What is the difference between colonial long rifles, like those made during the 18th century, and those of Daniel Boone’s day? I have been shooting my smoothbore Brown Bess for a while and I am now interested in a flintlock long rifle.
So Isaac Haines was an actual Lancaster gunsmith who worked during and after the Revolutionary War. You might be surprised to find he made a variety of rifles, not a model per se, varying barrel lengths, and in later guns, a more narrow, curved buttplate.Where does an Isaac Haines fit in?
So Isaac Haines was an actual Lancaster gunsmith who worked during and after the Revolutionary War. You might be surprised to find he made a variety of rifles, not a model per se, varying barrel lengths, and in later guns, a more narrow, curved buttplate.
The kits marketed as Isaac Haines rifles have correct hardware and feature 38” barrels which save some weight. Architecture is great and the wide tall buttplate is comfortable to shoot. Great choice for 1770-1785 era rifle. Of course a rifle would be used long after it was made.
One note as a continuance to the above post by Tenngun. Just like today, guns that were made 20-30-40 years prior (from "back in the day") tended to remain in service even though contemporary styles of the day in manufacture had changed. Guns are things that will last as long as you take care of them. I see plenty of people at ranges today with 20-30-50-80 year old guns (though they tend not to use and carry them every day).
Of course, the fancier and more embellished ones tended NOT to be utility "tools" and usually were used more gingerly than those that were less fancifully adorned. (I have fancy guns, and I have plain ones. The fancy stuff only sees the range. The plain stuff goes in to the woods with me.) Simply for the reason that the plain ones were used for what they were made for, and the purchase price was cheaper then, just as the same is true today. That's why a greater percentage of fancy guns from the period survive than those that were "rode hard and put away wet". People tend to take better care of their nicer things. A fancy gun with a lot of decoration generally won't shoot a lot better than a plain one. It just looks prettier when you're doing it.