Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Traditional Firearms => Flintlock Long Guns => Topic started by: MCoop on December 21, 2023, 04:23:04 PM
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My Rifle was given to me not too long ago. I’ve been calling it a Kentucky Longrifle but I’ve had a couple people tell me that it’s not a Kentucky Longrifle and that it’s a Tennessee Mountain Rifle. Is there a difference ? They seem to believe there is because of the way the butt of the rile is designed. Either way, I love the rifle, I would just like to know if I’m calling it the right thing.
Flintlock 50cal
39” Barrel
Patch Box
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From what I have seen and read, the Kentucky long rifle had a straighter comb and less drop of the butt, while the Southern Mountain Rifle has a more rounded comb and more drop. Also, the Southern rifles were iron mounted, since iron was available for mining and cheap compared to brass which was usually imported. It got plainer the further South one was. Note that the "Kentucky" rifle received that name from a song, and was made by various gunsmiths in Pennsylvania and the New England states. The Southern mountain rifle was an offshoot of the Pennsylvania (Kentucky) rifle and was made in the mountains of Tennessee, the Carolinas and even in Georgia.
Now (disclaimer), this is what I have come up with from my reading. I hope others will chime in and correct me if I am wrong....
~Kees~
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:hairy Kees pretty much hits it on the head, although I have seen a few SMR's that were brass mounted, usually without a patch box
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And maybe with a simple grease hole in place of a patch box. :bl th up
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So if I’m understanding correctly, mine is more of a Southern Mountain Rifle than the Kentucky Longrifle and maybe a little bit of a hybrid with the brass furniture and patch box ?
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I used to have a Traditions Shenandoah Cap lock that other than the PB looked damn near the same as this. do you have pics of both sides of the lock?
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Yes sir, I sure do.
Here ya go.
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v
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By and large the names of the various style rifles are a modern invention. To me, Kentucky rifle, SMR, SMR Tenn, Pennsylvania rifle, frontier flintlock, etc can be under the "Kentucky Rifle" umbrella without even a peep of correction coming from my shooting bench. Any and all references are rather generic in my view and only apply so far as the owner/builder/etc. want them to.
The only "truly" correct style-name for any rifle is the builder's name. All others are at some level generic titles.
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That's definitely not a traditions lock,
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No sir, it says Dixie Gun Works on the inside of the lock.
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Okay. Back in the day, Dixie sold their standard long rifle and a shorter version called the Cub. The full length rifle hasn't been in their catalog in many years but the Cub is still available. I can't see the patch box in your photo, but the Dixie on the lock tells me that it is probably their original long rifle, and it seems that they called it their Kentucky rifle. Here's a link to the Cub:
https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/2049/category_id/315/category_chain/578,349,336/product_name/FR3135+Dixie+Deluxe+Cub+.36+Caliber+Flint+Rifle
The patch box has probably changed over the years but i think this is what you have. At the same time, I think they may have had a Pennsylvania Rifle available at one time which shortened was the Cub. Curses, i don't have any of my old catalogs anymore....
~Kees~
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Yes, it’s very similar to that but I think mine is longer than the Pedersoli.
Did Dixie Gun Works have their own private label rifles at one time ?
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I think so and they were made in Belgium.
My first flinter was a Dixie .40 caliber. The lock sparked well and it was adequately accurate.
But that was the first time I tried to like flinters and I failed that test. I should have quit there, but no, I kept proving to myself that I don't like them. Oh well, live and learn.
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Hehe !
I’m liking mine so far. No complaints at all. Just trying to learn more about it.
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Did Dixie Gun Works have their own private label rifles at one time ?
Yes they did. They contracted with different overseas manufacturers over the years which accounts for the various changes in a model with time. My first black powder gun was a Dixie 1851 Navy Colt replica, made (IIRC) by Pietta. That was in 1968. I believe that a lot of their imports (under their name) were by Armi San Marcos.
~Kees~