Backwoodsman's Caliber?

[nkbj]

So, they used just about everything we could guess at.

 

[Claude Mathis]

the following was compiled from rifles of colonial America

caliber and number of rifles
40-1 50-8 60-7 70-1
41-0 51-9 61-5 71-0
42-3 52-6 62-5 72-3
43-1 53-3 63-1
44-4 54-9 64-2
45-4 55-4 65-4 75-2
46-3 56-7 66-1
47-6 57-5 67-1
48-6 58-11 68-1 90-1
49-1 59-3 69-1

Is this a reference to Shumway's books?

 

[Alden]

Not exactly...Pre Revolutionary War rifles were as large or larger than during the fur trade era...Calibers started trending down as the deer were killed off, that's why Daniel Boone kept moving further west...

I thought Boone kept moving west due to human population rise, not the drop off of deer populations.... oh well not an issue...
LD

I thought it was depletion of commercial hunting animals i.e. beaver (by said population)...

 

[Artificer]

Didn't the fact that Boone lost so much of the land he had claimed by the earlier "Tomahawk Slash" land claims, the courts took away from him, cause him to move further west as well?

Gus

 

[nchawkeye]

That was in Kentucky, in 1799 he moved to the Spanish Territories as they had promised him land...This is after the period the OP was asking about and after his market hunting days...

It was 1769 when he made his first long hunt into Kentucky where he stayed there 2 years before returning...Previous to that he kept moving from the Mocksville, NC area (where his father had a claim and moved the family down here in 1750) further into the mountains and at one time had a cabin in Boone, NC...

It was this time I was referring 1769-1775...In 1775 he moved to Kentucky for good...He was a market hunter at that time and sold his deer skins at Salisbury, NC...

 

[floyd1350]

yes it is sir. I guess I should have put the title in proper form. sorry. I think 10 did not have the caliber mentioned.

 

[trent/OH]

I tend to give 94 year-olds like Floyd some slack on their footnoting skills.

 

[Claude Mathis]

I tend to give 94 year-olds like Floyd some slack on their footnoting skills.

With all due respect, it's not about slack. Members were asking where the data came from - I think the source is relevant.

 

[Semisane]

Another account related eye witnessing his grandfather killing an Indian across the river in the Fallen Timbers area. "The Indian was sure he was safe on the other side of the river, doing his bending over and flapping his buckskin at us. (Mooning). My grandfather took a rest (a tree limb), waited for the Indian to stand back up, and killed him with one of those pea- sized balls he used. We paced it off at 280 paces".

Must have been a very shallow river. :wink:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Don't know, but if it happened on the Potomac at Brunswick, Maryland, there are times in the year when you can wade across it and not get your knees wet. The town was first called "Germans' Crossing" as a Germanic community was located across the river in VA and they'd wade, ride on horseback, or drive a wagon across the river at that point to go to Hagerstown for salt. So it's possible to have "paced" off such a shot...:haha:

LD

 

[BrownBear]

...but that doesn't take into effect sprue and loss from fluxing, so probably somewhere between .48 and .50 caliber minimum.

I don't follow that at all.

Balls per pound is about how many balls weigh a pound. It's not about how many balls you can squeeze from a pound of lead after loss to sprues and fluxing. :shake:

 

[Claude Mathis]

...but that doesn't take into effect sprue and loss from fluxing, so probably somewhere between .48 and .50 caliber minimum.

I don't follow that at all.

Balls per pound is about how many balls weigh a pound. It's not about how many balls you can squeeze from a pound of lead after loss to sprues and fluxing. :shake:

Correct.

The Gauge of a gun is the measurement of the bore in terms of the number Ӭof lead balls, of the same diameter as the bore, that would weigh one pound.

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/197045/

 

[crockett]

If you can find a used book in good shape, I'd buy: http://www.amazon.com/The-Pennsylvania-Kentucky-Henry-Kauffman/dp/188329455X

The photos are black and white but fairly detailed and there is coverage of the rifles made in PA by county and time period.

 

[Dphar]

When I first asked this question, I thought there would be a lot of help. O Boy, was I right. Just these few replies have sent me down a few rabbit holes. It made me wonder just who were these guys and what did they use as riflemen. So far, I narrowed it down to the battles of Quebec 1775, Saratoga 1777, and Cowpens. The roster had 204 names for Morgan's Riflemen in 1777. What would a backwoodsman's caliber have been in Pennsylvania and in Virginia in 1777 or 1781? Would the quality of powder have made a difference in the size of the PRB to have the best effect?

.44 to .50.

Read J.J. Henry's account of going to Quebec with Arnold.
"An Accurate and Interesting Account of the Hardships and Sufferings of that BAND OF HEROES who Traversed the Wilderness in the Campaign Against Quebec in 1775", published in 1812.

“He ran back seizing his own gun, and intimated that a bull moose was swimming across the river towards the camp. We jumped to our arms ”“ it so happened that my station was rearward. The enormous animal was coming toward us, and not more than fifty paces off, his head and horns only above water. The sight was animating. Wheeler and some others fired at his head, but without effect. The extreme desire they had to possess so noble a prey, probably caused a tremor of the hand, or that part of his body was impenetrable to our small balls, which is most likely. The moose turned and swam to the opposite bank. Having got to the verge of the river, his emerging was awaited. My ball struck precisely where it ought to kill. The huge animal rose the bank by several boggling leaps, but seemed unknowing which way to run ”“ We thought he would fall. Wheeler, and some others, getting into the canoes, pursued him by his blood half a mile. When Wheeler returned, he overloaded me with praises for the accuracy of the shot, and was confident the deer was killed.”
”” John Joseph Henry

This cut and pasted from http://www.kjmcdonaldart.com/whatsnew.html

Henry describes a rifle he traded for as using a 48 caliber ball and indicates that it was larger than the rifle he had lost in a river crossing.

Dan

 

[Rifleman1776]

Lot of responses. We have narrowed it down to somewhere between .32" cal. and .72" caliber. :surrender:

 

[longcruise]

Yup! Looks like we have successfully solved another riddle of history!

 

[Zonie]

Yup.

This here Historyofying and coming up with some Historyfacation to support it ain't as easy as it looks. :wink:

 

[nchawkeye]

Lot of responses. We have narrowed it down to somewhere between .32" cal. and .72" caliber. :surrender:

So if a fellow picks a .45, .50, .54 or a .58 he should be covered...... :haha:

 

[Joe Zakas]

This thread has come up with a wide range of answers and has helped with research sources. All in all, it seems the caliber for backcountry folks was dependent on year, available gunsmiths, and intended targets. So what was good for one hunter in Vermont 1785 would be different for a Carolina longhunter in the same year. It's just a lot of fun to open doors on a "just a thought" question.
Thanks guys.
Slojo :bow:

 

[Claude Mathis]

All in all, it seems the caliber for backcountry folks was dependent on year, available gunsmiths, and intended targets. So what was good for one hunter in Vermont 1785 would be different for a Carolina longhunter in the same year.

I think this tends to be the case for most reenacting questions. :wink:

Who, When, Where, Occupation, Native, European, etc.