DGW-Tennesee Rifle-Flint

[Wayne Lundstrom]

Hello! My first post. Any oppinions on this gun in 50 cal? I know they no longer make it. Its simplicity and potential used price appeals to me. What do you think ? How does it compare to a Frontier? Strenghts,weakness etc..Thanks!

 

[Stumpkiller]

I like the looks/style. Had one 20 years ago in .32 that I wish I still had. The lock was a bit of a weak sparker, but L&R makes a nice replacement. If I'd had the expertise available then that is here now on this forum I'm sure I'd have had it sparking like a file in a grinder. It was a shooter (when it went off :winking: ).

Based on that rifle vs. a friend's Frontier (his was the older but identical Hatfield) I'd have to give the Frontier the better marks for wood quality, as well as fit and finish overall. Toss up for accuracy.

 

[Ashworth]

I have a 50 cal dixie mountian. I have had it for 15 years. Bought it used . It is heavy but you get use to it.Mine was a kit with a mixture of brass and steel furniture. The guy who put it together did not do a good job.I have replaced the lock with the L&R replacement lock I just had to remove a very small amount of wood to get the lock to fit.She is my favorite gun.
Alan Ashworth

 

[trent/OH]

I own one each in 32 and 50 calibers. The 50 I named Connie because I'm confident in her. The last squirrel I took with the 32 lost it's head to it. They are not custom guns, certainly. But for the price, it's an entirely suitable rifle. I eon't be getting rid of mine, and may even be buried with one.

 

[twobirds]

I've got one too...first blackpowder kit I ever put together. After 20+ years, I still have it. Because these were sold both as kits and as finished guns, you may find a wide range of workmanship...I suggest you closely inspect any you find for sale to make sure that they were reasonably well executed. It was a tack-driver with heavy loads when new. I, too, had to replace the frizzen once, but Dixie had them in stock and the second once still sparks very well. With a 41 1/2" 15/16" octagon barrel, the .50's are heavy. The earliest ones DGW made had a 7/8" barrel - always wished mine did. :shake: All in all, a good solid rifle, and I would recommend it if you are looking for a production gun. :thumbsup:

 

[Wayne Lundstrom]

Thanks for the input! Let you know if I make a move. Thus far I've been a TC shooter IE New Englander rifle and shot gun.

 

[Cruzatte]

I had a Dixie TMR twenty years ago, too. And in all honesty, I fought that gun with every shot. What I didn't like was that the barrel was hevier than it needed to be. I think a .50 X 7/8" X 41" barrel would be a better candidate if one were going to use a parallel sided barrel than the standard .50 X 15/16" X 41" barrel Dixie used on their TMR. It was very muzzle heavy, and therefore poorly ballanced. It might have made a good light chunk gun, though. :grin:

I have to say in its favor however that I learned how to shoot flintlocks from that rifle. The lock was very reliable, and sparked very well. It was also kind to flints.

Cruzatte

 

[echo89]

I have a Frontier in .32 and a Tenn MTn Rifle in .50. My TMR is percussion, but as far as handling, I like the Frontier's feel as it is a little less nose heavy, yet the TMR is more comfortable against my shoulder. The TMR has put up w/ significant accidental abuse w/o problems. Both are more accurate than myself. I paid the same for both, lightly used.

 

[weirdjack]

I've had one since 1979 or so. I love it....it still shoots better than I can hold it.
Last year I got the bug to replace the lock with an L&R thinking I'd get a faster lock time from it. But after a month or so of tuning and trying to get the L&R to function anywhere near as reliably the original, I put the Dixie lock back in. That old Dixie lock just sparks, flshes, then the gun goes boom without fail. The L&R and it's flint size/shape/position fussiness resides in a box as a backup unit now. The original Dixie lock will spark well with any old rock in it.
The Tennessee with .50 and 15/16" flats is nose heavy no doubt....but you get used to it quickly enough.
Jack

 

[Wes/Tex]

The early guns had a great reputation for accuracy but later there was some problems but these got cleared up by Dixie. All-in-all, they are good guns. The comment, above, about weak spring was the problem. Also as mentioned, there are replacement locks if you should have problems.

On a purely FWIW note, Tommy Lee Jones carried one in the movie "April Morning"!! Like a Lexington, Mass. farmer would have a Tenn. Mountain Rifle. :haha:

 

[Cmabie]

I built a Dixie TMR 50 cal. flintlock rifle back in the early 1980s from one of their kits. It sure has a pretty stock made of Japanese cherry wood. I stained it dark and rubbed in plenty of linseed oil so that the wood has a deep warm cherry wood color along with a lot of depth. It has been shot it quite a bit usung 50 gr. of FFg black powder. It shoots almost in the same hole at 50 yds, and has a fast lock time. It is a tad heavy now that I am 72 years old, But I still enjoy shooting it. I browned all the metal parts of the gun.
:hatsoff: Rabbitears

 

[Okwaho]

Rabbitears,actually you have a very old law of physics in action here. As one gets older the fact is that for each successive year the gun gets correspondingly heavier.It's not you ,it's the gun.I noticed this when I turned 60 and at 72 it became really noticeable and I also realized that this concept was not understood by my son and other youngsters.
Tom Patton :applause: :bow:

 

[spitfire]

First blackpowder kit I built years ago cherry stock and steel hardware.Sure no gunkit is perfect and when the lock dies it will be replaced with L&R.A bit heavy up front.But I love it as a deer hunter(50 cal.)!

 

[Wayne Lundstrom]

He great responses...Thanks! One more question, TOW talks of flint-percussion lock interchangeability. Does this mean the DGW flint rifle can be easliy converted to percussion with an L&R ?

 

[David Teague]

I bought a early TVM in the late 70's in 45 cal with both locks by DGW and the parts to swap the locks back and forth... the DGW flintlock was a disapointment... never sparked well, the caplock was dandy but I ended up geting rid of it in the early 80's for a better Bean style long rifle in 50 cal flint... ( which got traded off in time too... :youcrazy: )

The trick to changing out locks is the drum and nipple replacing the vent hole liner. If you can swing the bucks... I'd go for a TVM rifle over the DGW rifle... if you don't have the extra cash, you could do far worse.

Cheers,

DT

 

[rkthomas]

My Brother brings a DGW Tennessee flint to every one our shoots as a "spare". Very reliable now that the lock was reworked. I agree that its a bit heavy but it is still doin the job after 25 or more years.

regards
Rich Thomas

 

[graybeard]

Okie, you are right. Also, at 73, I've noticed that the trails get longer, the blankets thinner, the nights colder, the ground harder and the hair thinner. I wish science would quit fooling around with DNA and such and start trying to prevent the problems I just listed. graybeard :winking:

 

[dodgecity]

I wish I could find a good .50 DGW mountain rifle for sale. I have a .32 that I bought when they first came out. It's a favorite of mine, and I would love nothing better than to have a companion rifle in .50.

 

[dodgecity]

graybeard, in addition to what you mentioned, my biggest complaint is with clothing manufacturers. All of my adult life, I have worn a size medium. Suddenly I find it necessary to buy large sizes. What is wrong with American clothing manufacturers that they have become unable to produce a properly fitting medium size garment?

 

[Rebel]

Yea, and how come a pair of pants that i know have a 30" waist, now say they are 34". It's a conspiracy i tell ya. :grin: