4th of July rifle
- Thread starter monotonous_iterancy
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Archaic
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The nice thing about a muzzle loader is that with powder and a wad without a bullet you have instant fireworks. Dad had an old kit blunderbuss (yeah!) that he used to fire into the air on the 4th and on New Years. Thats going all the way back to plymouth rock and not really a rifle, but it was still pretty cool to a 10 year old watching from the back porch.
tahunua001
Member
agree,
shot heard around the world was all british smooth bores. kentucky rifle is something that was used later on and mostly on the western front where few of the big historic battles were fought. also your odds of finding a 250 year old mechanical device of any kind in working order are close to 0, no less a firearm.
civil war springfields are very expensive and also something that I wouldn't want to risk damaging even by firing a ceremonial shot every year on the 4th.
perhaps something like a 1903 or M1 garand? lots of history there and easily fixed or replaced should something go wrong.
shot heard around the world was all british smooth bores. kentucky rifle is something that was used later on and mostly on the western front where few of the big historic battles were fought. also your odds of finding a 250 year old mechanical device of any kind in working order are close to 0, no less a firearm.
civil war springfields are very expensive and also something that I wouldn't want to risk damaging even by firing a ceremonial shot every year on the 4th.
perhaps something like a 1903 or M1 garand? lots of history there and easily fixed or replaced should something go wrong.
Ignition Override
Member
monotonous iterancy:
Maybe you would enjoy a short segment of "Combat", or "Band of Brothers" on Youtube.
If that doesn't help your resolve, then comments by Fishbed 77 and Coop45 could help.
With the CMP's back-up lasting for weeks, you will probably overpay a good bit for one of these at a gun show.
Maybe you would enjoy a short segment of "Combat", or "Band of Brothers" on Youtube.
If that doesn't help your resolve, then comments by Fishbed 77 and Coop45 could help.
With the CMP's back-up lasting for weeks, you will probably overpay a good bit for one of these at a gun show.
monotonous_iterancy
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I was talking about a reproduction, I wouldn't fire something that belongs in a museum.
tahunua001
Member
in that case a traditions kentucky rifle kit may be just the ticket.
1. they are relatively cheap.
2. they do not classify as a firearm so they can be mailed to your door.
3. it would make a great family project.
4. people that don't know any better would never know the difference.
1. they are relatively cheap.
2. they do not classify as a firearm so they can be mailed to your door.
3. it would make a great family project.
4. people that don't know any better would never know the difference.
ThorinNNY
Member
The Brown Bess amd Charleville muskets were state of art military arms during the Revolutionary war period.Yes,all manner of fowlers and hunting rifles like the Pennslyvania and Kentucky rifle were used by American irregular or auxillary fighting forces. The rifles had greater range and accuracy than the military muskets, but took far longer to reload and lacked provision for mounting a bayonet!
They had great value when used as sniper rifles, but in a hot and heavy close range fight they were inferior to the musket with a mounted bayonnet. The thin wrists of the graceful hunting rifles were prone to break if you were forced to use them as a club.
The Mel Gibson movie THE PATRIOT explains this well!
They had great value when used as sniper rifles, but in a hot and heavy close range fight they were inferior to the musket with a mounted bayonnet. The thin wrists of the graceful hunting rifles were prone to break if you were forced to use them as a club.
The Mel Gibson movie THE PATRIOT explains this well!
tahunua001
Member
the patriot had almost no historically accurate information at all. I tried watching it a few months ago for the first time in several years... it was almost comical to see how comical some of the combat sequences were. every shot from both sides seemed to hit it's mark yet with the several hundred combatants that participated in lexington/concord there were only a few dozen casualties and most of them survived. I no longer put much stock in anything that comes out of hollywood but regardless, much of the information was correct about long rifles.
monotonous_iterancy
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Really? What is the effective range of a Kentucky rifle? I never pictured any sort of flintlock being accurate beyond 100 yards or so, even if it was rifled.
kBob
Member
Ummm, there are a fair number of folks around this place that have shot American War Between the States firearms and some older. I have shot an 1853 Enfield Original, an Original Austrian gun of similar layout from the 1850s, and a jadger rifle from the first decade of the 1700s that had been over 100 years old when it had been converted to percussion and was still being shot and I am inexperienced compared to many of these folks
There were rifle matches in Germany in the late 1600's to just over 200 yards with the targets being between 24 and 36 inches around.
There are known hits in the American Revolution of over 200 yards.
The Brits Baker rifle of the Napolionic era was a flintlock typically used to 200 yards as were the German Jadger rifles they were based on.
I would not be surprised to find long range shooting at Friendship but don't know that it exists, just would not be surprised at it.
This is not the board to go slinging stuff around on that one does not know or understand or have experienced.
-kBob
There were rifle matches in Germany in the late 1600's to just over 200 yards with the targets being between 24 and 36 inches around.
There are known hits in the American Revolution of over 200 yards.
The Brits Baker rifle of the Napolionic era was a flintlock typically used to 200 yards as were the German Jadger rifles they were based on.
I would not be surprised to find long range shooting at Friendship but don't know that it exists, just would not be surprised at it.
This is not the board to go slinging stuff around on that one does not know or understand or have experienced.
-kBob
My order was received back in March, and I don't think I'll be getting one in time for July 4th this year. Maybe I'll have it by July 4th next year.MinnesotaFats
Member
to me nothing says America more than an M1 Garand. just the way my brain works i guess.
monotonous_iterancy
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Okay, I didn't want to say this, but I ordered an M1 back in April. It should be any day now.
I liked the movie, but the funniest thing was how they used siege artillery as field artillery.
To thin down the ranks of volunteers for a Colonial militia company, the commander placed a wood shingle (roughly the size of a man's head) at 100 paces, and had the men shoot at it with their rifles. After too many people hit the shingle at 100 paces, they moved it out further, and accepted the men that could hit it at 250 paces. To commemorate this event, the Appleseed Project "Redcoat" 25-yard target has a small square on it, equivalent to 4 M.O.A. shingle at 250 yards.
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