What makes a great rifle?

[Jim Kibler]

Interested in hearing your thoughts.  What elements are required to make a great rifle.  Not just a good one, but one that is really something special.  Lets hear what you think.

[Gary Tucker]

I truly love pretty carving and engraving, but to me, slim lines make the rifle.  I once heard that "simplicity is purest form of art" and I have come to agree.  There is something about watching how the light reflects off of all the angles and lines of a well built longrifle that can't be matched by adding all the embellishments.

[Pete G.]

It would have to be.......
1. Historically accurate
2. Well balanced
3. Have good architecture
4. Good wood
5. Above average, though not necessarily outstanding workmanship
6. It would SHOOT (accurately of course)

[Jim Filipski]

Geeze Jim Why did you have to ask that question: now you really put all on the spot! 

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

What GT said............ a beautifully sculpted stock with all appropriate size hardware etc that all flows together, functions smoothly with all the attributes of any good gun, trigger pull, balance, accuracy etc....... When you can see the heart of the maker in every detail....simple and elegant...... makes you feel that the builder had fun and that the job was easy....though of course it wasn't....

Signed by Jim Kibler........or any number of others like Bill Shipman who turn them out routinely.....or an elegant barn gun by Don Getz......I can't mention them all but we get to see many of them here and on the Contemporary Maker's Blog

[Mike Brooks]

Most importantly good architecture.  I don't care how much frosting you put on a gun, if you don't start with a good base it's never going to be a great gun.

[projeeper]

a rifle that you want to hold,shoot,own etc. pureness simplicity gracefulness kinda like a supermodel without makeup.all the carvings engraving are bells and whistles that shows the artists mastery of the craft but without the carvings and engraving still screams out i am one fine rifle & you want me you know one when you see one.
  Mr Getez,s barn rifles = Cindy Crawford without makeup mmmm  

[Leatherbelly]

 I'm with Mike Brooks.It also has to fit perfectly (for shooting).Good architecture will 'carry' a plain wood stock far better then  mediocre architecture with a heavily figured piece. Just my $.02 worth.

[Acer Saccharum]

It's got to have great architecture. That is the foundation upon which everything is laid.

The gun should have spirit, or character, that is evident to those who behold it. This is an elusive trait that I will have a hard time describing. The gun will feel right, look right, and it will almost vibrate with energy. Somehow the builder got everything to come together in just the right way.

The greatest builder in the world cannot come up with a great rifle every time. If I could come up with a great rifle, I would have fulfilled my desire. This does not mean fancy, it means everything works aesthetically.

Tom

[smart dog]

Hi Jim,
You are asking a very subjective question because what appeals emotionally to one doesn't to another.  For me, a great gun obviously is functional and everything works superbly.  That is the first step, then is must show superior workmanship not just competence but mastery of every skill needed.  Finally, it must be art.  By that I mean the maker must be able to "intentionally" elicit emotion from the observer.  The carving, architecture, inlay, engraving must all work together to create a feeling intended by the maker, not by accident.  On a great gun, everything is integrated, nothing appears out of place, ad hoc, or unintended.

dave 

[rich pierce]

I agree with all the statements above but to be great a rifle has to have an identity of its own.  Character.  I'd have to list some of my favorites and what makes them great to me.   Most of the ones that hit me the hardest are early.

RCA 42 is great for so many reasons but in addition to great architecture it has elegant and distinctive carving that really stands out from almost anything else of the period in boldness.  

The "feather rifle" is much simpler in decoration but the architecture is great AND distinctive.  

The "ugly bird head patchbox rifle" (patchbox being a later crude addition) has bold architecture and delightful folksy carving in a  stepped-wrist buttstock that takes no prisoners.

The Peter Roessor rifle some call "the ghost head patchbox rifle" has strong and clean architecture, a fabulous lock, and carving that is bold and distinctive.  The patchbox takes no prisoners.  The builder had a carving style that was related to several other guns.  Newcomer comes to mind and some aspects of the carving evoke the "Free Born" rifle, but it is still distinctive.

RCA 124, a Virginia rifle, is great to me because it has strong and clean lines, some distinctive signatures like the sideplate, is stocked in walnut, and is from Virginia.  I can imagine this rifle carried by Virginia riflemen in the Revolution.

Schroyer's goose-head carved rifle is great because he thought nothing of stepping outside the contemporary carving designs.

The Deschler rifle is great because it is innovative for the times (cherry, brass barrel, distinctive carving, and a very early side-opening patchbox).  The builder had no qualms and no mercy in creating a gun that is 3 standard deviations from the mean.  And he carried it off.

Some rifles are great because they are rosetta stones, and we can see that they  formed the basis for emerging styles or schools.  Early Dickerts and the Lancaster Albrecht are such rifles.

[Mike Brooks]

Soul, don't forget soul. Some guys can build it into guns and some can't. Doesn't make any difference as to skill level.

[smallpatch]

Architecture...... more important than any decoration, wood, finishes, etc.
That of course, includes the way all the elements fit together.  Once this happens, everything else is just frosting.

I've always like the term "Elegant Simplicity"  When you see it, you KNOW it.

[Tommy Bruce]

The architecture does it for me as well.  The simplest guns can have the "it" factor if the architecture is right. 

[Tom Currie]

What appeals to me today are rifles that were made by a maker who was doing his own thing or thinking outside of the norm, pushing evolution along, just not following the standard. Some of these were mentioned by Rich Pierce above.

RCA 42, Christian Oerter, Nicholas Hawk, Peter Niehardt , Dutchified Rococco stuf also.   

[Dphariss]

A stock design proper for the bore size (we don't want a 62 caliber with a  Leman buttstock), good wood, good lines with hardaware to match, good lock, good lines. Some engraved brass like a patchbox maybe, wood is OK too. Carving as might be appropriate.  A silver inlay at the cheek piece. Proper installation of the parts in the wood, things need to fit right.
But if it does not have good lines nothing else matters.
And a grooved barrel that shoots good. Thats the easy part since this can be purchased.
Did I mention it has to have good lines and a stock profile suitable for the bore size? Be it a N Hawk or a JP Beck the lines have to flow properly.

Much of this is subjective, but having good lines and being a comfort to use is not.
Dan

[Mike Brooks]

A stock design proper for the bore size (we don't want a 62 caliber with a  Leman buttstock), good wood, good lines with hardaware to match, good lock, good lines. Some engraved brass like a patchbox maybe, wood is OK too. Carving as might be appropriate.  A silver inlay at the cheek piece. Proper installation of the parts in the wood, things need to fit right.
But if it does not have good lines nothing else matters.
And a grooved barrel that shoots good. Thats the easy part since this can be purchased.
Did I mention it has to have good lines and a stock profile suitable for the bore size? Be it a N Hawk or a JP Beck the lines have to flow properly.

Much of this is subjective, but having good lines and being a comfort to use is not.
Dan

Dan, you forgot to mention it needs to be antiqued.....

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Studying pictures of original rifles and guns, as well as contemporary stuff, and having the opportunity to study them in person, are two different experiences.  When a "Great" one is picked up, it is obvious and apparent instantly, yet, others may grow on you, and achieve that level over some time.  There are levels of "great" too, but those to which you can slap that moniker immediately, have all of the features described by you already, and a quality that evokes emotion. That spiritual or mystical quality is the character, soul, and personality of the piece.  I like to think that it may be more evident to a builder than anyone else, because it is the essence for which we strive.  A non-builder obviously can have deep appreciation too, of course, though perhaps not at the same level.  Until a person has children of their own, they can't appreciate that depth.  And the same analogy may apply to these fascinating things.
It's certainly not a simple question, Jim.

[rich pierce]

Can a rifle be great if there are others much like it?  I'd say so (consider the Oerters in the new Moravian book), but the distinctive ones really stand out, like the Berlin gun early in volume 2 of Shumway's Rifles in Colonial America.

[James Rogers]

Studying pictures of original rifles and guns, as well as contemporary stuff, and having the opportunity to study them in person, are two different experiences.  When a "Great" one is picked up, it is obvious and apparent instantly, yet, others may grow on you, and achieve that level over some time.  There are levels of "great" too, but those to which you can slap that moniker immediately, have all of the features described by you already, and a quality that evokes emotion. That spiritual or mystical quality is the character, soul, and personality of the piece.  I like to think that it may be more evident to a builder than anyone else, because it is the essence for which we strive.  A non-builder obviously can have deep appreciation too, of course, though perhaps not at the same level.  Until a person has children of their own, they can't appreciate that depth.  And the same analogy may apply to these fascinating things.
It's certainly not a simple question, Jim.

Pretty much sums it up for me.  EXCEPT........ a great rifle needs to be a smoothbore!!   (That's for Dan)

[Jim Filipski]

For me it is architecture and balance. When it looks right & feels right well that's a big part of the criteria. Then as Mike said "soul"; you just know when care & love were put into it along with sweat. Not something slapped together. You can almost feel the builder within it.
Jim

[northmn]

Archetecture and lines help, but to me a great rifle is one that fits the shooter and has excellent mechanical function.  For me a ML should be a flintlock so the mechanical aspects are very important.  Ignition should be quick, the lock should spark and be realiable and it should be easy to old and shoot.  A well built plain rifle with those features to me is a better rifle than a highly embelleshed Pennsylvania that does not quite work right.  As Dan said it helps to have the right design for caliber also.  A large bore should have a straight wide buttplate and a cheek piece that doesn't nail me in the face (one reason I shoot them before final finish).  Glitter is nice but it does not bring home the game whether target or hunting.

DP 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I am seeing the term great from several perspectives.  Great for artistic and architectural point of view, and great for balance and pleasure of shooting.  For a rifle to be "great", it needs both for me.

[Robby]

To me form follows function. If it holds and shoots well, no matter the style of architecture its a good gun. If you can sense that it has those qualities, just by looking at it, its a great gun. All the carving and engraving can give it a warmth and poetry, or be a distraction, depending on your personal taste.
Robby

[Acer Saccharum]

Soul

Rosetta stone

mystical

balance

Keep it coming. Perhaps a real wordsmith could pour this post through their filter and divine the kernel we are all talking around.