TOW Golden Age Longrifle

[Ok Bowhunter]

I'm about to send in my order for a TOW Classic Golden Age long rifle and wanted to know if it would be correct for someone living on the southern frontier after the Revolution?

 

[smil]

Hello,

My kit came with a "Late Lancaster" stock.

Hope it helps...

 

[galamb]

The Golden Age more or less covers the period after the Revolution up into the very early 1800's.

So based on that any Golden Age rifle could have/would have "been at home" if it "migrated" to the southern frontier.

However, I don't think this particular design would be typical of the rifles being built in the area.

So kinda depends on how you mean your question.

Could it be there, absolutely, was it built there, highly unlikely.

 

[irishtoo]

i dont know the answer to your history question. i built that rifle (lefthanded) two years ago and it has taken 4 deer so far. it goes with me on every hunting trip. irishtoo

 

[Ok Bowhunter]

Thanks for the replies, I will be placing the order next week.

 

[Alden]

May I ask y u r ordering THAT type? If it isn't the historical period/place profile u might otherwise gravitate to have u handled one and found it particularly fits u!?

Heck, u may not even want a RIFLE!

 

[excess650]

What area are you describing as "the southern frontier after the revolution"?

 

[54ball]

I would hold off right now, unless you are sure that's exactly what you want. It may be worth your while to do some more research and spend a little more, or maybe less.

I'm descend from old Southern families dating back to early 17th Century Virginia. Some came from the northeast through Boston, most came from Virginia through the Carolinas to Georgia to Alabama.

In my study of the American longrifle, over and over again there are references to the Great Wagon Road. The Great Wagon Road starts in Lancaster Pennsylvania, goes through Emmitsburg Maryland, through Winchester Virginia, down the Shenandoah Valley and Valley of Virginia and eventually across the Blue Ridge in South West Virginia/North Carolina/Tennessee.

It was kind of a gel type moment when studying the American Longrifle, I was seeing the same place names as in my study of family history.

So since the GWR was a main migration route to the Southwest, just about any rifle made from Lancaster Pa to Watauga VA/NC eventually TN would be appropriate.

Two Cherokee or possibly Muskogee graves excavated in late 50s early 60s in NW Alabama provided some interesting information. One grave had the remains of a fine "Pennsylvania" type longrifle. Both skeletons had a ball in their rib cages. These could have been Rev War Chicamauga Cherokees, or casualties from the Cherokee Wars of 1794. Most likely they were from Rev War raids.

The earliest SW VA/TN/NC made "iron rifles" date to the late 1780s to 1800 or so. Now there are some mystery rifles that could date early, but for the most part, confirmed very early or Rev War TN or western Carolina made longrifles are lost to history. We know they existed but we do not know exactly what they looked like.

So for the reenactor or someone who has interest in that period and region, the best bet for a rifle is a confirmed brass trimmed 1770s PA,VA or NC rifle for the Rev War era. If your interest is closer to and post 1800, the very early iron trimmed mountain rifles start to show like the Bogle Rifle.

IMHO what the main factor in your decision should be date rather than region. A rifle made in PA simply has to travel to the Southwest Frontier and that's very probable. On the other hand it is impossible for a 1810 era Tennessee to travel to 1780 Tennessee.

What hurts the "Golden Age" kit for me is the straight barrel. It's fine for early 1800s but by far most hand forged barrels are either swamped or tapered.

One thing about pre-carve kits, is sometimes the lock mortice is too large or in the wrong spot making the build even harder. For a Generic "kit" Track's Colonial with no lock inlet may be easier than the Golden Age when all is said and done. I like the 44" Beck and the 38" Haines but unfortunately Track of the Wolf seems to be out of most swamped barrels and most locks at this time. So do not be afraid of a parts set with out the lock inlet. You can always practice inletting the lock on scrap wood.

Do get some building books and proper tools. Do research of the time and place in question.

Here is a link to some nice part sets and barreled stocks. Unlike a lot of the "kits" these come with the barrel fully inlet and ready for the breech plug to be inlet. Most kits need the channel squared for the breech and final fitting of the barrel.
Link Knob Mountain

 

[kaintuck]

YEAH...WHAT 54BALL SAID~~~!

my family was from the poorer section of KY known as "big sandy"...which Pikeville etc is now.guess all they had was snares, and slingshots...and trained tomtom cats....no rifles or guns ever spoken of, or handed down. :shocked2:

anybody could of bought and/or traded for anything back when 6-10dollars was ALOT of money!
i say, find something you like in the years after you think your family was in a location...and you could be close to right!

 

[excess650]

Regarding the GWR, some of the 'smiths from Christian Springs migrated to Salem and worked there in the early 1760s. I believe there is a book specific to NC rifles that should be quite helpful

 

[galamb]

A couple years back there was an excellent article in Muzzle Blasts about a John Jacob Sheetz longrifle that was used during the battle of New Orleans (Jan 1815) by a gentleman who lived/worked in New Orleans, with his family, as a flour inspector.

J.J. Sheetz was born in 1785 so it would have been 1800'ish when he started as an apprentice. You could surmise from that, that a rifle signed in his own name may not of been built until perhaps 1807/08 at the earliest.

Despite that, a rifle that he built in Shepardstown, VA (now W.VA) traveled over 1000 miles and was owned/used by a "local" in New Orleans in the first/second decade of the 1800's.

That just illustrates the point others have made here - just about "any rifle" would have been "fair game" as to what might have been carried by someone "significantly removed" from the heart of the American longrifle building centers.

 

[jamesthomas]

I would also check out Jim Chambers Kits, while they may be a little higher than most, a lot more stuff will be inletted for you such as the butt plate, triggers, sideplate.

 

[Pete G]

I have a very ornate combination gun built by Jacob Fordney in Lancaster, Pa. It was purchased new by my GG Grandfather, who built the family home in early Alabama, so Pa guns could very well be on the southern frontier. Guns were not neccessarily bought and used only in a local vicinity.
People seem to think that southern guns are all plain with iron furniture. Nothing could be further from the truth. There were some mountain guns that were iron and walnut, but most surviving examples from Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi are brass and maple.
If you like the Golden Age style rifle, build it, use it and enjoy it.