Thank you Gentlement. I will get the book. And good point, rifled that were rebored to smooth. Then...how do you really know?
Again, thank you.
How do we know? An excellent question because we just don't in many cases...
Couple of things to consider. And please note much of this is my considered opinion and may be at odds with others here. Its simply a way of looking at the subject of smooth rifles.
Many of today's smooth rifles are over 50-52 caliber and some significantly over.
American rifles of the rev-war era were seldom over 50 caliber at least from what can be read from the time, or at least what I can find (?). This is indicated by John Joseph Henry's account of going to Quebec as one of Morgan's Riflemen, the surviving rifles that were taken to England as war trophy's and souvenirs that likely saw less use than rifles that staid in the US and the comments of Col. Hanger, a British officer and one of the most experienced rifleman in England. Hanger stated he never saw an American Rifle over 36 to the pound, about 52 caliber.
We have a late 1760s/early 1770s Resor in 42 caliber in "Steel Canvas". We have several rifles that are in or have returned from England in "Rifles of Colonial America" #48 the apparently early Dickert that went England in 50 caliber, we have the battlefield pickup Thomas Rifle #121 in 48 caliber, the Oerter rifle in 44 smooth # 44, this is apparently a true smooth rifle in that it was so described as such about 1800. J.J. Henry buying a used 48 caliber rifle to replace the one he lost in a river which from his description was probably (?) larger than the rifle he lost.
Were ALL rifles under 50-52 caliber. Of course not. See RCA #18 and #41 for examples though #41 at least appears to have been recut at least once having wrench tracks on the tang. Rifles that were heavily used were often recut as the bore wore or corroded. This was a fairly simple operation but its well documented in Bailey's book, in "The Journals of Lewis and Clark" and other places.
Rifles in good condition that staid in the US are suspect even if they show little wear. A number of these were freshed or bored and re-rifled in the early 20th century to improve their accuracy by people like Walter Cline. Bill Large recut old barrels as well as making them. So there were shootable Kentuckys in flint that were made significantly larger in the 20th century.
For all we know some smooth rifles were later rifled for shooters.
So while there were oviously smooth rifles when we see one with a very large bore, over 58 I consider it suspect.
It would appear from the writings of the time that smooth bores got little respect by the, people on the frontier at least, by the 1780s or so . But of course we can only read what someone wrote down and most people of the time didn't do a lot of journaling.
Dan
