18th Century Horseback Hunting Rifle

[Bigpat271]

So was watching a YouTube video on a 18th century flintlock that has a barrel less than 12 inches.

So I was just wondering if it was possible to put the barrel from a single shot pistol into a stock from a rifle. Do you think this would be possible???

 

[tenngun]

Yes, just not a common thing in America
About 1650- 1700 south Central Europe produced pistols with short, too short to use against the shoulder, with rifle stocks
And shoulder stocks made to fit pistols were made for many years
Little short boar guns had there day, all with about foot long barrels.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I agree with everything @tenngun said.

I don't see any reason you can't mount a short barrel on a rifle stock. Rice makes swamped pistol barrels in 10", 12", and 13" lengths, and you could probably get Hoyt or Burton to make one any length you want. I expect your powder charge would have to be kept pretty small, like a pistol charge, so you won't be blowing unburned powder out the muzzle. I would think a rate of twist suited for a pistol would be a good choice for a barrel this short, to stabilize the projectile with a relatively low powder charge.

I would be interested in reading what the more knowledgeable shooters might have to say on this.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[LongWalker]

Some years back I made a short jaeger. Barrel was .62 caliber, 15" long, with 1:15 rate of twist as was the custom. Lock was a modified Siler.

It grouped best with about 85 grains of FFg. I don't recall ever chronographing it. It was adequate for whitetail deer, but a bit more specialized than I wanted.

 

[tenngun]

Worth a look on you tube

 

[William Lincoln]

Colt made Revolvers notched for stocks. The idea is for horseback, you have to be able
to shift the gun over the horse's head side to side without shooting the horse.
Also one of the the main reasons calvary used carbines. Great interesting gun.
I love the Cap and Ball channel from Hungary.

 

[Bigpat271]

I love the Cap and Ball channel from Hungary.

I always thought they were Italian. I don't know why I thought that.

One of my grail black powder rifles is the Smith Carbine. I would love the one made by Pietta.

Just look at that beauty

 

[Artificer]

I always thought they were Italian. I don't know why I thought that.

One of my grail black powder rifles is the Smith Carbine. I would love the one made by Pietta.

View attachment 106471

Just look at that beauty

They are lovely carbines, BUT unless Pietta is doing something hugely different from the originals, the trigger pull will be atrocious. Originals went 18 to 22 pounds and the old Navy Arms ones often went higher than that. Further, it is a BEAR to work the trigger pull down, but it can be done. It's just there aren't that many even muzzle loading smiths who know how to work on them or will work on them. It takes 8 to 10 hours minimum to bring it down around 4 lbs with a smooth break.

Gus

 

[rich pierce]

Such a build would be a bit of work for limited gain over a pistol, for me personally. I find a long barrel helps sighting accuracy
I’m pretty sure that colonial folks carried their longrifles on horseback when they were riding somewhere and needed a gun. Certainly true for hunters for the deer trade. Also in the western fur trade. The most common guns there had long barrels.
Revolutionary War carbines for cavalry had barrels in the 30-32” range. Of course they were not for accurate long range shooting but it shows what they were comfortable carrying.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

So was watching a YouTube video on a 18th century flintlock that has a barrel less than 12 inches.
So I was just wondering if it was possible to put the barrel from a single shot pistol into a stock from a rifle. Do you think this would be possible???

So I think you are asking if the size, the width, of a pistol barrel will fit into a pre-carved stock? If a pistol barrel were inlet into a rough stock blank there would be no pre-cut barrel channel, so in that case more work, but it would be custom fit. Pistol barrels from makers are normally listed with the width being noted, and as long as you were using one that is straight, not swamped, that matched the pre-carved barrel groove, it should be fine.

I think the video makes some assumptions. The host doesn't mention any provenance, or why he pronounces the rifle as a Stutz. I'm not convinced that it's a Germanic Stutzen rifle. It's very short even for one of those. I think that rifle was made for a wealthy man with a crippled or missing arm. I think that's a one handed rifle.

So it's very short... not really going to be used for anything long range... so why the adjustable sight, which the video doesn't specify the ranges for the two settings....unless there is some other factor involved ?

The video host mentions the balance is at the trigger guard, and can easily be handled one handed...,

The rifle has a set trigger..., not a good idea for use on a moving horse, even when stopped as you don't know when the horse might decide to shift it's weight and move a leg...., unless you NEED a set trigger for some reason, and my hypothesis is that it's needed because the owner was using only one arm/hand to shoot. There may be another reason why the owner used only one hand, perhaps there was a problem with riding for the owner, but I think the simplest answer is the owner was limited to one arm/hand shooting.

LD

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Not seeing much utility. They charged horseback through the woods with lances to skewer wild boar. Don't see much benefit to such a short barrel that would not also be viable with a 24 or 28 inch barrel.