an approximate date for a George Schreyer Sr. gun?

[TG]

On page 119 of George Shumway's book "George Schreyer Sr.& Jr.....", #38 is attributed to Schreyer Sr. There is not, however, any mention of when this rifle might have been made; is it early, mid career, or later, after 1800? I hope someone might point out where this gun could be placed in Schreyer Sr.'s longish gunmaking career, and how one might tell from the gun itself why it probably date to such and such time frame. A rifle on the americanlongrifles museum site is described by someone as "early". But how can one tell without documentation? Is it through experience and connoisseurship? Thanks,TG

[rich pierce]

I don't know the rifle but for PA longrifles some key clues are buttstock width, how flat the buttplate is, dating the lock, style of the furniture, and carving and patchbox styles.  For a Revolutionary War period rifle look for a buttplate close to, if not over, 2" wide, with little curvature, a grip rail well off the stock, a wooden patchbox, or an early style brass box, etc.  Later rifles will have narrower buttplates with more curvature, a guard with a narrower bow often closer to the wrist, a later lock, and later styled patchbox.

Those so just rough basics.  Thickness of the barrel at the breech, his much it is swamped, and other factors are taken into account.  When a maker has left behind an impressive body of work and his working life is known, it is easier to place particular guns on a rough timeline.

[TG]

Thanks so much for pointing out some of the things one should look for when trying to determine when a gun may have been made. cheers