Smooth Rifle

[Brokennock]

Have a look in Tom Grinslades book , you will see a few fowlers, mainly Kentucky ones , with nose caps , Some early club butt fowlers are found with a 3-4 inch long brass nose cap fastened with a pin through a barrel key at the muzzle . and a number of Rev war era ones which have had the nose moved back to accommodate a bayonet .

Thank you. Appreciate the info.
That book has been on my list of books to get for quite some time. Until I can, I'm reliant on pics helpful people repost here and on the ALR forum.

 

[DuncNZ]

I don't want to be in breach pf copyright but here is a picture of one such long nose cap

 

[rich pierce]

I don't want to be in breach pf copyright but here is a picture of one such long nose cap View attachment 110997

To be clear, those are all fowlers, of the club-butt form, mostly from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and bear no resemblance to the smooth rifle category of guns.

 

[DuncNZ]

If you have a look at the book there are club butt fowlers and many other types , There pictures of Kentucky fowlers which look very like Kentucky rifles of the same age , none of the Fowlers are called smooth rifles in the book , but some of these fowlers look more than superficially like the rifles built in the same area at the same time . All I am suggesting is that this resemblance may have lead to the Smooth Rifle name .

 

[Brokennock]

I don't want to be in breach pf copyright but here is a picture of one such long nose cap View attachment 110997

Thank you.
Wondering if the extra length served a purpose or just decorative.
I also note the distance between the bottom surface of the cap and the ramrod, seems to indicate a slightly thicker web than I would have expected.

P.S. I could be wrong, but, I have always assumed that as long as you aren't using such and image to make money and give credit where it came from, generally copyright isn't enforced.
If anything, you are advertising for the book here, lol.

 

[DuncNZ]

Is there any historical written evidence that the "Smooth Rifle" name was used back in the day ?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Yes, thanks @Spence10.

A few mentions of smooth rifles from the 18th-century Pennsylvania Gazette, ads for sale, runaways, etc.:

Sept. 1739: "Took with him a smooth Rifle Gun..."
Jan. 1769: "....took with him a smooth rifle gun..."
Feb. 1773: [for sale] A QUANTITY of this country and German made RIFLES, both cut and smooth bores, in the best manner;"
May 1775: "They had and took away with them a country square barreled, smooth bore gun, rifle stocked..."

This topic is like Whack-A-Mole. no amount of evidence will squelch it.

Spence

 

[pilot]

My first muzzle loader was a smooth rifle. I was 16 at the time and foolishly traded it off. I have regretted doing that ever since.

It was 45 caliber percussion. It looked a lot like what is now called a barn rifle, but obviously no rifling. It may also have been what is termed a poor boy. Very plain walnut full stock. I can't remember if it had a but plate or not, but I believe it did. It shot great, too.

I didn't know any better at the time, so I loaded it up with a patched ball and 100 grains of fffg. My bad memory says I got 4 inch groups at 100 yards. Take that for what it's worth, that was 50 years ago and I have CRS.

 

[Brokennock]

Is there any historical written evidence that the "Smooth Rifle" name was used back in the day ?

Yes. As was mentioned earlier, there are period advertisements for merchants having "smooth rifle guns," for sale.
@Spence10 is the keeper of the most comprehensive collection of period ads I know of. Maybe he will chime in, though I feel as though I haven't seen him post in a while.