Thoughts on Jedediah Starr kits and more..

[Snooterpup]

Hello all,
I've got a buddy looking to get a Jedediah Starr Virginia rifle kit. Any thoughts on their quality or customer service? He wants to build an early style rifle and asked me for my thoughts. I'm no expert but I know there is plenty of knowledge in this forum.
His questions are:
What calibers would have been most common in the French & Indian war period through the Revolution? Is the Siler lock appropiate for this time period? Round-faced lock better? Smooth rifle or octagon-to-round, or swamped?
My own thoughts are Tulle, or smooth rifle, Jäger, colonial style rifle, round faced lock and .50 caliber to .62 but I bow to your collective expertise.
Thanks to all for their thoughts,
Snooterpup

 

[Cruzatte]

More important are questions for your friend:

• Who is he portraying?
• Where does this person come from?
• What ethnic background?
• What social strata; indentured servant, escaped slave, landed gentry, independent tradesman, fur trader, farmer, soldier, sailor?
• What education level? Can this person read, or sign his name?

A fusil de chasse de Tulle or St. Etienne made smoothbore is a fine choice if he's portraying a French Canadian, or Illinois French. A jäger rifle is great if the person is portraying some one who has a Swiss/German/Bohemian background....or from some other place in Europe having a rifle culture.

The Virginia rifle is pretty specific to time and place.

I'm a recovering reenactor. These are the questions I ask myself when choosing my next muzzle loader.

 

[Snooterpup]

Hello Cruzatte,
I'll ask him those questions. Out of curiosity, what would the specific date period would you place the Virginia rifle?
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I would also have your friend take a look at the Kibler Early Virginia rifle kit. Much would depend on experience in building.

I'd prefer the Chamber's round faced lock to the Siler or Kibler's new CNC lock as being more appropriate to an early colonial lock.

He should also answer all of Cruzatte's questions.

 

[Carbon 6]

Their kits are Pecetonica kits.

http://www.longrifles-pr.com/

 

[Snooterpup]

Thanks for the replies! I have a few more questions. Was walnut a common choice for a stock on the common man's early colonial rifle? cherry? I have seen octagon to round barrels at TWO's site that can be had either smooth or rifled in the same barrel profile. Any historical evidence to support this? Were any earlier (pre-revolution) guns fitted with a hooked breech and secured to the stock with wedges? Round faced lock particular to any geographical area in the colonies?
Thank s to all- just trying to learn!

 

[tenngun]

Maple was popular on American guns. American walnut was not as much used as English walnut, maple was used on many European guns, and a trade in maple existed as it was so common in the colonies.
Cherry, Beach, curly ash, locust all found its way in to gunstocks. Gun prices from the seventeenth century England offer cost in ‘wolnut’ and maple, these prices were fixed.

 

[Cruzatte]

Hooked breeches appeared ealier in Great Britain, and later here in the US. So I think it might be rare on export grade (that is not bespoke) guns from British makers of the mid-18th century.

Round faced locks were quite common. Find photos of the various export guns from Great Britain. A good reference book on British trade or export guns is Colonial Frontier Guns by T.M. Hamilton.

For Southern and New England made guns and rifles, fruit woods and walnut are pretty frequent. So those woods are good choices. For American made guns and rifles, you can't go wrong with maple.

As to dating a Virginia Rifle, much depends on the style of architecture, inspection or proof marks on any imported components, and the maker's signature or touch mark if present. A rifle from 1770 will likely look a little different from one built in 1795, for example.

I just looked up the Jeddediah Starr rifle. To my eye, it looks post Revolutionary War. Those more experienced builders on the forum may wish to correct me.

Octagon to round barrels are an excellent choice for fowling pieces. Both British and French makers used this type of barrel on their export arms.

The rifles and smooth bores I've seen using wedges seem to be mostly post-Revolutionary War. By that I mean those illustrated in Kindig's Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle In It's Golden Age, or Shumway's Rifles of Colonial America.

May I suggest now would be the time for you to get to the library and do some serious reading and study? Online resources are fine. However there are books that have never been digitized containing a wealth of information that will interest you.

You're entering a fascinating world, where learning, and study bring more questions, which will send you back to the library, and requests to borrow books from friends with like interests. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[Brokennock]

The Virginia rifle is pretty specific to time and place.

Hello Cruzatte,
I'll ask him those questions. Out of curiosity, what would the specific date period would you place the Virginia rifle?
Thanks for your thoughts.

And, the whole Virginia Rifle of F.&I. war period is highly debatable anyway.
There is an extensive discussion of this contained elsewhere in a topic about an alleged original Virginia Rifle (that turns out not to be) I'll post a link to it here when I find it.

Answering that list of questions posted by Cruzatte before spending the money on a gun and other expensive pieces of gear would be a very, very, wise idea.

 

[Brokennock]

Most of the debate over what constitutes a Early Virginia Rifle, if such ever really existed, is on the last few pages of this topic,
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/original-18th-century-virginia-rifle.119474/

 

[user 34300]

Take a hard look at the Kibler Colonial.