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Very well written, and informative. Lots of good info in that post, though some pritty wide gaps in the time lines.

Speaking of the Express rifles not being for dangerous game,I have one of these made in 1892, a Westley Richards,black powder, 500/450#1 Express, and it was made specially, for red deer hunting!


That the early muzzle loader doubles were deer rifles, as well, is true in the UK, and Europe, but in the Colonies most people had only one gun for everything, from protecting the home, to hunting, and for fighting Indians. Same with the settlers on the Cape of Good Hope, Even the flint lock swivel barreled doubles, used here, were not made in the UK, or Europe, but most made in little gun shops all over the WILDERNESS, as everything west of the eastern shore colonies, was called.

Those rifles were used for everything, and foweling pieces were definetly in evidence, and most rifles larger than 50 cal were smooth bore BALL/SHOT GUNS,And there many examples S/S flintlock double shotguns, but I've never seen a ventage s/s flintlock double rifle, made in the us, or UK. The swivel barreled RIFLES were swivels because nobody had discovered that regulation was necessary yet, for a rifle, and in a shotgun it didn't matter that much.


The barrels were simply swiveled to the top,on the rifles, so it's seperate sights could be used. When Tennessee was the wild forntier, there was a thriveing gun business for Pennsilvania made long rifles, of which about 1 in 40 were flintlock swivel barreld double rifles. That second barrel was a life saver in a conflict with Indians, or a Grzzley. Once the percussion cap took over, the doubles were just about a thing of the past, in the US. Shortly after the Britts started building double rifles for hunting, of what they had there, and none of it was dangerous, and there were no Indians to fight. The Brittish army had always use large bore smooth bored muskets for war fare, and that didn't change, but the stagg hunters wanted small, light, fast handleing rifles for the deer, and the double simply made sense.

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Edited by DUGABOY1 (15/03/07 02:38 PM)

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