Were all Turner Kirkland Kentucky's this handsome?

[Buffalo Bones]

I have a Kirkland Dixie Pennsylvania Rifle flintlock .45 caliber. The only change is that the patchbox is now engraved. Happy with the rifle!

 

[Newtire]

You just had to do that! Very snazzy.

 

[oreclan]

I wonder if there were different elevation models of the same model for sale in the Dixie cataloge in the old days?

This guy in the video has ALL the history wrong!

 

[oreclan]

Turner Kirkland and Wess Kindig of Log cabin kept this sport alive and we all owe them a debt of gratitude for their work and especially their friendly attitude towards us newbees when we were getting started in the early sixties.I only made it down to union city once but was up to the Log Cabin many times.

My first "kit/ parts" was from Golden Age Arms in 1973. When did they go out of business?

 

[godutch]

I've still got the rifle I built from dixies stuff in '69 (I think). Now, I'll bet most of us who are 'long of tooth' have something, somewhere that we built but never want anyone to see, right? Well, that'd be (but not limited to) my rifle. Once every 20 yrs. or so I take it out of the corner, blow the dust off, have a chuckle, and wonder what the hell I was thinking!

 

[hanshi]

Wish I still had that old first catalogue. Lots of .40s were pictured, I guess that was the "big" deer caliber then. Both my Numrich Arms underhammer and Minuteman were .45 which I thought was awesome power back then.

 

[Newtire]

I brought my Dixie .45 out of mothballs and took it to the range today. Really started laying them in there once I stoked it up to 70 gr. 2f, a Lee .440 round ball,.015" patch with my new favorite patch lube, Mink oil. To whoever squeezes the oil out of those little suckers, Thanks!! So hope this picture posts.

 

[JohnnieT]

I brought my Dixie .45 out of mothballs and took it to the range today. Really started laying them in there once I stoked it up to 70 gr. 2f, a Lee .440 round ball,.015" patch with my new favorite patch lube, Mink oil. To whoever squeezes the oil out of those little suckers, Thanks!! So hope this picture posts.View attachment 68174

Yeah, I’ve always wondered who got a job as a “mink Milker”
On a serious note, I was just at Dixie the other day and many of the rifles discussed in this thread, like the Cub series, are still available. There are a lot of things in their shop that aren’t listed in their online catalog. Some of those things have been in the store so long that the boxes/packaging have started to fade. If you like to scrounge, it’s a fun place to visit.

 

[Newtire]

Turner Kirkland really liked the old muzzleloaders and the Dixie brand guns he sold showed that.
To answer the question the OP made, yes, there were several different Kentucky style rifles Dixie sold.
The one in the video is the "Pixie Kentuckian Rifle". It has a 34 1/4" long, .45 caliber barrel on it and uses a single trigger. In the 1999 catalog it listed at $259.95 in percussion and $269.95 in flintlock. It was made by Armi-Sport in Italy.

In the same catalog a "Dixie Pennsylvania Rifle" was offered that was a little fancier. It also had a fancy patch box but it had double set triggers. It's barrel was 41 1/2" long in .45 caliber. The catalog says it had a walnut stock on it. It's list price was $472.00 for both percussion and flintlock. It was made by Pedersoli in Italy.

A shorter version of the Pennsylvania Rifle called a "Dixie Deluxe Cub Rifle" was offered. It was basically a shorter version of the Pennsylvania Rifle except rather than being a .45 caliber, it was a .40 caliber using a 28" long barrel. It's price was $415.00 and it was also made by Pedersoli.

A "Dixie Super Deluxe Cub Rifle" was also offered using a 28 1/2", .50 caliber barrel The price of the Super Cub was $367.50 in percussion or flintlock. made by Pedersoli in Italy.

Dixie sold a longrifle they called the "Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle" which was much plainer than the rifles I mentioned above.
Rather than having a fancy patchbox and brass furniture (butt plate, trigger guard, side plate and thimbles), the Tennessee used browned steel for these parts and it had a "grease hole" in the side of the butt in place of a patchbox.
It used a browned 41 1/4" long barrel and has double set triggers.
In 1999 it was offered in both right and left hand, percussion or flintlock, .32 or .50 caliber. for $575.00. It was made by Miroku in Japan.

Would be a great place to have on a " bucket list".

 

[Bill Rowe]

Good Morning, Did the Dixie rifle's come in a .40 cal. ? I traded for this percussion rifle some 45 years ago and was told that it was a Dixie gun. I have found no markings on it, as I had the barrel off once I remember. I believe it to be a contemporary rifle, 1950's / 1960's. I enclose picture for your thoughts. Thank you and have a nice day.

 

[Newtire]

The first ones he had imported from Belgium were .40 caliber I believe. Then, he started offering them in .45. Maybe because a lot of states have a .45 minimum for deer. I have a couple of the .40’s and they are both big long, heavy things. The .45 I show a picture of in this thread is nice and light weight. I just found out it really likes heavier charges ( for a .45). I had good results with 70 gr. 2f so bumped it up to 80 gr. and got a 2-1/2” 4-shot group at 100 yds. with a 5th shot opening my group up to 5”. I want to call it a flier and it was the first shot I took but it is what it is. Better luck this upcoming week maybe. I’m going to go up to 90 gr too just for fun. Up to this point, my best group at 100 yds. was 3-1/2” out of another gun I had. Really fun rifle this one.

 

[Eterry]

I had the privilege to meet and talk to Turner Kirkland's son and daughter at the NRA convention in Dallas. Very down to earth folks. I never met or talked to Mr Turner, but his catalogs were Gun Porn to a growing teen in the 70s. I too spent many hours drooling over guns I couldn't afford.

 

[Reno]

I have read many of the comments here. While everyone has an opinion and is certainly free to post their feelings, there seems to be some facts that are not known or at least not considered.
I did attend the shoots at Friendship in the fifties and do remember quite a bit about it. During those years and before many of the firearms used were originals. Now there was the occasional newly made muzzleloader but for the most part originals were the main stream firearm in use.
That said, I do remember the first year that Turner Kirkland showed up at Friendship in a station wagon packed to the gills with just about everything he could get his hands on. I don't see how he could see to drive.
Wes Kindig and the Log Cabin gunshop were also there as well as many others.
The rifle that Turner Kirkland came up with might have been brought in by Val Forgett. I am not sure but the two were pretty close. Val Forgett went on to found Navy Arms.
The main point here is that a void was filled. That void was filled by good old American Capitalism. Some one saw a market, figured out how to fill it, committed to the work to get it done and was successful.
Black Powder shooting and sports today would not be the same as it is if it were not for those folks. Keep in mind that a general firearm to fill the average need was what was in order. Not a specific style following that of a particular 18th century gunsmith. that all came years later and we enjoy that evolution today.
So it is similar to the Buckskinning period of the early years Were they correct for the eastern longhunter, Nope sure were not,but they were doing their best with the knowledge they had at the time to get into the period.
So be thankful for those early years that has allowed us to evolve to where we are today. Be thankful there are companies and builders like Kibler, Pecatonica, Track of the Wolf, Log Cabin is sitll there and going strong, so is Dixie Gun Works.
There are a slew of others, all being successful because of a few men and ladies sixty plus years ago that had a vision and the desire to move forward and take a risk.

 

[Newtire]

I have read many of the comments here. While everyone has an opinion and is certainly free to post their feelings, there seems to be some facts that are not known or at least not considered.
I did attend the shoots at Friendship in the fifties and do remember quite a bit about it. During those years and before many of the firearms used were originals. Now there was the occasional newly made muzzleloader but for the most part originals were the main stream firearm in use.
That said, I do remember the first year that Turner Kirkland showed up at Friendship in a station wagon packed to the gills with just about everything he could get his hands on. I don't see how he could see to drive.
Wes Kindig and the Log Cabin gunshop were also there as well as many others.
The rifle that Turner Kirkland came up with might have been brought in by Val Forgett. I am not sure but the two were pretty close. Val Forgett went on to found Navy Arms.
The main point here is that a void was filled. That void was filled by good old American Capitalism. Some one saw a market, figured out how to fill it, committed to the work to get it done and was successful.
Black Powder shooting and sports today would not be the same as it is if it were not for those folks. Keep in mind that a general firearm to fill the average need was what was in order. Not a specific style following that of a particular 18th century gunsmith. that all came years later and we enjoy that evolution today.
So it is similar to the Buckskinning period of the early years Were they correct for the eastern longhunter, Nope sure were not,but they were doing their best with the knowledge they had at the time to get into the period.
So be thankful for those early years that has allowed us to evolve to where we are today. Be thankful there are companies and builders like Kibler, Pecatonica, Track of the Wolf, Log Cabin is sitll there and going strong, so is Dixie Gun Works.
There are a slew of others, all being successful because of a few men and ladies sixty plus years ago that had a vision and the desire to move forward and take a risk.

Amen! I'm willing to bet some of the posters having some sort of bad opinion about the early entrepreneurs in the muzzleloader world either are new to the scene or weren't interested back then. Don't forget the Museum of Historical Arms catalog where you could pick up originals for a fraction of what they're worth today.

 

[Reno]

Amen! I'm willing to bet some of the posters having some sort of bad opinion about the early entrepreneurs in the muzzleloader world either are new to the scene or weren't interested back then. Don't forget the Museum of Historical Arms catalog where you could pick up originals for a fraction of what they're worth today.

Thank you and I agree, Maybe I should post some pictures of the original non covered, no trees firing line at Friendship. Or the trunk of a car used for a store? Using a blanket to sell from before anyone knew or really thought about a blanket trader. I hope we all appreciate heritage. I am sure most on this site do. That includes the heritage of our hobby. And to some it is a living. I dont think anyone was finding fault with Turner, but that first rifle he marketed sure did get a lot of people shooting.

 

[Newtire]

As of today, this is the best shooting m/l rifle I own or ever owned for that matter. 80 gr.2f and a .445 ball w .015" ticking lubed with mink oil. Today, shot some Lee .440" balls and they were just as accurate. 85 gr. lost accuracy. If it weren't for people like Turner, the great artists in gunmaking probably wouldn't have gotten very many customers. One of these days, I hope to be able to see my way clear to buy one of those guns too!

 

[Reno]

My fathers best friend bought one of the first rifles Turner put out. It used a .445 round ball. I can not remember the load but it shot one ragged hole. Dad had an original Leman Lancaster Rifle Works that shot a .440 round ball. I have that one. Those were some great days.

 

[1971fx]

Turner Kirkland 45 flintlock bought unfired a couple years ago I would like to because of age crack through wrist continuing through buttstock. rifle sparks well and was in the black at 50 yards with no adjustment marked made in Belgium

 

[Y2GREY]

I have two TMRs a first year, probably 77-78 with a very low production number. It’s in flint and .50. It has a walnut stock and a 13/16 barrel. The second is a late 80’s it converts from flint to percussion. It’s production number is in the high 6000s. It’s a a .50 with a 7/8 barrel and cherry stock. Both rifles are excellent shooters with very fast ignitions.

 

[Reno]

They began selling these rifles in the early 60’s maybe the very late 50’s. Turner saw a market and did a Lot to fill it. They did add to and change over the years. I do remember the conversion they had. It was an interesting piece and there was a lot of discussion about it.