What's a Smooth Rifle?

[BigSkyRambler]

I know, I know. Probably common knowledge, but...Anyway, I had never heard the term when I started shooting MLs back in the 70s. Getting back in and looked at ads for custom guns described as Smooth Rifles. Google tells me that it is A) a long rifled gun that looks like an English fowler in some respects or B) a smooth bore gun that has the lines of a rifle. Which is it? :surrender:

 

[Dphar]

I know, I know. Probably common knowledge, but...Anyway, I had never heard the term when I started shooting MLs back in the 70s. Getting back in and looked at ads for custom guns described as Smooth Rifles. Google tells me that it is A) a long rifled gun that looks like an English fowler in some respects or B) a smooth bore gun that has the lines of a rifle. Which is it? :surrender:

Its a gun stocked like a rifle that has no rifling the barrel. These are documented to at least the 1750s.
Many English rifles were stocked very much like fowlers. The buttstocks and hardware was often much the same. But they are rifles just the same.

This said I believe a many surviving "smooth rifles" were originally rifled and either shot out and never freshed or bored smooth late in their service life. I have read reports of original "smooth rifles" having vestiges of rifling when bore scoped.
There is little logic in paying for a patch box and carving etc then having an arm that shot little or no better than a fusil or musket.
But it was done none the less.

Dan

 

[tg]

Probably B, a gun that has most all that one would expect from a rifle ....except the rifling in the bore, giving the option of shot or buck and ball as well as PRB, the ones I have had would shoot along with rifles offhand out to 50-60 yds, some do better. I have been told, they are not all worn out rifles the term and style shows up in period references, not sure when they came to be some say no earlier than the AWI, others say F&I or earlier.They are a rather handy gun if one does not regularly have shots at Deer or big game much past 50 yds, (get ready for a lecture about the economics of powder and lead with a smaller bored rifle vs any smoothbore, as the teacher in South Park would say "Smoothbores are bad, OK")

 

[Jim/OH]

I believe the NMLRA's definition of a "smooth rifle" is a smooth bore of at least .54 cal. that has a rear sight. Don't know if that is the definition you are looking for or not. :thumbsup:

Hope this helps, Jim/OH :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

The NMLRA's definition is somewhat lacking in much from a historical standpoint, probably thier is just a way to define guns for eligibility for events like the "no rear sights" on trade guns.

 

[saber]

take a look at Jim Chambers site and his smooth rifles you can get a rifled barrel or a smooty barrel with one I did one with enterchangable barrels a smoothy and rifled in 54 cal it is my go to long arm

 

[CoyoteJoe]

A high percentage of original "American Longrifles" are actually smoothbores. They are more common in some areas than others and especially common in earlier styles. The majority of Bucks County rifles are found to be smoothbores while none are found in the Bedford County style. Smooth bores are also very rare in rifles of the percussion era except in double barreled guns where one may be smooth and one rifled. Calibers of the smoothbores are in the same general range of sizes as those with rifled bores, some as small as .40 caliber, some as large as .70 caliber but most are between .44 and .54 caliber, whether rifled or smooth. They were built in rifle style because they were used like rifles, carefully aimed at stationery or slowly moving targets, not a substitute fowler or shotgun. The relatively small calibers ruled out effective buckshot loads and handicapped birdshot loads compared to a fowler or shotgun which leads me to believe they were primarily intended for ball, just like their rifled counterparts.