Hooked breech question

[L.B. Myers]

Hi All,

I am planning to build a Golden Age Kentucky rifle soon. It will be a 54 Cal. My question is if a hooked breech was ever used on this era of rifle. I like the idea however I do not think it was used for that early style of flintlock.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

L.B.

 

The "golden age" lasted for a long time, 1780-1830. Hooked breeches were not common during the early part, when a .54 cal gun would have been made.

By the time hooked breeches came around, the calibers were already reduced in bore.

The big game was gone from the area east of the Mississippi and most guns were being made in less than .50 bore. The big bores were being built as guns for the western trade.

A .54 "golden age" would have been an early rifle more than likely and would have had a fixed tang.

If you check your books, the big bore "golden age" guns are usually pre-1800 or have been reamed out to smothrifles as they wore out. Almost all of the origional guns have gone through at least one "freshing out" and almost all of them started as smaller bores than they are at the present time.

I think that the development of using wedges instead of pins to hold the barrel is parallel to the use of the hooked breech. Look for the guns with wedges instead of pins and check for their origional caliber speculations, not their present calibers.

Of course this is all just speculation from my memory and I may be wrong on any and/or all points! Study the books first, and for a long time before putting time and $$$ into a gun you thought was PC and them disipoints you.

:imo:

 

[L.B. Myers]

Thanks Ghost!

I appreciate the advice. Every thing that I

 

[Greg Field]

I'm not saying hooked breeches were common. They weren't. But they were built. A quick look through Rifles of Colonial America yielded five examples you might look at:

1) No. 63, a magnificent A. Verner .46-cal. smoothbore

2) No. 64, a fancy .52-cal. smoothbore

3) No. 120, a .55-cal. rifle styled like a fowler

2) No. 121, a .47-cal. longrifle

3) No. 129, a .49-cal. longrifle

The question then bcomes, why do you want a hooked breech? In my opinion, the benefits do not just ify the complexity, on a flintlock.

 

[Terry Zboril]

Greg,
Great Catch!!!!

I've been looking at the RCA volumes since 1980 and never noticed the apparent hooked breech on #63, and others.
Thanks,
Terry

 

[tg]

There is a drawing of a hooked breech in a French Encyclopedia from the 1760's so the concept though not common goes back quite a ways.

 

[mule ear]

If you are looking for convenience to remove the bbl for cleaning, etc, why not try a Virginia pattern? Instead of solid loops, they used hooked loops, open at the rear. Remove the tang screw, slide the bbl forward 3/16" and out it comes. Slick. The loops are installed and pinned per usual, then the rear portion is removed to create the hook. Easy! Obviously, "staple" type loops wouldn't work too well. Tapered and swammped bbls need to be inlet sorta loose, tho.