The Osprey books have nice pictures, but are notorious for being sloppy on the details, especially the early ones. Some are quite good, some are lousy, and sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference unless you already know the subject well or you are familiar with the author. Unless they actually quote original documents to the effect that the Rangers had rifles, I would take things with a grain of salt. I have ten of them, in case you are wondering. I buy them mostly for the pictures, though.
-Ok, just saw *Hawkeyes* post. My caveat about Osprey books still stands, however. :wink:
KSC,
here are two websites to look at.
Jim Chamber's Flintlocks
Mike Brooks
Jim and Mike offer the best kits I know of, and if you are handy you can put one together yourself, or you can find someone to put it together for you. If you don't feel up to assembling a kit but don't mind wood and/or metal finishing, you might be able to get one "in-the-white," assembled but not finished. Jim usually has a few around the shop when I've visited. Even if you decide to go a different direction, those two sites should give you an idea of what a 1750-75 gun
should look like. There are lots cheaper guns out there, but the combination of a first-class lock and a swamped barrel make for a historically accurate, reliable, and well-balanced piece that will retain its value over the years. Admittedly, Jim is a friend of mine, so I am biased, but I think others will echo my opinion.
I will say that if you want a long barreled rifle, a swamped barrel (thick at the breech, tapered to about 6 inches from the muzzle, then flared at the muzzle) is worth every penny, especially on a hunting rifle. A rifle with a swamped barrel over 40" will swing and hold quite naturally, while a straight barrel will feel quite muzzle heavy by comparison.
Here is a site that has originals, though most date from after the Revolution.
American Historic Services
.50 and .54 are the medium calibers of the muzzleloading world. Either would be capable of killing a whitetail at that range - I know of a fellow who dropped a moose at 175 yards with a .54 - the trick is hitting it accurately with open sights. Most people who hunt with muzzleloaders try to get closer, and as others have already mentioned, in the Eastern forests you usually cannot see beyond 50 or 75 yards anyhow.
Oh, BTW, the most common weapon in New England during the F & I war was the fowler. Look at the one on Mike Brooks's page. Rifles were pretty much unknown until after the Revolution, as far as we can tell. Rifles would have been more common along the PA frontier and in the South. Rogers was not the only ranger-type force in existence at the time, incidently, just the most famous. Also, I suspect that muskets nearly as common as AKs are today in the Middle East - an awful lot of fowlers, as well as a few rifles, use recycled musket parts. Even along the frontier - rifle territory - they seem to have been common, at least according to one source.
