What is a good length for an American longrifle ?

[BillKilgore]

I have a Lancaster-style .50 cal longrifle with a 42" swamped Rice barrel. It balances nicely just behind the inlet pipe. This allows me to bring it quickly to my shoulder and shoot off-hand easily. At 8 lbs, it is easy to carry for extended periods. Based on my limited experience, I would think 40-44" is optimal for a longrifle.

 

[oldwood]

Bill.........According to old written records , in some books I have ,the considerations to define a longrifle back in the 1770's , The barrel should be between 38" to 46". The cal. for hunting and war , should be near .50 , minimum cal. , and max. cal around .60. Smooth or rifled. ........oldwood

 

[BillKilgore]

Bill.........According to old written records , in some books I have ,the considerations to define a longrifle back in the 1770's , The barrel should be between 38" to 46". The cal. for hunting and war , should be near .50 , minimum cal. , and max. cal around .60. Smooth or rifled. ........oldwood

Not bad. I was in the right ballpark.

Thanks.

 

[Jim K]

I built a Kibler smr this summer for squirrel hunting. I waffled on buying one for about a year because of the 44” barrel. A friend built one and after shouldering and handling his, I bought one.

Now I really like it but I’m not crazy about the length. It’s fine for shooting at the range ( except you have to tilt it to load it. Range rod hits the roof). I don’t care for it in the woods. I’m thinking of building another kit for hunting. It will be either 36” or 38”.

I’m not selling my kibler. It’s fun to shoot and very accurate. Just to long for ME in the woods.

And it does fit in my f-150 on the back seat but just…

 

[Flintandsteel]

I have 2 with 48” barrels. An Allen Martin Lehigh in .54, and Reading rifle in .50.

 

[billraby]

I had a ornate Bedford County with a 40" barrel. I had to sell it years back because of a few years of hard times. 40" is about as long as I prefer. I still own a 62 caliber full stock Hawken with a 36" barrel I use for deer hunting. I wanted to get back into squirrel hunting, so I bought a used Kibler 36 caliber with a 46" barrel. I chose Kibler because of the rave reviews I heard on this forum. I can't reload it with the rifle standing straight up, I have to lean it over at an angle. Luckily, with the swamped barrel, it balances nicely. It barely fits into my 2019 Ford Ranger. I had to make a harness that drapes over my head rest so the butt is on the floor, and the muzzle is almost touching the roof.
It leaves me to wonder how could someone transport a rifle with a 51" barrel? Roll the window down and let it stick out? Let it ride in the bed? Buy a trailer?

I have a Nissan Sentra. A few weeks ago I picked up some 8 foot long 2x4s. Fold down the back seats and it was no trouble at all to get the boards in and close the trunk.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Not bad. I was in the right ballpark.

Thanks.

Smoothbore could be much larger, but that would NOT be a longrifle as smoothbores are not rifles. Capt. John Warner of the Vermont Green Mountain Rangers (formed in 1777 disbanded in 1778) was reputed to have a 7-foot long, longrifle. That's extreme. There's a story about him hunting a Catamount (than's Vermontese for Mountain Lion or Puma) with it. The barrel on my Early Lancaster is 44½" and is considered one of the longer ones. My first longrifle was a Traditions Pennsylvania Longrifle which has a 40¼" barrel, which is a bit on the short side. Now days (mine was from 2004) they only come with a 33½" barrel, which is very small. Some of the "transition rifles" that were made in between the short and heavy Jaeger rifles and the "true" longrifles had barrels of 36". I think a Dickert made a 38" long barrelled version in his Early longrifles.

My Early Lancaster was made by "tg" when he belonged to the forum. It has a 44½" swamped barrel and is 60" (5-ft.) in lengthover all. It is a very slender build and because of the swamped barrel it balances right where my left arm grabs the forearm when firing it. Easy to carry, mount, swing, and hold on target. If OP is looking at buying or building a longrifle, a swamped barrel makes all the difference in the world on handling. Definitely worth more than a higher grade of maple and far more accurate to the time period as straight barrels didn't become the norm until after Remington figured out a way to drill solid steel blanks in 1838. After 1838 straight barrel or straight tapered barrel's became common because they took far less time to make and were less expensive than a hammer forge-welded barrel.

 

[SteveT]

My Lancaster county Isaac Haines rifle is 45 and 1/2 inch in 50 cal.

 

[Sun City]

The longer the barrel....the better the sight radius!!

 

[VAN]

I have two longrifles built on late Lancaster style stocks. Both started at 42" barrels and since I need a length of pull of 14-1/2 to 15", they were a bit long to fit into my Mustang GT. I cut and recrowned the barrel on the one I shoot the most to 40". I find I really like that length. No change in accuracy, fits in the car better and the balance is better to carry. I may someday cut the barrel on the other one too.