Next Long Arm to Round Out the Collection

[manbat]

For years I have been working towards the goal of collecting and shooting the primary US military long and side arms issued/used in major American conflicts. Getting down below 1870s brought me deeper into me into black powder arms. I just filled a major gap with the purchase of a Mississippi, so I've got the bases covered - Bess, Springfield 1795, Miss, and Springfield 1861.

What longarm ideas would you suggest within that 1770s-1860s time frame?

I'm thinking maybe a Pennsylvania flinter to represent what the militia would have used during the revolution.

 

[brushblind]

Trade gun, .62 smooth bore

 

[manbat]

Trade gun, .62 smooth bore

Trade gun makes me think of fur traders and Indians. Trying to stay US military and major conflict related. Would it have been a common longarm for the militia in the revolutionary or WO1812 period?

 

[Trot]

For military, I'd go with a musket, not a rifle, even for militia. Brown Bess or Charleville for revolution, M1795 Springfield for war of 1812. I'm not sure, but a Charleville might cover both.

 

[Timber Wolf]

My first impression is that is quite a long time of firearms development to be covered by just one example. Seems like at least one flint and then a percussion rifle would be called for. Unless you figure a flintlock for the pre 1770 timeframe and percussion for after?

 

[Notchy Bob]

Are you looking for originals, or reproductions?

I get the impression you want American-made government issue guns.

For a Revolutionary War militiaman, something like a Committee of Safety musket might be an appropriate choice, and certainly an interesting piece. I think these conformed to general specifications, but not necessarily a standard pattern.

If you are happy with your 19th century collection, that’s great! However, I would like to suggest adding a Model 1842 smoothbore… an icon if there ever was one.

Notchy Bob

 

[manbat]

For military, I'd go with a musket, not a rifle, even for militia. Brown Bess or Charleville for revolution, M1795 Springfield for war of 1812. I'm not sure, but a Charleville might cover both.

Yep, I have a Bess, 1795, Mississippi, and 1861. Wondering what may complement them.

 

[manbat]

Are you looking for originals, or reproductions?

I get the impression you want American-made government issue guns.

For a Revolutionary War militiaman, something like a Committee of Safety musket might be an appropriate choice, and certainly an interesting piece. I think these conformed to general specifications, but not necessarily a standard pattern.

If you are happy with your 19th century collection, that’s great! However, I would like to suggest adding a Model 1842 smoothbore… an icon if there ever was one.

Notchy Bob

I generally focus on the originals for later dates, so focusing on repos for these years. That way, I can shoot and not worry about damaging a piece of history.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

If you're after rifles you'll want a 1817 common rifle.

 

[Collie]

I'd recommend a Springfield model 1816 if you don't already have one. It was the most produced American flintlock musket and was made all the way up to the introduction of the M1842. Most surviving examples were converted to percussion by a few different arsenals and there's a cool bit of history behind this model in general

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_1816_Musket