


So,

At what point do we go from opinionated to knowledgeable when the subject of longrifles is approached ?
When does an individual become credible ?

When they have a large following of folks that always agrees with them ?

Is it post count or maybe age ?

Maybe built a gun or 2, or 200 ?

Is it based on some casual research ?



Anybody have some more input ?
 
Standard definitition of knowledgable or "expert" on a subject or skill is someone who has expended 10,000 hours in practice. Well, according to what I just read today.
 
Ah, yes! Museums. I guess that's where my research started for my rifle since that is where I first saw it, before the book was published on John Small. Here's the pics I took to get my started. The rifle that caught my eye is the one on the left.

IMG_0856.jpg


IMG_0858.jpg
 
Zonie said:
As a student of the American Longrifle you should look for:

THOUGHTS ON THE KENTUCKY RIFLE IN ITS GOLDEN AGE by Kindig,

RIFLES of COLONIAL AMERICA, Vol I & II by G. Shumway,

Firearms of the American Westby Louis A Garavaglia & Charles G. Worman,

The Kentucky Rifle...a True American Heritage in Picture, THE KENTUCKY RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

KENTUCKY RIFLES & PISTOLS 1750-1850, THE KENTUCKY RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

THE PENNSYLVANIA-KENTUCKY RIFLE, H. Kauffman

THE MUZZLE-LOADING CAP LOCK RIFLE, N. Roberts

not to mention the many school specific books by Dr. James Whisker.

There are dozens of other books, both generalities and school specific available and too numerous to mention by name.

Many of the books are out of print but is one is lucky they can be found in Used Book Stores.

I posted this information recently on a different thread but it’s relevant so I’ll post it again.
THE way to find out of print books is to go to:
http://www.abebooks.com/

You might find what you are looking for in a used book store if you spend a few years at it, but almost any book can be found at ABE in a couple of seconds. A few might be harder to find. When I wanted a copy of Gunmakers of Indiana many years ago I had to keep checking for a few months before one became available. There is a copy available at the moment at a cardiac inducing price.
For what it’s worth, Kindig’s book is the cheapest I’ve seen it in a long time, with copies available for $75. There was a time not all that long ago when the cheapest you could find it was over $200.
 
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