My long-held theory is that it's a cultural style associated with the Scots. By the 18th century Scottish firearms had developed into a unique style. This included iron frames or stocks on Scottish highland pistols. One identifying characteristics of these highland pistols was the rams head butt finials. Essentially 2 tight scrolls. The American south east, where the iron mounted Appalachian rifle was born, was settled primarily by people from this region of the British isles. Chiefly the Scots-Irish. The famous gunsmithing Bean family were Scots. I also believe this answers the long asked question about why iron mounted rifles are a southern thing not seen in the north. The use of iron mountings being common for Scottish immigrants, but brass mountings being more common for German and English immigrants.
Does anyone else see the similarity?
The Scots (highland) didn't settle mountain NC. The
Scotch-Irish did, from Ulster in Ireland. Their history of being planted into Ireland is well known, and their migration to America formed the largest group of immigrants in the 18th century. The highlanders, in much smaller numbers, settled a little bit near the coast of the Colonies, cities like Charleston, SC. Later a few went up into the mountains where the Scotch-Irish had already been for generations.
The history of immigration into Appalachia was by the Scotch-Irish, not the Scottish.Most of the Appalachian rifle makers where Scotch-Irish who came from northern colonies/states, not directly from Ulster. They considered themselves Americans very quickly, because their heritage didn't endear them to the Americans when their ships came over. Dozens of ships full of Scotch Irish every month for decades, in waves. The big migration of Scotch-Irish (yes, like the liquor) began in the first quarter of the 18th century, and ended in 1776. Migration down into NC and TN was down the Great Wagon Road, and sometimes down the central VA valley. But usually by 2nd or 3rd generation Scotch-Irish Americans, not immigrants right off the boat. They settled where they could off the docks, but were always looking for cheaper land and places they could be left alone. The Germans had all the good land in PA and the English in VA....the Scotch-Irish would move further south, further west, into the mountains, with each new generation.
Most Appalachian Scotch-Irish didn't know anything about highland Scotland, didn't have any Scottish people in their area, had probably never met a Scott and likely never handled a highland Scottish pistol. Were there a couple that headed into the frontier? Sure. Was Bean's grandfather Scotch or Scotch-Irish? I don't know, and it doesn't matter, 95% of those in the Appalachians were Scotch-Irish, not Scotch.
Appalachians used iron because some of the biggest iron ore belts were right around Hickory, NC, which had been discovered prior to the Revolutionary war. Also it was more common to have a blacksmith in the mountains, than a store where you could buy brass. In the Mountain frontier the furniture was iron out of necessity.
Now, when did the Catawba mild handguard points trigger guard, made of brass become the iron Henderson Co. spur on the end of the hand rail? And when and where did it become a coiled ring? There are plenty of rings on NC mountain rifles, when not many people migrated
Southeast from Tennessee back into NC. They went the other way. Of course, it was all the same state until the 1790s, North Carolina. And people do migrate in all directions from all areas.
The interesting thing is some early NC rifles from West of the Piedmont had Pennsylvania features, where many learned the trade. In Catawba county Germans like Huffman made rifles that sometimes had brass, sometimes iron. These are early rifles. They spoke German. About a generation later, lots of Scotch-Irish were filling up further to the West, in what we now call Western NC. The population of Scotch-Irish grew very quickly and people kept heading further West, into Rutherford Co., and over towards Cherokee land. They all became Iron Mounted, except for a few parts being brass by a few makers, like some Gillespies.
Again, the ring trigger guard evolved and I'm not sure if it did so in far West NC, or up in TN. But I doubt gunsmiths were copying Scottish pistols, since the Scotch-Irish were not highland Scotch anyway. The highlanders came later than the Scotch-Irish, who were 2nd or 3rd generation "plantation" transplants from lowland Scotland, into English/Irish Ulster.
