Jacob Dickert Longrifle
Jacob Dickert · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1769
Also known as: Dickert rifle, J. Dickert longrifle, Deckard rifle
Overview
The Jacob Dickert longrifle is an American muzzle-loading flintlock rifle handcrafted by the German-born Lancaster, Pennsylvania gunsmith Jacob Dickert (1740-1822). A leading maker of the Pennsylvania/Kentucky longrifle school, Dickert built slender, ornately raised-carved maple-stocked rifles around a long straight octagonal iron barrel of roughly .40-.45 caliber firing a patched round ball. His shop produced rifles and muskets for the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and by the 1790s operated as a small manufactory turning out dozens of rifles per month. Dickert rifles are prized for their Germanic locks, double-set triggers, and fine longsight-radius accuracy.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4300 g (151.7 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1524 mm (60.00") |
| Barrel Length | 1067 mm (42.01") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Flintlock |
| Trigger Type | Set Trigger |
| Muzzle Velocity | 427 m/s (1401 fps) |
| Effective Range | 137 m (150 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 2 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Barrel Material | Iron |
| Stock Material | Maple |
| Finish | Browned |
Calibers
- .45 caliber (Kentucky) · primary — also known as .40-.50 caliber round ball, patched round ball
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Notch
- Features: Long Barrel, Octagonal Barrel, Patch Box, Raised Carving, Iron Sights, Double Set Trigger
Service history
Operators
- Continental Army · adopted 1775
- Pennsylvania militia and frontiersmen
Conflicts
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Production
Production years: c. 1769-1822
Hand-built in Dickert's Lancaster shop; no complete production records survive. Government accounts note deliveries such as 36 rifles and 90 muskets to Continental forces in 1777-1778 and output reaching 67 rifles in a two-month span in 1794.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Jacob Dickert
Discontinued: 1822
Notes
Bore diameter varied by order; Dickert-pattern rifles are commonly reproduced in .40 and .45 caliber. Barrel and overall lengths given are representative of a typical 42-inch (1067 mm) barreled example; individual rifles varied. The surname was later colloquially corrupted to 'Deckard'.
Background
Jacob Dickert's name became so synonymous with the American longrifle that 'Dickert' entered frontier slang for a fine rifle, and the surname was eventually distorted into the fictional 'Deckard' of popular lore. His raised-carved Lancaster rifles helped define the classic Golden Age longrifle style and armed riflemen whose marksmanship unsettled British regulars during the Revolution.