A longrifle attributed to Thomas Hess
OA length: 52 ¼”
Lock length: 4 ¼”
Barrel length: 37 ½”
Bore: 50 cal, rifled, 7 lands & grooves
Weight: 8lbs 7oz
Furniture: Brass
Top wrist escutcheons: silver
Side wrist escutcheons: silver
Barrel retaining pin rectangular escutcheons: silver spaced evenly on 10” centers
Rear sight: brass
Silver Hunter’s star inlay on cheek rest
The brass wear plate on the belly of the forestock is an integral extension of the rear ramrod entry pipe.
The brass stock end cap is 1 5/8” long
The top flat of the barrel is unmarked but is attributed to Thomas Hess by Dr. James Whisker on page 117 of Behold the Longrifle by Roy F. Chandler and James B. Whisker.
The lockplate is stamped “BIRC” with a partial letter that appears to be an “H”. Gluckman and Satterlee list a “BIRCH” as “maker of flint and percussion rifle locks” on page 19 of the 1953 edition of their book American Gunsmiths.
The rifle bears a striking resemblance to Thomas Hess rifle in the Bruce Miller Library:
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=8122.0 .
