Early Tennessee Longrifle?

I have been looking at many different styles of rifles to determine what I want to save for. I may get a TC Hawken just to have something to make smoke with but want a good quality longrifle.

It dawned on me what to look at. My grandparents- on both sides, came here to Texas from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The idea of a rifle that may be like what my ancesters used appeals to me.

Are the early Tennessee Longrifles all percussion, or are they also flint?
Can someone point me to some info on these rifles? I will be doing a search but appreciate any help.


Jim

pepperbelly said:

I have been looking at many different styles of rifles to determine what I want to save for. I may get a TC Hawken just to have something to make smoke with but want a good quality longrifle.

It dawned on me what to look at. My grandparents- on both sides, came here to Texas from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The idea of a rifle that may be like what my ancesters used appeals to me.

Are the early Tennessee Longrifles all percussion, or are they also flint?
Can someone point me to some info on these rifles? I will be doing a search but appreciate any help.


Jim

Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

last year I ordered a kit of a eastern tenn.poorboy rifle .54 flinter from TVM and let it built by Roy Stroh. It is a real nice gun. Very handy even it is a long rifle, very accurate. Lock spraks like hell and ignited very fast. The barrel is real accurate. I like these smokepole very much. Complete pricing incl. shipping to GER was USD 1000.

Regards

Kirrmeister

Yes, they are in flint or percussion. However, a Tennessee is a whole dif animal from other longrifles. I suggest you should ANY style rifle before you buy one, so you buy one that FITS rather than one that is appealing to your eye or what a ancestor may have had.

Here is a flintlock Tennessee rifle.









:thumbsup:

The Alamo was fought in 1836. Percussion ignition was pretty popular by then. Your ancestors could have had either a flinter or a converted percussion when they went to Texas. They might have also carried a double barreled shotgun as well for the Lady of the House. They also may have had a single shot pistol or two. I think that most settlers to Texas came packing a lot of iron.

The Tennessee style rifles are beautiful. Any excuse to get a good gun is acceptable.

Many Klatch

Describe "early"

well before 'late'. :v

In the case of a rifle like the one pictured, if you find it doesn't fit properly, you should have your shoulder surgically altered to fit the rifle. If no doctor is available, judicious use of a chainsaw may suffice. :rotf:

In seriousness, a mountain rifle in flint might well have been carried to Texas by your ancestors. In a later period, if they didn't have a lot of money, it might still have carried its original flintlock. If that's what you want go for it. And if you can afford a full dress Tennessee rifle like the above gem, all the better! :thumbsup:

Ive been going to the Alamo since I was about 13. It was within walking distance from where I used to live near downtown San Antone. I used to love looking at all the rifles there and wishing I had one. Most of those on display are percussion. But from what I understand, many weapons used were still flintlock around the 1830's. Which kinda surprised me,seeing all the cap n' ball guns. But since I'm a flint lover, I'll go with that. That Tennessee rifle from Dixie was being sold at the IMAX theater across from the Alamo for awhile. It pretty much matched quite a few Tennessee guns I saw in the Long Barracks section. Incidentally, the Lancaster rifle I posted in the forums yesterday in the "semi-custom guns" post, is going to be used for Alamo re-enacting someday. Lancasters were also popular among folks traveling to Texas. BTW BirdDog, that is one sweet rifle you got there. Ive always been a big fan of the finishes you put on your rifles. :bow:

My advise is to.....
Buy the one Birddog6 built :thumbsup:
Money whip him if you have to :grin:
That is just an assume rifle :bow:

In any of the movies about the alamo they all shot flintlocks.

If I was a Mexican soldier and I captured a rifle like the one Birddog6 build..at the Alamo
I wouldn't be giving that up for "nuttin"
Officers could kiss my patch box :blah:

My grandparents came to Texas early in the 1900s. There was, and is, still family in the Smoky Mountains. I don't think any made it to the Alamo.
As for early that is a description I saw on TOTW or Pecatonica on some rifles for sale. They listed early and late Tennessee rifles.
I would really like to learn about those rifles- their history and the variations.

And that is a beautiful rifle!

Jim

Works for me!

Birddog what makes a Tennessee rifle different from a longrifle?

Jim

My family traveled from MD through KY and TN before ending up in Texas in the 1830's to fight the Texas revolution.

I've been to Texas.

Sorry, that's all I've got... :rotf:

"As for early that is a description I saw on TOTW or Pecatonica on some rifles for sale. They listed early and late Tennessee rifles."

You will do much better if you do some research on original guns that can be dated, many vendors today try to cover all the time periods with some minor alterations and miss the mark considerably.

Thanks TG. I did wonder if what they were calling a Tennessee rifle was the same as a Southern Mountain rifle.

Jim

pepperbelly said:

Birddog what makes a Tennessee rifle different from a longrifle?

Jim

Click to expand...

I'm not Birddog and he'll probably have much more to say, but a Tennessee style rifle tends to be distinguished by a deeply curved butt-plate, iron hardware, imported-English style locks (as opposed to German style), often stocked in Walnut and Ash as well as maple.

The really well-distinguished Tennessee style developed around the early 1810's, I think. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong there. There wasn't usually a lot of ornamentation - they were relatively simple rifles, but there's a lot of elegance in that simplicity. I believe they tended to be small calibers more often, with long barrels. I think one of the most famous Tennessee gunsmiths was a guy named Bean (can't recall his first name) and many of the kits you see are based on his rifles.

I shoot a .50 Tennessee rifle from Jack Garner with a 38" straight 15/16" barrel. If you look, it's got a Germanic-style Siler lock. That type of lock wasn't terribly common to Southern rifles, but it is the one that seems to be offered on many kits anyway.

I had an ancestor who moved into the Wolf River region of Tenn. between 1800 and 1810 from Burk county N.C. I was wondering if there would be any specific traits for a weapon of this era/area; or if it could have several different stylistic traits dealing with the whim of the smith. I'm trying to gain an understanding and a mental image of what my ancestor may have owned. Thanks.

Robert