Jaeger to transitional recommended reading/research/information?

[HSmithTX]

I would like to understand more about the continental jaeger to the earliest American rifles and as I understand it the 'transitional' period following where barrels are getting longer and rifles getting slimmer, etc.  When were they made, who made them, architecture and construction.  My goal in gathering this information is to build an early/very early American rifle that is HC/PC. 

I would appreciate any help in where to get the information I would like.  I have RCA 1&2 inbound, what else can I study? Recommended references for the build?

Thank you, Howard.

[Carl Young]

Hi Howard, you might want to find a copy of Steinschloss-Jägerbüchsen by Erhard Wolf. I got mine and the English translation from Jim Chambers several years ago (Jim is a valued member here on ALR). https://www.flintlocks.com/. While it does not cover American rifles, it is an excellent book on continental jaegers and you will see what they looked like, which can be a starting place in understanding how they influenced American Longrifles. You might also search and see how some of the contemporary makers like Ron Long, Ian Pratt, Mike Gahagan, etc. have interpreted their early builds https://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/search/label/Jaeger. And you can "google" what you are looking for and select images to see photos.

Welcome, good luck, and have fun with your project.
Regards,
Carl

[Grischi]

Hi Howard, you might want to find a copy of Steinschloss-Jägerbüchsen by Erhard Wolf. I got mine and the English translation from Jim Chambers several years ago (Jim is a valued member here on ALR). https://www.flintlocks.com/.
(...)

I highly recommend this book for inspiration. I've been encouraged to start my Jaeger build after reading this book. Love the high quality photos as well as the given information.
If it is not available in the US you might try German Amazon. It's there for about $70 + $40 for shipping to the U.S.

Christian

My jaeger:

[rich pierce]

The transitional period, in my mind, is when rifles with strong European styling associations were still being made here. Barrel length is often a focus, perhaps because so many Germanic rifles of the mid to late 1700s had very short barrels, and few such guns, if any, rifles with very short barrels were built from scratch here with new parts. But longrifles with barrels in the 36-40” length were being made in Europe during this time. Longer-barreled flintlock rifles were not a colonial American invention or enhancement, but an available choice.

If you have RCA volume 1, look at 17, 18, 19, 20-22, 40-43, 47-49, 51 and 52 for starters.

The 2 Moravian longrifle books are great resources.

Online look up the Deschler rifle, tulip rifle, Natty Bumpo rifle.

Much more in RCA volume 2 and other books.

[JW]

What Rich said. There is conjecture as to why so many short barreled Euro rifles made their way into collections in N.A. The best conjecture I've read was that those short-barreled rifles fit perfectly into G.I. bags when they returned from the war, making it look to us as if all German rifles were short.  And thus we assume that rifles made here in the 18th century during that transitional period were innovative with the longer barrel lengths. It certainly seems as though the North American market vastly preferred long barrels, whatever the reason.

[HSmithTX]

Thank you all for the help, it is much appreciated!

I will get started on the research and any other info will also be appreciated. 

[rich pierce]

I’ll add that outside of a couple of groups of related rifles - the early unsigned Reading rifles in RCA 21 and forward, and the Bethlehem/Christian’s Spring rifles, most rifles people think of as transitional are hard to place geographically and have few close relatives. So anyone planning a build in this vein can choose an original or group of related originals to inspire their build, or get creative. 

Must have list in my view, to be considered “strongly related to concurrent European rifles of the period”:

Buttplate will be wide and tall and flat or nearly so. 2” wide and nearly 5” tall is common.
Barrel will be big at the breech and swamped. 1” minimum at the breech but 1.125 or wider, more convincing.
A rifle guard will typically have a grip rail well off the wrist.
Lock should date to the period or earlier. No gun can be earlier than its latest original component.
Sliding wooden patch box or 2-piece brass box or one piece side opening brass box or early looking 4 piece brass patch box (early Dickerts for examples)

Those are the basics for me.

[Larry Luck]

There is a German auction site, Hermann Historica, that publishes its past auction catalogs, and I have seen many Germanic flintlock firearms in its auctions in the past.  Here is a link: 

https://www.hermann-historica.de/en/buy/catalogue-shop/?p=1&o=8&n=12&f=51

You may find inspiration in the guns listed there.

Also, the KRA publications on the Moravian Gunsmiths may provide information:

http://kentuckyriflefoundation.org/krf-store/#moravianar

and

http://kentuckyriflefoundation.org/krf-store/#moravian2

Larry Luck

Whoops, Missed Rich's post re the Moravian books

[thecapgunkid]

Most of the vendors such as Chambers, Sitting Fox, Pecatonica, etc., offer components and kits between European and the "Edward Marshall" rifle. The trick is to correlate them to the sources you have seen here and ALR Volume One.  That will separate you from something authentic and the so called..."Fantasy Rifle"... that some of the participants in the forum have periodically referred to.

Jaegers and Transitionals rule with me because of my fascination to their mystique during the 1740's and 1750"s period.

These guys in this forum are your yellow brick road.

[alacran]

While Erhard Wolfe's book is an outstanding book which I have spent hours looking at the photos and reading the text ( Erick Bye's translation),
I believe the Shumway compilation of articles from Muzzle Blasts to be much better for your purpose.
While the quality of Shumway's book leaves much to be desired, he covers a wider time span, and explains the regional differences of Germanic Guns.
If you study the book carefully you will find that outside of the metal patch box, there is little that was done in America in the 18th century that had not been done in the Germanic lands.

[HSmithTX]

Thanks all for the info!  This is outstanding!

I have a barrel I think will work for the build, Rice Early American D weight 62 cal, and stock blanks on the way that hopefully are big enough in the butt section.  That leaves a lot to be found and made! I am kinda wishing I had gone bigger, maybe 69 cal with the barrel..... My intention is that this will be my primary hunting rifle when it's done.

The German auction site is a serious rabbit hole, thanks for that! An hour went by in an instant it seems like.  I will be looking at that a lot, so many original guns!

I won't be doing a 'kit' this time, or a precarve.   Hoping to start this Jaeger/transition build late summer or fall this year, should leave enough time and money to get the things I need lined up or mostly so.  I also have a blank and barrel coming for a comparatively simple build that will get done first to get more experience and refine my setup for bench, vises, tools, etc.

How would I go about getting the Schumway collection of articles from Muzzle Blast?

Thanks again everyone.

[rich pierce]

https://www.shumwaypublisher.com/mobile/item.aspx?itemid=21

[Carl Young]

Howard, what general part of the country are you in? There may be some resources close to you...

Regards,
Carl

[Mike Brooks]

I dislike and never use the term transitional .

[HSmithTX]

Carl, I am in SE Texas, likely to be quite a few really good rifles around here with the hunting culture and money that has been made here but I’m not aware of any.

Mike, what term do you use instead of transitional?

[Mike Brooks]

early

[Telgan]

Many of us around here may use that term "early" as a personal descriptor