tapered and flared barrels

[bama]

Approx. when did the tapered and flared barrels diminish and straight barrels become the common barrel?

I picked up a southern rifle that has evidence of being built and possibly used during the War of Northern Aggression but it has a 42 1/8" tapered and flared barrel that I think is hand forged. I believe that the rifle which is a half stock was built around older parts.

The trigger guard is hand forged as is the butt plate and both have evidence of being used on an earlier gun.

The barrel has dove tails for for barrel lugs spaced as they would be for a full stock with the front 2 lugs missing. The barrel measures 1" at the breech and the muzzle with the waist being a little under 7/8". 

The triggers are single set and I think are the same age as the guard and the butt plate. The trigger plate is drilled for a tang bolt but this rifle is using a wood screw in the tang.

I first thought that this rifle had lost its forestock and been cut down to a half stock but I see no evidence of ram rod pipe being added to the barrel except for a little solder in one spot.

When I bought this rifle my first thoughts was to build a nice full stock southern rifle using the butt plate, guard, triggers and barrel . After looking closer at a couple of round inlets in the butt stock I could see where  a coin had been glued into the stock. The coins have been removed but the glue made an impression of the coins. They were 1864 2 cent pieces. So now I am thinking that this pieced together rifle has the possibility of being used by a southern boy during the Civil War.

I may now just document what I have found and put it back together as is. I sure was looking foreward to building a nice southern gun around that barrel though.

Y'all give me your best thoughts.

[rich pierce]

Probably re-use of an early barrel.  Consensus of previous discussions on tapered and flared barrels is that they became less common and the taper and flare became less pronounced by 1800; by 1820's or so, tapered or straight barrels were being made for the most part.

Gun has a history; and the barrel is worth maybe $100 and will not shoot better than a new one, so unless using an old barrel has a special attraction for you, I'd keep it as a curiosity.

[flintriflesmith]

Probably re-use of an early barrel.  Consensus of previous discussions on tapered and flared barrels is that they became less common and the taper and flare became less pronounced by 1800; by 1820's or so, tapered or straight barrels were being made for the most part. ...

While Rich has given a good summary view, this subject -- like so many-- has many exceptions to the "rule."
The introduction of straight and/or straight tapered barrels occurred much earlier in some regions than in others. Up north where big companies like Remington were mass producing barrels they became the standard 20 or 30 years (or more) before they did in SW Virginia and TN.

Gary

[Don Getz]

I am not an expert on southern mountain rifles, or on anything for that matter, but, follow this thinking.   The plain, old
southern mountain rifles were being made by "poor" people.   Many of them probably forged their own barrels, along with
all the other hardware.   If they forged the barrel, they could easily have made it swamped.   As a matter of fact, I have
seen southern barrels where the muzzle was larger than the breech..............Don

[G-Man]

There are some very late southern mountain rifles that have swamped barrels.  Packdog or Bookie would probably know more, but I am not sure on mountain rifles that they ever really stopped making them. 

Guy

[bama]

I am thinking that this gun was made around the time of the date on the coin which I think is 1864. The imprint of the coin was made when it was glued intothe stock. The trigger guard had a front lug that has been broken off and replaced with a screw. The single set trigger was drilled for a tang bolt but is not used by this rifle. The heel of the butt plate does not quite fit stock and looks like it has been beat down in an attempt to make it it fit.
The barrel has 4 dove tails for lugs but the front 2 are missing. I don't think the stock was cut down but it might have been. This leads me to believe that the barrel was originally in a full stock rifle. All this leads me to believe that the parts predate the wood. Any way I think I will keep the gun as is, especially since it may be a Johnny Reb gun.  I know that the probability of this rifle being used in the war is slim but it does have that possibility.

Thanks for the comments.