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The Tennessee Rifle

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Dillon W.

40 Cal
Joined
Sep 15, 2019
Messages
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Location
Miller County, Arkansas
Hey fellers. I know this may possibly be a simple question with a complicated answer, but I’ve been looking for information on the history of the Tennessee Rifle. And something that has struck me in my wanderings is, what’s the real difference between a Tennessee Rifle and a Southern Mountain Rifle?
 
A ‘Southern Mountain Rifle’ is a generic catch all term for a rifle made in the southern Appalachian and surrounding mountains by the mountain folk who lived there. Those include N Georgia, East Tn, West NC, East KY, and West VA rifles. An E Tennessee is a particular strain of SMR. That said, it is generally agreed by historians and collectors that SMR is not a preferred term as it is way too broad for nuance. It’s something like saying a PA rifle, Plains rifle, or Musket. It will give a general impression but few specific details.

That said, not all Tennessee rifles are E Tn rifles thus not all are SMRs, just as not all North Carolina rifles are East NC rifles and thus not all NC rifles are SMRs. The mountain guns were pretty much their own thing.
 
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Dillon,

I think the best "primer" on Tennessee rifles was written by Robin Hale in the American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin 23:6-23. The entire text of this article is online as a PDF right here: Tennessee Rifles

Also, if you can get ahold of some back issues of Muzzle Blasts magazine, or if you have access to the digital versions online, look for an article entitled, "The Mountain Rifle of the Alleghenys," in the September 1964 issue, page 12. I regret that I neglected to write down the author's name. However, this was the first article or document I know of that was devoted entirely to a discussion of southern mountain rifles as a distinct, regional style. Up to that point, many people regarded them as poor imitations of the more glamorous Pennsylvania rifles. My dad was interested in them, and collected four or five original Tennessee rifles back in the fifties. I think a couple were regarded as just "old guns" by former owners, and they were gifted to my father. I know he bought one, in shootable condition, for ten bucks by mail order from Red Faris. In any event, I'm glad these interesting rifles are now getting the attention they deserve.

This topic of Tennessee rifles has also been addressed several times recently, right here on this forum. Here are links to a few threads that have good discussions:

"What makes a Tennessee Mountain Rifle?"
"TVM Southern vs. Tennessee?"
"Poor Boy Rifle"

Also, if you look in the upper right corner of your screen, you'll see the word "Search." Click on that and it will open up a little window with a couple of blank spaces you can fill in. Type in Tennessee Rifles and you'll get several pages of links to threads on this forum that mention or discuss Tennessee rifles.

I'm not giving you a hard time, and I hope you are not offended. It never hurts to open up a topic anew. Most of us here are garrulous old farts fellows who relish the opportunity to tell the same stories over again, and fresh discussions seldom fail to bring up new information. However, if you really want to canvas the forum for information on a topic, a search may be helpful.

Best of luck to you!

Notchy Bob
 
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This information is gold guys, thank you so much! I’ve got an interest in specific that I have a feeling it’s what my great great great and so fourth grandfather’s would’ve had. The furthest back I’ve made it is one of them from the 1830’s period living in north central Georgia and eventually the Wooten family making it to North Carolina. So I figure they certainly would have came across that style of rifle
 
Hi,
Here is a link to the ALR website virtual museum of longrifles. It contains a selection of rifles made in Tennessee. You can see there is a lot of diversity and it mostly depends on the maker.
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=364.0A person with tremendous knowledge of rifles made in Tennessee on that website is "Cades Cove Fiddler". You might want to log on the site and send him a message.

dave
 
Personally I can barely tell the difference between a Hawkin and a Kentucky rifle, or any of the other area noted guns. I try not to worry about my ignorance. All my guns work regardless of whatever they are and that's all I require of them. I just let all the wizards figure out what is what.
 
I think collectors had to have a way to describe a rifle with a certain set of features and those features would vary based on maker, geography and time period hence the terms we use of "Tennessee Rifle" "Mountain rifle" etc. I'd seriously doubt that such distinctions were used when the rifles were actually made but through the lens of time, we have to have a way to refer to a given type of rifle from a given region and often a particular gunsmith. It makes for interesting conversation.
 
Ok, I already know that I will be scolded for this BUT , i have a traditions Tennessee rifle that looks nothing like a smr. Is this just a name they chose or is there a short barrel ml made in Tennessee
 
Ok, I already know that I will be scolded for this BUT , i have a traditions Tennessee rifle that looks nothing like a smr. Is this just a name they chose or is there a short barrel ml made in Tennessee

It's for marketing purposes. Doesn't mean it's not a good rifle but it's correct place and period are sort of North America, early 21st century. Or, maybe more accurately, Spain, early 21st century. :)
 
Ok, I already know that I will be scolded for this BUT , i have a traditions Tennessee rifle that looks nothing like a smr. Is this just a name they chose or is there a short barrel ml made in Tennessee
I think your question is legitimate, and I think your observation is correct. That Traditions "Tennessee" rifle is nothing like a real Tennessee original. The name was just a marketing choice, like the T/C Cherokee rifle had nothing whatsoever to do with the Cherokee people or the rifles that were traded to them. Manufacturers do that sort of thing.

However, ordinary people do, too. Just look at the "SMRs" folks are building now, with short barrels, and locks and triggers you would not have seen on an original. One of the real beauties of the Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle kit, apart from the inherent quality of the components, is its faithfulness to tradition... A long, slim barrel, a British-style lock, and triggers modeled after an original.

One of the most interesting parts of that 1964 Muzzle Blasts article I mentioned in my previous post (above), "The Mountain Rifle of the Alleghenys," is that the writer didn't just examine the guns as artifacts, but he also interacted with the people who used them, and he placed the rifles in their cultural context. The writer was shown a very plain rifle by an old mountaineer. In speaking to the old man, the writer said something to the effect that the rifle was interesting, but it was a remarkably plain Kentucky [rifle]. The old man shook his head and said, "Hit ain't a Kentucky. Hit's a mountain rifle." The people who used them did not live in a vacuum. They were conscious of the fact that their rifles were of a distinct and recognizable style. It was the collectors who were slower to pick up on that.

Notchy Bob
 
Tennessee rifles (E. TN) seemed to have gotten their niche because they were iron mounted, made from same wrought iron as their barrels. Bean was the 1st known gunmaker (1769) and his son the 1st white settler known to be born in what is now TN (est. 1796). Bean Station, TN is named after him.
Their iron was made of the ore from the earth, smelted by hand and made into tools. Independent folks doing things themselves to survive.
You’ll note most eastern states utilized brass as carried over from the British trade and found more along established trade routes.
Unfortunately, it seems locks were imported and used by so many - understandably considering our young country’s lack of industrial fortitude until the mid-19th century.
 
I think your question is legitimate, and I think your observation is correct. That Traditions "Tennessee" rifle is nothing like a real Tennessee original. The name was just a marketing choice, like the T/C Cherokee rifle had nothing whatsoever to do with the Cherokee people or the rifles that were traded to them. Manufacturers do that sort of thing.

However, ordinary people do, too. Just look at the "SMRs" folks are building now, with short barrels, and locks and triggers you would not have seen on an original. One of the real beauties of the Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle kit, apart from the inherent quality of the components, is its faithfulness to tradition... A long, slim barrel, a British-style lock, and triggers modeled after an original.

One of the most interesting parts of that 1964 Muzzle Blasts article I mentioned in my previous post (above), "The Mountain Rifle of the Alleghenys," is that the writer didn't just examine the guns as artifacts, but he also interacted with the people who used them, and he placed the rifles in their cultural context. The writer was shown a very plain rifle by an old mountaineer. In speaking to the old man, the writer said something to the effect that the rifle was interesting, but it was a remarkably plain Kentucky [rifle]. The old man shook his head and said, "Hit ain't a Kentucky. Hit's a mountain rifle." The people who used them did not live in a vacuum. They were conscious of the fact that their rifles were of a distinct and recognizable style. It was the collectors who were slower to pick up on that.

Notchy Bob

Notchable Robert,

Well said. Often on a thread like this when I’ve seen you’ve posted I know it’s been said. Cheers.
 
A ‘Southern Mountain Rifle’ is a generic catch all term for a rifle made in the southern Appalachian and surrounding mountains by the mountain folk who lived there. Those include N Georgia, East Tn, West NC, East KY, and West VA rifles. An E Tennessee is a particular strain of SMR. That said, it is generally agreed by historians and collectors that SMR is not a preferred term as it is way too broad for nuance. It’s something like saying a PA rifle, Plains rifle, or Musket. It will give a general impression but few specific details.

That said, not all Tennessee rifles are E Tn rifles thus not all are SMRs, just as not all North Carolina rifles are East NC rifles and thus not all NC rifles are SMRs. The mountain guns were pretty much their own thing.
One Area you left out is North East Alabama which is the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains. Yes, you nailed it when you said Mountain Folk had their own thing going on😉
 
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