Unchained Preppers
General Category => Gear Review => Topic started by: Nemo on December 22, 2016, 10:42:22 AM
-
Worth a read if for nothing more than the history lesson. A bunch of cool pics too!
Nemo
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/12/22/long-guns-history-us-military-rifles.html (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/12/22/long-guns-history-us-military-rifles.html)
The long guns: History of US military rifles
By Peter Suciu, December 22, 2016, FoxNews.com
The U.S. Army’s upgraded M4A1 combat rifle is just the latest development in a category of weapons that American soldiers have carried since the country’s earliest days.
Long Gun Beginnings
Even before there was actually a "United States" there was what could arguably be considered the first true "American rifle." Known as the Pennsylvania rifle, the Kentucky rifle or simply the long rifle, it was designed for hunting and was characterized by an unusually long barrel, a unique development that was uncommon in the European rifles of the era.
Military history consultant and former United States Marine Corps Captain Dale Dye told FoxNews.com that, in the flintlock era, the long gun was the first to have grooves in the barrel. "These grooves, or rifling, along with the longer barrel, made the guns much more accurate than the British Brown Bess musket," he said.
. . .
-
Keep in mind that the Continental Army won thew day at the Battle of Saratoga (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Saratoga) because of the Pennsylvania "type" rifle.
I write "Pennsylvania type" (http://www.tennesseevalleymuzzleloading.com/early-lancaster) rifle as each region had there own version, e.g. Kentucky rifle, Tennessee rifle, et cetera. Basically, 42" plus "swamped" (http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/49-traditional-muzzle-loading-rifles-shotguns/1612-what-swamped-barrel.html) rifle barrel that easily could hit its target 200 yards away.
One difference the Pennsylvania rifle had from the others was it's double set triggers which was unique to the design. I own a Pennsylvania rifle custom made my master gunsmith Matt Avance at TVM. I love that rifle!