AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: Smokey Plainsman on April 18, 2020, 09:06:21 AM
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I here terms like “Lehigh” and “Bucks”, “Lancasters” and etc. etc.
Has someone made a book or guide going over the different styles of rifles? I’d like to learn what the differences are, but it is daunting. I’m not a builder, just a shooter who’d like to learn more. I just... I just... feel left out when you guys talk about them and feel so clueless. :'(
-Smokey
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Lots of places to look at old guns sorted into schools, such as here in the museum or the CDs that the KRA puts out, but if you are looking for a guide to show you what to look for:
Kaufman's The Kentucky-Pennsylvania Rifle has an overview that is very simplistic - just some stock profiles of the major schools without any more detail - but might provide a useful starting point and has the virtue of being relatively inexpensive.
If you are serious about it, though, you should probably get a copy of Joseph Kindig's Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age - Kindig was the guy that originally started trying sort different makers into schools and figure out how they related to each other instead of lumping everything into "Kentucky Rifle." The newest edition with the color supplement runs about $125 new, but you can find the older editions used for much less on bookfinder.com or other sites if you hunt around and are patient.
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Smokey,
Go on "ARTICLES-American Society of Arms Collectors". Look for "Bulletin No. 80 Spring 1999" by Ronald Gabler titled Early Pennsylvania Gunsmithing Schools.
There are quite a few Long Rifle articles on the Society' website. Gabler's will get you started.
Definitely get Kindig's book. The edition available now from the KRA has some great color photos. I'm not sure about the earlier editions.
(https://i.ibb.co/bLzTPC9/ASAC-Bulletin-80-edited-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/K7FdXfv)
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Books have repaid their price many times over for me. The suggestions above are great. Rifles of Colonial America volumes 1&2 were revolutionary at the time because they had dimensions and photos from all the angles a builder would want. Plus updated ( at that time) info Marion on the builders and likely attributions and timeframes.
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Thanks guys, I’m on it!
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Years ago I reads an article by Sam Dyke that was very helpful to me . It explained the different silhouettes of the various regions. . He was a member of the American Arms Society maybe he did something there.
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I highly recommend the KRA discs. Cheap at $20 a pop. Only draw back is it's all pictures , no reading.
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Kindig,s book and RCA 1 &2 are the three vol. set "Bible" for most people IMHO.
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SP: don't feel overwhelmed. We all started some place, pretty much. Life-long study cannot be acquired in a few days. Reference material and hands on with originals is the way to go.
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Also, there is the virtual library here on ALR.
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Thanks, all