1792 Contract Rifle

[alejohns]

After spending over a year remodeling a house I'm nearing the end and looking for a rifle project to spend the winter on. I've been looking at Tracks kit for a 1792 contract rifle and am interested. Can anyone give me some background on this rifle and also has anyone assembled this kit. I gather there is more than a little lack of knowledge out there on this particular rifle, but I would like to assemble one as close as possible to an original. My concerns are the lock, how is the one Track provides? Would it be better to assemble a lock from the Rifle Shoppe to use with this kit? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

Alex Johnson

 

[Doc Arroyo]

I am not an expert, but here it goes. The 1792 was built by numerrous makers that were contracted to make a certain number of rifles. Hence the term "Contract Rifle". There was a list of requirements from the government and each maker fit the requirements to the best of his ability.

Don Stith has put together a "kit" at the St Louis Plains Rifle Co. He has a page or so on the history of the rifle.

A friend started building a number of 1792's, buying Dickert parts from TOW. He innocently told the folks at TOW what he was building, and the next thing he knows they have a 1792 "kit"! It was almost the list from his last order! eace:

I am still concidering one for my next build too! :thumbsup:

 

as stated, the Contract rifle was not a specific gun. The specifications left a lot to the makes' discretion. Some of the locks did not have bridles on frizen or tumbler. Due to numerous makers, hardware varried considerably. One distinguishing feature they all shared was that the barrel was octogan to round without wedding bands and with no taper to the barrel. Not straight octogon, not swamped, not tapered! Just before 1800 all barrels were ordered cut back to 38", until then lengths varried. So far I have heard of no ones' kit duplicating these important features.

What I am saying is do not pay more to get a genuine reproduction of a "contract rifle". Any three origional contract rifles you sat down and examined would appear different. If you build a contract rifle, get a copy of the specs, hold to those and do what you want on the rest of the hardware and on the style. The contract rifles were just as individual as any other plain working rifles of that day. Don't get carried away with fancy wood and brasswork. The government was not paying for that.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

Ghost-

Thats the first I have heard of the octogon to round barrel for the 1792 Contract Rifle. Where does one find the correct specifications to this rifle?

 

[alejohns]

Sorry about the late response, I've been out of town for quite awhile without internet access. Anyway, thanks for all the great responses.

Alex