Lancaster style?

[Lock Nut]

Heres some questions for the Lancaster gurus.
Did Isaac Haines ever use the dasiy-headed patch box on his rifles? I have very little info. on his work. Most original pics show a more simple style of design.

Also on the subject: did Jacob Dickert ever build shorter barrled rifles? Approx 38" like Haines did?

 

[Elnathan]

Heres some questions for the Lancaster gurus.
Did Isaac Haines ever use the dasiy-headed patch box on his rifles? I have very little info. on his work. Most original pics show a more simple style of design.

The patchbox on RCA 80 looks pretty daisy-headed to me. there seems to be a lot of variation within the basic pattern.

Also on the subject: did Jacob Dickert ever build shorter barrled rifles? Approx 38" like Haines did?

RCA 48 has a 39" barrel. All the others I have pics of are over 40". Incidentally, as far as I know the surviving Haines rifles with 38" barrels are a grand total of one. It just happens to be the rifle that was selected for reproduction, and because of that his name gets linked with shorter guns despite the fact that his other rifles have the normal 40+" barrels.

 

[Vaino]

Yes....Isaac Haines did build a LR w/ a daisy finial.

As was explained by Don Getz of Getz bbls, when they introduced an Isaac Haines parts set, the maximum bbl length that rheir stock profiler could handle was 38".....and it seems all the subsequent Isaac Haines "kits" from many suppliers come w/ 38" bbls.

As was stated in a previous post....only one known Isacc Haines LR has a 38" bbl.

The shortest bbl length for a Dickert LR that I could find is 39"....all the many others are well over 42" and some up to 50".

If you want a 38" bbled Isaac Haines LR w/ a daisy headed Pbox and it seems that's what you want, by all means get one. Pictured below is my version of an Isacc Haines LR...but it has a 44" bbl.......Fred

 

[Birddog6]

You might want to go some place & shoulder a Lancaster in a 38" length & one in the 42 or 44" barrels in same weight barrels (weight pertaining to B or C swamped barrels) Definate dif. in the balance of the rifle in dif barrel lengths. The 38" is my favorite, as it puts more weight on the shoulders of the shooter, rather than the muzzle.

Example being, if you took a rifle in same style & caliber & shoulder one in a swamped barrel, then one in a swamped barrel, you will swear the swamped barrel is 1-2# lighter, when they may both actually be the same weight. Weight distribution is the key here.

That being said, the 38-42-44-46 will not be as noticeable as my example, but there is a definite difference, because as you go longer you distribute more weight towards the muzzle.

Keith Lisle

 

[Vaino]

Hi Keith...the pictured LR w/ the 44"er is a Rice "B" swamped in .50 cal. This combo balances quite nicely. Somehow I can't reconcile a 38" bbled LR and my minimum now is 44"...afterall they are called "longfrifles". But it is a matter of personal preference and who can argue w/ that.

My present build is a Bucks County w/ a Rice 46" "B" weight in .50 cal.... this LR balances really nice, is light weight and just ordered another from Jason. The only disadvantage w/ these long bbled LRs, is that while building, I keep banging the ceiling and other structures....still haven't adjusted to the 46" length and shipping poses some problems....Fred

 

[Lock Nut]

Just trying to make up my mind on a 38 or 42" Lancaster for my next project. Gotta be HC :wink:
Guess I need to get me those RCA books.

 

[Birddog6]

Doesn't matter........ the HC/PC police always find fault with something. :rotf: And every place ya go it will be a different thing !

Keith Lisle

 

[galamb]

I've really gravitated toward the longer barrels.

There is something about a rifle that goes a touch over 60" long, you do get a lot of comments from modern shooters.

Plus I get a laugh when my 5'4" buddy has to almost lay it flat to load it - I usually offer him a step-stool :rotf:

 

[rich pierce]

Because you asked whether or not specific makers did such and such, I'll assume you are interested in basing your rifle on historic examples. Very early rifles sometimes had shorter barrels. The Marshall rifle, #19 in Rifles of Colonial America, the Faber rifle (if I recall correctly) and a few others come to mind, including the "tulip rifle". Others made around the same time had long barrels. I am not a PC policeman but I like things to be "coherent" so I normally pair a D weight 38" barrel with a large buttplate over 2" in width, an early guard with the rail well off the wrist, and stock design and carving styles found on early specimens (Revolutionary War and earlier). Keep in mind that Dickert worked over a 50 year span and Haines at least 30 years, so simply calling a rifle a Dickert or a Haines and expecting that to encapsulate it is like calling a car a Toyota Corolla. They differ from decade to decade.

 

[Stophel]

First thing you need to do, if historicity is important, is to totally ignore everything from the producers of the precarve stocks. They're mostly just parrotting the "wisdom" handed down for 40 years, much of which is... questionable. If you have an area and time period in mind, focus on that and study original guns from that area/period. If you are serious, get ahold of every book you can find on the subject and scour the internet. There is a great deal available on this here internets, but you often have to search long, hard, and creatively to find it. Decide what you like first and learn all you can about it, then start looking for what is available (if there even is anything) to make it.

 

[Stophel]

when I get home I'll see what I can find available online to start you out.

 

[kaintuck]

AHHHhhh...just google lancaster flintlocks...you'll get tons of pictures, from originals to new made.
the 'style' change as the years pass from 1770's thru the golden era.....depends on what you like!

and yup...I like long 44"or longer barrels on these rifles to please the 'look' when they're hanging on the wall!