HC barrel finish for a 1770s...

[brazosland]

It is written that Kenton always wore clothing that was brown or tan and never wore bright colors. That’s unusual enough in the time period that it was observed and noted.

So I doubt he had a barrel in the white on his gun, either by design or by choice. But that means others, maybe a lot of others, likely did.

The lack of any notation or written notes in orders for guns or observations of folks guns to me means that there must have been a “normal” standard for barrel finish. I think it’s notable that no one has written “he doesn’t take care of his gun and barrel is brown with rust, eewww.”

On the other hand, the 1803 note above is very relevant…the government, particularly the military, is not an Early Adopter of Anything. I don’t think that has changed in 250 years. So, for an armory to specify Browned barrel finish…it must have been in common use for a long time.

This to me is one of the most fascinating questions of this hobby…and one we will likely never have an answer too.

 

[SNoopy22]

Hi LD,
I would think if the browning was polished off, you might still find it on the bottom of the barrel. The historical conundrum is the process of rust browning may have been known at least in England for much of the 18th century. There may be many British guns that were browned and because they usually pulled the barrels out for cleaning (hence, the hook breech and barrel wedges) the browning got polished off top and bottom. Below is a painting of an English sportsman by Ralph Earl dated 1784.

Clearly, the barrel is browned. Also note the top jaw screw and side bolts are also blued, probably heat blued the same way I do mine. I also received a note from Richard Colton, who was the senior historian at Springfield Arsenal NHP, about a 18th century New England fowler made using high quality French components. He discovered that the lock screws, side bolts, frizzen spring and detachable pan were temper blued. There are also advertisements from gunsmiths working in several of the big cities such as New York, indicating they blue (charcoal, temper) and brown barrels. So, the process was known. However, it did not appear to become a practice among long rifle makers until almost 1800. I believe all of the long rifles that survived in close to pristine condition, have barrels and locks left bright.

dave