Kentucky Long Rifle
Various Gunsmiths · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1730
Also known as: Pennsylvania rifle, American long rifle, longrifle
Overview
The Kentucky long rifle is an American muzzle-loading flintlock rifle developed by Pennsylvania German and Swiss immigrant gunsmiths beginning around 1730, primarily in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Distinguished by its exceptionally long octagonal barrel (often 40-48 inches), slender maple stock, and relatively small bore (.40-.50 caliber firing a patched round ball), it offered accuracy far beyond the smoothbore muskets of its era. The reduced caliber conserved scarce lead while the rifled bore and long sight radius made it a precision frontier hunting and military arm.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4530 g (159.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1651 mm (65.00") |
| Barrel Length | 1220 mm (48.03") |
| 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, Patch Box, Octagonal Barrel, Iron Sights, Double Set Trigger
Service history
Operators
- Continental Army · adopted 1775
- American frontiersmen and militia
Conflicts
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
- War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Production
Production years: c. 1730-1850s
Hand-built by hundreds of individual gunsmiths; no centralized production records. Percussion locks largely replaced flintlocks after about 1850.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Notes
Calibers varied widely from gunsmith to gunsmith, commonly .40-.50 but ranging from roughly .25 to .62. The .45 here is a representative figure for the most common range. Also widely known as the Pennsylvania rifle; the 'Kentucky' name was popularized after the War of 1812.
Background
The Kentucky rifle's accuracy made American riflemen feared during the Revolution, where they could pick off British officers at distances that astonished European soldiers accustomed to volley-firing smoothbore muskets. The folk song 'The Hunters of Kentucky' celebrating the Battle of New Orleans helped fix the 'Kentucky rifle' name in popular memory.