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 walnut half length stock, though it looks like it may originally have been produced with a full stock, and was modified as needed for the owner. It features all brass mountings except for the nose band on the stock, and has a lovely brass patch box on the right side of the stock. The rifle features a 35 inch long octagonal barrel with a bore of about 0.36", which has eight groove rifling. Overall length is 51 inches, and the barrel is very heavy for accurate shooting, much like "bench rest" rifles of the day.

As with many rifles produced during this period, it is fitted with a "trade lock", produced elsewhere and sold on the market. There is an oval maker marking, but all we can make out is TLE on the top and BURGH on the bottom, most likely for a maker in Pittsburgh, of which there were many. The barrel does not have any markings, but very interestingly, the brass patch box has the following marking on the inside of the lid:

JAs GOLCHER
EAGLE RIFLE WORKS

We have not really seen a marked patch box before, but we assume that as with locks, the fittings were often purchased from suppliers as well. The trigger guard is very nice, and is with most we see, has a "pistol grip" style finial for a better grip. The stock also features a lovely hook butt plate, and has a carved in cheek piece on the left side, which has a "Hunter's Star" inlay. There is also a small round escutcheon on the back of the wrist. Examining the barrel shows that it has dovetails on the bottom, which are under the bottom strap for the ramrod. Most likely these were for another fore stock or possibly ramrod pipes attached directly to the barrel. Definitely some interesting history on this gun!

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 cocked at all unless the rear trigger is set first. For this reason there is no half cock on the lock, as it was not needed. The trigger is currently well adjusted, with only a light touch needed to cause it to discharge.

Overall condition is very good, with a lovely look and no major issues. The stock has some cracking hear the lock screw and on the left side near the stock pin, both very common places to see damage. There is a good amount of powder burn near the cap nipple cone, and at some point a brass flash guard was installed to prevent further damage. A very nice example of an iconic early American gun design, with some nice inlays and research potential.

A very nice Pennsylvania Percussion Hunting rifle, ready to research and display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: c.1850
Caliber: approx .36" eight groove rifling
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 35 Inches
Overall Length: 51 Inches
Action type: Side Action Percussion Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading

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