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Hello from South Australia.

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scottgze said:
As the title says, hi all from the worst place in the world to be a firearms enthusiast!
I'm on the brink of buying my first flintlock rifle, a Kentucky pattern that to my meager understanding seems to be a Southern mountains rifle, although I have found a couple of threads that refute that title.
Needless to say, I'm a bit confused as to what pattern/era of rifle it could be. I'm pretty confident of the basis being a Kentucky (or Pennsylvania, as it has also been called apparently).

I'm looking forward to learning more about both my rifle, and the general history behind it and the people and culture behind it.
Sadly, there is limited chances that I'm aware of in Australia for events like Rendezvous etc, and all of the local shooting clubs tend to mock those that shoot in period dress :/
Having said that, if anyone else from Australia sees this and has information or recommendations for re-enacting or Rendezvous events, I'm all ears.

I have shot flintlock previously, but to date only handguns. I'm aware of the loading procedure etc.

When I have the rifle in my possession, I'll post photos if anyone is interested.

Scott
Click to expand...

Welcome from Queensland fellow Aussie.
South Australia use to have a strong ML and Rendezvous group, including Victoria which still survives.
Look up "Southern Cross Free Trappers" group (free to join) in Vic and you'll be able to make some good contacts there.
The other rewarding group is the SSAA Historical Arms Collectors (HAC), its super cheap if you're a SSAA member (I assume you are) and attend their range days (twice a year here in Qld) that way you'll meet up with other ML owners (you can shoot Repro ML's in HAC) and plenty of HAC folk dress period so you wont feel an outsider.
 
Well Welcome from across the ditch though I always have difficulty as to why long rifles have any place down under , I've made them for Australian & NZ patrons but long rifles would be last the sort Ide want to lug around. That said I've carried a Wheellock all over on some trips in Aus it wouldn't be much better suited .I did a lot of Rendezvous & F&I events in the US but no fur hat stuff though I ran with lots of ' Forest grunge Primates 'with a "NZ Poor boy "as some dubbed it and incidentally shot it yesterday a half stocked flint 50 cal thirty inch barrel with wooden tool box but I also shot a Matchlock Petronel bit hard to document them here either .What ever grabs you
.Regards Rudyard
 
From what I've seen, the biggest difference with a Southern Mountain/Tennessee rifle is the radically curved butt end and the Pennsylvania and Kentucky types don't curve as much. I reckon everyone around here in those days were pretty boney folks and didn't get a lot to eat, so the points of the curve didn't have much to dig into. ;) Just take a walk thru a local Walmart and you'll see, it's not so much like that anymore.

That's just my simplified observation... there are a lot more subtle differences that could take a lifetime of study to work out.

Again, Welcome!
 
scottgze said:
Why is that mate? It's a big country with a lot of open space.
Or are you suggesting we just don't need guns?
Click to expand...
Dear Scottgze Ime well aware its a big country I' ve tramped a lot of it with enough ' Starlight hotels' Over the years & I generally had a rifle with me ,So Ime not suggesting you don.t need guns I.ve made Long rifles enough. I just think history in Australia dosn.t have much to do with Long rifles or Beaver trappers in Australia or NZ.
A few rifles might have got there from the 1850s gold rushes . But beyound that its Just Hollywood fancies .Not that Ide deny anyone their fancies You can Do Romans or Star Trecky stuff .We all grew up with Westerns , Nobody Does Voortreckers for example or anything much not related to historical reality out side of what Hollywood turned out yet the Voortreckers or bush rangers had epic struggles .making the western expansion look relatively tame . But they had No Hollywood .
I once Trapped Opposums but its not quite the same I cant say ime a' long hunter ' aside of the Deer culling (Not with MLs) Ive not gone more that 17 days hunts my Flint rifle of 50 cal English provincial in style is just on 5 pounds weight & its round swamped 26" brl being long enough for this Hiverant ( if your going to carry any weight make it edible ! is my maxim.) Please do not be upset that certainly isn't my intention .
Regards Rudyard
 
In support of our Rudyard, in Australias historical context Flintlock Rifles werent much of a thing here, sure there would have been exceptions among the wealthy gentry (and there werent many of them) but overall it was Smoothbore ML FL muskets (mostly surplus Brown Besses) and Shotguns that dominated among the common folk up until the mid 19th century.
 
scottgze said:
As the title says, hi all from the worst place in the world to be a firearms enthusiast!
I'm on the brink of buying my first flintlock rifle, a Kentucky pattern that to my meager understanding seems to be a Southern mountains rifle, although I have found a couple of threads that refute that title.
Needless to say, I'm a bit confused as to what pattern/era of rifle it could be. I'm pretty confident of the basis being a Kentucky (or Pennsylvania, as it has also been called apparently).

I'm looking forward to learning more about both my rifle, and the general history behind it and the people and culture behind it.
Sadly, there is limited chances that I'm aware of in Australia for events like Rendezvous etc, and all of the local shooting clubs tend to mock those that shoot in period dress :/
Having said that, if anyone else from Australia sees this and has information or recommendations for re-enacting or Rendezvous events, I'm all ears.

I have shot flintlock previously, but to date only handguns. I'm aware of the loading procedure etc.

When I have the rifle in my possession, I'll post photos if anyone is interested.

Scott
Click to expand...
Hi mate
What is the gun you are looking at?
Some of the old CVA flintlocks are rubbish comparatively.
With a flintlock a good lock is very important and crucial if hunting,
Percussion not so critical
 
scottgze said:
As the title says, hi all from the worst place in the world to be a firearms enthusiast!
I'm on the brink of buying my first flintlock rifle, a Kentucky pattern that to my meager understanding seems to be a Southern mountains rifle, although I have found a couple of threads that refute that title.
Needless to say, I'm a bit confused as to what pattern/era of rifle it could be. I'm pretty confident of the basis being a Kentucky (or Pennsylvania, as it has also been called apparently).

I'm looking forward to learning more about both my rifle, and the general history behind it and the people and culture behind it.
Sadly, there is limited chances that I'm aware of in Australia for events like Rendezvous etc, and all of the local shooting clubs tend to mock those that shoot in period dress :/
Having said that, if anyone else from Australia sees this and has information or recommendations for re-enacting or Rendezvous events, I'm all ears.

I have shot flintlock previously, but to date only handguns. I'm aware of the loading procedure etc.

When I have the rifle in my possession, I'll post photos if anyone is interested.

Scott
Click to expand...
Welcome Scottgze, from Pete up in Queensland! I only shoot percussion at this stage, so I'm no help to you regarding flintlocks. About rondys, our shoot captain attends a rather large one each year down South Queensland way, Milmerran I think. We have our regular competition match next weekend; I'll ask him about the venue - he just got back from it, so it should be fresh in his memory!

Enjoy the ride - a wonderful bunch of lads and ladies here.

Pete
 
Welcome, from North Carolina, USA (but born in Kentucky, so that must make me an expert, right? Lol) I am sure someone more knowledgeable will correct any errors, but I would say that style rifle evolved from around the early 1700s, and went well into the 1800s (some being converted to percussion along the way), and were still in use in the Appalachians and Southern Highlands into the 1900s. They were used up and down the colonies on the American East Coast, but really we’re active in the mid-Atlantic and Southern states, and westward into the Old Northwest Territory and on to the early Mountain man days in the Rockies.
 

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