Long Rifle - Decline and Rebirth

Decline and Rebirth

By the 20th century, there was little traditional long rifle making left except in isolated pockets in the Appalachian mountains. Few men were left who could build a long rifle. Popular interest in shooting as a sport as well as the sesquicentennial of the United States' independence from Britain in 1925-33 spurred interest in the origins of the American longrifle. One of the first evidences of this renewed interest was the seminal work in 1924 by Capt. John Dillon; The Kentucky Rifle. Early 20th century pioneers of longrifle culture were Walter Cline, Horace Kephart, Ned Roberts, Red Farris, Hacker Martin, Bill Large, Jack Weichold, Ben Hawkins, D.C. Addicks, L.M. Wolf, Dave Taylor, Win Woods, and Alvin Wagner.

Many men throughout the remainder of the 20th century worked to expand our knowledge of the American Longrifle and how to recreate it in the 18th and 19th century manner. Foremost among these were Joe Kindig Jr, George Shumway, Earl Lanning, Wallace Gusler, John Bivins, Garry Brumfield and many others. In 1965, Wallace Gusler, as the fist master of the Gunsmith shop in Colonial Williamsburg, was the first to recreate an American longrifle in modern times using 18th century tools and techniques. The 1968 film "Gunsmith of Williamsburg" documented the production of his second, all handmade, longrifle. This film has been re-released on DVD and is available from a number of online sources. Since that time, many other makers have trained by these men and many other pioneers of the rebirth of the longrifle culture. The Gunsmith Shop in Colonial Williamsburg under Wallace Gusler and Gary Brumfield produced Dave Wagoner, Jon Laubach, George Suiter, Clay Smith, and Richard Frazier. These are the only men who have emerged from the Gunshop to date who have produced an all handmade rife. In addition to his influence in his popular series of articles for Rifle Magazine and his involvement with the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) John Bivins trained the outstanding gunmakers Jim Chambers and Mark Silver. Then there were other standouts like Earl Lanning, Keith Casteel, Hershel and Frank House, Jack Brooks, Jud Brennon, Ron Ehlert, Robert Harn, and many more. Their work and that of others can be seen in the book: Three Centuries of Tradition: The Renaissance of Custom Sporting Arms in America, published by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Scala Publishers, Ltd.

While there have been many great builders over the past 50 years who have helped revive the recreation of the historically correct American longrifle, there are many talented newer builders such as Allen Martin, Eric Kettenburg, Jim Kibler, Mark Whealand and others. There are more and more builders all the time as evidenced by AmericanLongrifles.org, a group of forums serving the interests of builders of traditional muzzleloading arms, with over 3000 members including most of the top builders alive today. AmericanLongrifles.org(ALR) was started in 1997 by Mark Elliott at same time that Gordon Barlow was creating the Contemporary Longrifle Association (CLA). The CLA is a membership organization consisting of students, collectors, and artisans producing contemporary(20th century and later) hand made recreations of American longrifles, their accoutrements, and associated arms and crafts of pre-1840 America. The overflow crowds that fill the Lexington,KY Convention Center each August for the CLA annual meeting and show is evidence of the popularity of the contemporary American longrifle and traditional crafts. There are also large suppliers for muzzleloading supplies such as Dixie Gun Works and Track of the Wolf as proof of the vibrancy of the contemporary longrifle. Then there are the numerous parts suppliers such as Jim Chambers Flintlocks, R.E. Davis, and L&R, for locks; Getz, Rice, Rayl, and others for barrels, Dunlap Woodcraft, Tiger Hunt, and Freddie Harrison among others for stock wood. Then there are hundreds of other individual artisans producing small parts and supplies for resale by the like of Track of the Wolf, Dixie Gunworks, Dixons Muzzleloading Shop, Stonewall Creek Outfitters, Tip Curtis, and others.

The recreation of the American longrifle continues.