Ferguson Rifle

Hi,
I had the chance to view up close the original Ferguson rifle in the Morristown museum. I built a Ferguson some years ago from TRS parts and an English walnut blank based on photos but when I inspected the original I realized that some changes were needed. My gun was too fat and it is hard to see from photos that the rifle is daintier than you would imagine, particularly along the fore stock. So I scraped off the finish and did some reshaping and refinishing, and here is the result. My only concession to my preferences is I shaped the side panel like some of the officer's and civilian versions of the gun rather than the Morristown rifle. It is clear that they were in a rush to make the rifles because the stock work is cruder on the original and the engraving on the lock looks like it was done by a 5-year old kid.

dave

Dave, what are the 2 pins for that are in the stock on either side of the butt plate?

shane a gress said:

Dave, what are the 2 pins for that are in the stock on either side of the butt plate?

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Hi Shane,
Period butt plates with long returns like on fowlers and muskets usually have a lug on the bottom that gets inlet into the wood. A cross pin through the lug and stock then secures the return


You will rarely see any English or English-like fowlers with screws holding down the return. It is almost always pins or the lug is shaped into a hook and latches on to the head of a screw inlet under the return.

dave

I am awe struck.

Amazing, very nice indeed. The rear sight appears to have an extra fold up leaf. If so what ranges would they be set at?

Thanks Dave.

Big Rviers said:

Amazing, very nice indeed. The rear sight appears to have an extra fold up leaf. If so what ranges would they be set at?

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Hi,
On the original rifle, the folding sight leaf is tall and rounded at the top with a notch at the apex. It also has a hole midway up with a notch at the bottom of the hole. It is my understanding that the sighting was set for 100, 200, and 300 yards. I found the leaf to be unusable for my eyes. Therefore, I cut it down and made a traditional flat topped folding leaf. The main sight is good out to 100 yards and the leaf gives me 150 yards.

dave

Thanks. Your rifle is extremely well thought out and crafted down to the finest detail. It must be a joy to shoot as well.

I would be very interested in seeing pics of the loading process for the rifle. I am curious how the cartridge is placed in the bore.

Good thing Ferguson was killed. If that rifle had made it into general issue we would all be in a very different timeline.

brazosland said:

I would be very interested in seeing pics of the loading process for the rifle. I am curious how the cartridge is placed in the bore.

Good thing Ferguson was killed. If that rifle had made it into general issue we would all be in a very different timeline.

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Hi,
Loading is easy. Unscrew the breech 1 full turn, which opens the hole on top of the barrel. Place the round ball in the hole and push forward until it is stopped by the shoulder in the chamber. Then fill the chamber behind the ball with powder and close the breech. Prime and shoot. The Ferguson rifle as it was built would never have made much difference in the Rev War. First, it was very expensive to make and required a great deal of training to load and fire without causing the breech to jam with powder fouling. Second, the stock is very weak around the breech mechanism because so little wood remains behind the lock. All surviving Ferguson's that showed any use during war are broken at the breech. Third, the breech screw plug will drop out of the gun with 2 full turns. It would be very easy to lose in the field and apparently, that did happen. It cannot be readily replaced because each plug was hand fitted to the rifle. In short, the rifle was experimental as a military gun and showed some promise but would need a redesign to make "soldier-proof". Finally, Ferguson did not actually invent the design. He adapted a design by Isaac la Chaumette made 30 years prior. He made a few minor improvements and then fitted the works into a more or less standard military stock design. Regardless, Ferguson was a fine soldier and leader.

dave

Thank you for those details. Was not aware of those weaknesses in the design.

I was not aware that loose powder was poured into the breech.

If the system could have been improved to a deployable design the increased volume of fire would have given the folks in the other side a distinct advantage.

Ferguson’s death removes him as an advocate for the system, which spelled its end, design flaws or not.

A friend has a Ferguson, made many years ago, that has the trigger placed so the curl in the guard will hit the trigger and stop the plug from turning more than one turn. That being said, it would still only stop for someone who was being careful with it not the usual British infantryman of the period.
He greased the threads to prevent fouling and when it went off, it blew the grease all over his forehead.
Is your barrel one piece breeched from the rear? His is made like a patent breech with the breech mechanism screwed to the end of the barrel.

Hi Dave,

"It is clear that they were in a rush to make the rifles because the stock work is cruder on the original and the engraving on the lock looks like it was done by a 5-year old kid."

Or maybe an Artificer like me who got thrown into the job and also had no artistic ability whatsoever.

LOVED the photo's of your rifle and I appreciate reading what you found about the original rifle!

Gus

Hi Gus,
What happened was Ordnance ordered 800 of the Grice pattern muzzleloading rifles and 200 rifles made in Germany during late 1776 and early 1777. The makers, who were selected because of their familiarity with rifles, were in the middle of that order when they were instructed to stop and make 100 Ferguson rifles and have them ready to ship by summer 1777. They had to hurry.

dave

Hi Zonie,
Yes, and even though Ferguson was only wounded at Brandywine, Howe opted to disband the rifle corps and send the soldiers back to their original units. Apparently, many kept their rifles until spring 1778 when they were ordered to return them to storage in New York. There are some folks trying to find evidence that Ferguson rifles were used at Kings Mountain but I don't think any of the evidence to date is very compelling.

dave

Hi EC121,
The breech is a solid unit with the barrel but there is a conventional breech plug screwed in behind the screw plug. Lubing the screw plug is critical to prevent fouling jamming the breech. A mix of crisco and beeswax melted and applied to a still warm screw plug does the job nicely. They originally may have used a mutton tallow beeswax mix but there is no clear documentation. Gas does escape from the top of the plug and hits you in the forehead. It is best to wear a hat when shooting the gun.

dave

Because this one is breeched solid behind the plug, the chamber can't be bored larger to put more powder in it. There isn't much room after the ball is put in. I don't remember the load, but it was light.

Hi Dave..
About 2/3 through my build.. barrel has gone down to the Birmingham proof house and been passed!

Couple of questions for you...

Did you drill a hole right through for the rear sling swivel post so you can get it out?

Did you case harden the lever or just the lock parts (or did you just quench them..?) My muffle furnace is a bit tight to fit in the underlever..!

Just about to fit the barrel pins.. any tips?
FtC

Zonie said:

As a side note, Patrick Ferguson was not killed in the battle where his rifles were used. He was badly injured and it took several months for him to heal. (This was during the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania.)
During this healing period, all of his rifles were taken from the soldiers that used them in the battle and the soldiers were redeployed to other units. The rifles were never reissued to other troops in the Army. It is unknown what happened to them.

Ferguson was killed much later in the war at the Battle of Kings Mountain in North Carolina.

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Kings Mountain is in SOUTH Carolina