Smooth Rifle?

[AZ-Robert]

Smoothbore: no rifling, no cheek piece, no rear sight.

Rifle: has all of the above.

What in the world is a "smooth rifle"? When did they make them?

 

[bnail]

To my understanding, it was a rifle with the grooves bored out. but I believe it is a firelock that subscribes to the stereotypical lines of a classic longrifle.
Mr. Brooks, Am I close?

 

[jim gray]

A smooth rifle outwardly resembles a rifle more than a smoothbore. They were made strictly for civilian use. They had rifle sights and stock designs and shapes were those of rifles and not smoothbores. In everything but the rifling they are identical to hunting rifles. I am sure they were primarily designed for hunting rather than target shooting.
They would have served well loaded with either PRB or shot and should have been more accurate with the former than the more typical fowlers.

It's one of those descriptive terms that seems not to make much sense at first glance, like rifle musket.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Flash has it nailed. :agree:

 

[AZ-Robert]

Thanks guys!

(Man, this place is great!)

 

[musketman]

What in the world is a "smooth rifle"? When did they make them?

Not to be confused with a "rifled smoothbore"... :winking: (I love adding to the mix)

 

[Stumpkiller]

What in the world is a "smooth rifle"? When did they make them?

Skagun is probably correct that many rifles just became smooth rifles over time and use.

In New England we had a popular firelock known as a "buck & ball" gun. A smoothbore with both rifle and smoothbore characteristics. Everything but the rifling, in some cases. Also useful in militia musters. They came in after the Hudson Valley & club butt fowlers, so mid 1700's on up to the time of percussion or so.

The plan was to load a mostly bore sized ball with three or six smaller balls in front. That way, if you came upon a moose surrounded by geese you were all set.

And, at close to medium range, it would be nasty as possible to anything hostile that didn't allow careful aiming.

Personally, I think there were a lot more buck & ball style arms in the hands of common folk that what they call "poor boys" and "Schimmels" now a days.

 

[vinnynj]

here is a pic of mine http://longgun.safeshopper.com/1/11.htm?740

 

[Mike Brooks]

here is a pic of mine http://longgun.safeshopper.com/1/11.htm?740

Brent Gurtek gun?

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

That would be my guess, too.

 

Flash
Yes you are right. When I was under 17 years an old gun smith from Orillia Ont. told me that. he since past. It was a quote Danniel boone gun that I wanted. It had no rifling I was puzzled why it was missing. He showed me the marks and called it a smooth bore rifle. Insisted it was a propper term. :hatsoff:
Loyalist Dawg

 

[vinnynj]

yes mike he has made several guns for me and is finishing a 36 right now so im looking for a new toy care to bild me a sxs? pm me

 

[Okwaho]

Flash is right but I would beg to go a little further.I have a rifle which I believe is from the last quarter of the 18th century.It is what I would call a woodsrunner gun assembled in a composite fashion by a backwoods gunsmith {possibly in the valley of Virginia}It is fullstocked in maple with a full octagon swamped smooth rifle barrel 46 3/4" long in about.55 caliber I believe this barrel was probably originally made as a smooth rifle but without unbreeching I can't tell.It has rifle architecture with very little drop as we see on early rifles {see No.124 RCA Vol.II No.124}.The front and rear sights are conventional rifle sights. The side plate,thimbles,curled trigger,and nosecap are brass and also typical of early rifles.The gun has no cheek piece or box. The brass guard is typically English with a dating of 1720-1750 {Hamilton,1980 PP.86, 113 and George 1947:106}. The butt piece is typically three stepped English. The lock in original flint is a mid 18th century fowler lock marked "W Ketland".It has been very slightly shaved at the rear and a similar lock can be seen as #613 TRS. See also #662 TRS for a guard and butt piece identical to my gun.The toe line of the butt is somewhat convex and rounded to conform to the butt piece. I would venture a guess that the English lock,guard,and butt piece came from the same English fowler with the guard and butt piece having faint English style engraving.For a better picture of the guard discussed above see this forum,"any pictures of Southern style smoothbores" by brownbess for a post by Mike Brooks{9/22/05 showing this guard on a fowler he built.Mike,I assume the butt piece is also similar.
I think guns such as this were more common than we think today and have been largely ignored in our quest for more elaborately decorated guns. It should also be noted that this gun is entirely brass mounted and as I have said ad infinitun ad nauseum, early {pre Ca.1780}rifles mounted in iron are in the range of hen's teeth as to commonality.
Tom Patton :imo: