Daniel Boone rifle information

Also have to remember that at least twice he lost his rifle/gun when captured by Indians and he had them replaced. Always wondered if Squire, his gunmaker brother,made any of Danials. A great story is Danial’s escape from Chief Blackfish’s village and how after he gained trust and was allowed to hunt close to the village and he saved lead and scrimped on powder and put together an old & broken lock and a worn out barrel that he kept hidden and used rawhide to cobble those parts together to a limb that was naturally shaped, probably didn’t have a trigger maybe hit lock sear arm with his thumb(?). that’s the gun he made his escape from OH back to KY.

In the days of Daniel Boone, he was surrounded down in the cane brakes by Buffalo, elk, black bear, and and a hostile tribe of Shawnee, who had it out for him after he escaped from his adoption from the tribe. This leads me to believe he shot a large ball.

I also read a firsthand account by John James Audubon of a squirrel hunting outing with Boone along the Ohio River in which Boone showed him how to "bark" squirrels, by shooting the tree trunk at a glance and killing the squirrel with the busted chunks of wood. This too leads me to believe he was using a large bore.

In general, it is my understanding that the small bores didn't become popular along the the frontier in that Era, until it was highly populated and the big game had been hunted out clear to the missouri country, (which is where Boone eventually relocated for that same reason in late life); and big game being hunted out in that frontier and the switch to smaller calibers also explains why a lot of the early people venturing west of the Mississippi into the Missouri were at often carrying smaller caliber rifles...

I would also imagine the rifle carried by Simon Kenton, on the cover of Eckert's "The frontiersman" would be a good model to start from. Boone and Kenton were lifelong associates, hunting together, fighting Indians together, even to the extent that Kenton visited Boone after Boone relocated to Missouri. I do believe also that Boone tried to persuade Kenton to move to missouri as well.

The rifle seen on the cover of that book is incredibly similar, also, to the kibler southern rifles; and I would say one of those kibler rifles would be a good model to take inspiration from as well.

Brokennock said:

Someone once said, "specialization is for insects."

I don't remember who.

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Robert Heinlein... but there were probably others.

Brokennock said:

Someone once said, "specialization is for insects."

I don't remember who.

Click to expand...

Posted once

Dale Allen Raby said:

Robert Heinlein... but there were probably others.

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Um,,,, yeah...... thanks.
This was over a year ago,,,, and @tenngun answered it with background info way back then...

Brokennock said:

Um,,,, yeah...... thanks.
This was over a year ago,,,, and @tenngun answered it with background info way back then...

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And thanks to this old thread, I watched Daniel Boone “ the gun” on you tube tonight. Man I loved that show when I was a kid. Lol

In some of Boone's writings there is Him saying that his rifle threw a one ounce Ball.

I just stumbled upon this forum. For several decades, my family has passed down a rifle, and we have family tree confirmation of a relation to Daniel Boone. The family story has always been that this rifle was once owned by Daniel Boone and has been passed down from generation to generation. Does anybody have an opinion as to the origin of this long gun?

definitely an old gun. was it Boones? who knows. one thing for sure it is in fine shape other than the lock issue. have you taken the butt plate off to see if anything is under it? is the barrel signed? i am not but there are a lot of experts on here that will chime in i am sure,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Rfhull88 said:

I just stumbled upon this forum. For several decades, my family has passed down a rifle, and we have family tree confirmation of a relation to Daniel Boone. The family story has always been that this rifle was once owned by Daniel Boone and has been passed down from generation to generation. Does anybody have an opinion as to the origin of this long gun?

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Welcome to the forum, and thank you for showing your family's heirloom rifle!

I can't say specifically when or where your rifle was made. It does appear to have an original percussion lock, as near as I can determine from the photos. The original Daniel Boone died in 1820. We don't know for sure when the first percussion caps were brought into Missouri, but I seem to recall it was around 1826, and they didn't really catch on with the backwoodsmen until some time later. The point being that this rifle is not likely to have been owned or even handled by the famous Daniel Boone.

However, he did have a son named Daniel Morgan Boone, who died in 1839. Even that might be stretching credibility a bit, but there is no reason to believe the rifle was not owned by some of Daniel Boone's later descendants. It does look like an old rifle, and one that has been used and cared for. I think it was probably originally a fullstock that was cut back to a half-stock later in its working life. This was pretty common practice in the mid-19th century. If you look at the underside of the barrel and see old dovetail cuts that have been pounded flat, that might be one confirmation that it was originally fullstocked. Another thing is if the barrel is hand-forged, the hammer marks will probably still be visible on the bottom three flats of the octagonal barrel. The old-time gunsmiths tried to save time when they could, and there was no reason to put a nice finish where it would be covered by the stock. The lock may have been replaced, but it looks like a very good fit in its mortise and replacements are not always so neatly fitted.

I can't tell if that is natural curl in the wood or if it is artificial striping, which was also very common back in the day. Either way, the builder wanted to turn out a nice-looking rifle. The mountings are neatly fitted, and show good workmanship. I will say that is an unusual triggerguard... I don't recall ever seeing one quite like it. The hammer may have been removed to make the gun safe around kids.

Incidentally, it would be a good idea to make sure the rifle is not loaded. Push a rod into the bore until it hits bottom, and mark it at the muzzle. Pull it out and hold it next to the barrel. The bottom end of the rod should be no more than 1/2” to 5/8" above where the tang meets the breech. If it is more than that, something is in there, and it may very well be an old charge of powder and ball. Even very old black powder can still be viable. If you think the rifle may be loaded and you are not familiar with muzzleloaders and able to unload it safely yourself, it should go to a gunsmith to be cleared.

So, I don't think it is likely that your rifle was owned by the original Daniel Boone, but it is a very nice heirloom piece and it clearly has a long history of ownership in your family. I am sure it has a story of its own to tell. There is no reason to doubt it may have been owned by some of Daniel Boone's direct descendants.

Thanks for sharing it with us!

Notchy Bob

Just check with BATF, I'm sure they have records for all his purchase's.
Robin