Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. Just purchased at a recent military auction! This is a wonderful heavy barreled "Pennsylvania" percussion hunting rifle, often referred to as a "Kentucky" rifle. The design developed in Pennsylvania, and then spread down the Ohio River Valley to Kentucky, where it was very popular. The thin curved stock design was popular for close to 100 years in the region.
This is a great example, with a lovely "Tiger" flamed maple half length stock, which has a beautiful finish and features all brass mountings. The rifle features a 36 inch long octagonal barrel with a bore of about 0.34", very common for these rifles, cut with seven groove rifling. Overall length is 51 1/2 inches, and the barrel is very heavy for accurate shooting, much like "bench rest" rifles of the day.
The top of the barrel is stamped with S. SMALL, which we have identified as Samuel Small of New Lisbon, Ohio, a known maker of Pennsylvania / Kentucky rifles during the 1849-1854 period. This area is today known as Lisbon, Ohio, and is just over the border from Pennsylvania along Little Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Ohio River. We have seen several other similar examples of rifles by this maker. It also appears that they were a member of a gunmaking family, as we have also seen examples out of New Lisbon from David Small, as well as indications that Samuel was the third generation of gunsmiths in his family.
As with many rifles produced during this period, it is fitted with a "trade lock", produced elsewhere and sold on the market. The lock on this rifle has some lovely engraving on the rear, which is probably a hunting scene, however it is powder burned under the cap nipple cone bolster, which has worn away the engraving. There is a round maker mark with PHILADELPHIA on the bottom, however we are not able to read any of the letters on the top. There were numerous makers and importers of trade locks in Philadelphia, so unfortunately we are not able to identify the maker, and leave it as a future research project. Other examples we have seen from this maker used locks marked "GOULCHER" and simply "WARRANTED".
The stock features a lovely hook butt plate, and has a carved in German style cheek piece on the left side. The right side of the butt stock has a lovely brass patch box with a German style engraved brass plate surrounding it. The trigger guard is very nice, and is with most we see, has a "pistol grip" style finial for a better grip. As with most hunting rifles, this example is fitted with a "set trigger", where depressing the rear trigger first until it clicks and just touching the front trigger discharges the weapon, hopefully with great accuracy. The mechanism is fully functional on this example, and the lock cannot be fired at all until the rear trigger is "set". For this reason there is no half cock position on the tumbler.
Overall condition is very good, with a lovely look and a great profile. The stock is lovely, though it does show an old repaired crack going through the wrist, which has multiple pins inserted to stabilize it. The elegant curve of the Pennsylvania style stock is lovely, but it is also relatively thin and a bit weak. Figured maple also can have some structural weakness when it separates along the wavy grain. We checked the bore, and it is in good condition, showing clear lands and grooves with a partly bright finish. There is past fouling and oxidation in the grooves, so this is definitely an example that saw a good amount of use. There is a good amount of powder burn near the cap nipple cone bolster, now cleaned away as well.
A very nice example of an iconic early American gun design, with a beautiful stock and some great research potential. Ready to display!
Specifications-
Year of Manufacture: c.1850
Caliber: approx .34" seven groove rifling
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 36 Inches
Overall Length: 51 1/2 Inches
Action type: Side Action Percussion Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading
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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.
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