An Oregon Trail-inspired Kentucky Rifle Build
By Gary Lewis
The Great Migration across the plains really kicked off in 1843 and one of the major jumping-off points for the Oregon Trail was the aptly-named Independence, Missouri.
Sashay into any hardware store in Independence in 1843 and you might see handguns behind the counter and a rack full of long guns to fondle. Smoothbore flintlocks from the late 1700s, a Harpers Ferry rifle from 1803, a Hall Rifle from 1819; both new and used Kentucky rifles with both flintlocks and percussion lock models.
According to G.W. Thissell, who crossed the plains in 1850, one of the most common guns in the wagons west was a Kentucky rifle with a long, heavy barrel. Some preferred flintlocks which were seen as more reliable because percussion caps were in short supply west of the Mississippi.
In the inflated prices at Independence, a rifle would cost something like $12 and then there is the matter of powder, shot and flints or percussion caps to fill out a possibles bag. Make sure to bring enough flour, hard tack, bacon, sugar, coffee, beans, dried fruit, salt and pickles for the scurvy. If you smoke, stock a supply of stogies in your Conestoga.
Jesse Applegate was in that great migration of 1843, when thousands of families sold their farms, homes and businesses and put their belongings in wagons and drove their livestock before them.
The train Applegate was in divided into two groups, the light wagons that would move quickly ahead, and the “cow column” which brought up the rear with the livestock.
Applegate described the experience in his book, A Day with the Cow Column in 1843.
Sixty wagons, some 50 families and 5,000 animals slept in easily defended circled wagons and then the sun began to light the eastern sky.
"It is four o'clock A. M.; the sentinels on duty have discharged their rifles - the signal that the hours of sleep are over - and every wagon and tent is pouring forth its night tenants, and slow-kindling smokes begin largely to rise and float away in the morning air.”
Ten or 15 of the young men, off duty on this day, were tasked to a buffalo hunt. They rode away from the train and to the top of a nearby butte.
"Some dark moving objects have been discovered in the distance, and all are closely watching them to discover what they are, for in the atmosphere of the plains a flock of crows marching miles away, or a band of buffaloes or Indians at ten times the distance look alike, and many ludicrous mistakes occur.”
The Kentucky rifle came to light in Pennsylvania in the 1730s, was used in the French and Indian War and, by the colonist rebels in the Revolution. When Americans began to look West in the 1830s and '40s, the Kentucky rifle went with them.
Build Notes
With a full-length stock, a 33-1/2-inch octagon barrel and a flintlock ignition mechanism, the Kentucky rifle kit from Traditions is 95 percent inlet and requires work with chisels, files and a lot of sandpaper. I planned to budget 15 hours for the build. It actually took closer to 30 hours.
One of the knocks on this particular kit is the two-piece stock. Some people argue that two-piece stocks are not original. Well, now… Several examples have been found from history of two-piece stocks being used by mountain men and pioneers. And keep in mind that guns were repaired all the time and that often necessitated a two-piece stock to get the gun back in the field.
The kit arrived with all the pieces needed for the entire rifle build. Immediately I assessed what types of finish products I needed and ordered them from muzzle-loaders.com.
The most important first step, though, is to COMPLETELY assemble the kit. Don't shortcut this one or it will cost you time later.
Assembling ALL the pieces, keep a note pad handy and write down each issue as it comes up. Every kit is going to have its own little issues to overcome. Mine required a lot of wood removal inside the barrel channel and on the outside to slim down the gun. This fit and finish, for me is where the personal satisfaction part comes in. I want the gun to feel right in my hand. And this is where I spent the most time.
As to the finishing of the barrel, I must take exception to what I read on the Internet forums about this topic. I read that the barrel couldn't be browned in stages. Well, I did it. With a propane torch, I would heat and treat the barrel in sections and it worked well. Maybe it wasn't ideal, but it worked and I got an even brown to the barrel. I treated the barrel in this manner three times and the outcome was great. On my next build, I plan to do it the same way, but I will treat the barrel four times instead of three.
I recommend this build and I encourage the builder to think about the project a little bit and try to achieve an outcome that is different than what may be purchased right off the rack.
Make it different and make it yours, whether that means carving a buffalo in the stock as I did, or blackening the brass or putting a super dark finish on it or trimming it out in brass tacks like the Indians did. Look and see what custom touches might be added, such as inlays. And look at the old pictures available and imagine where this gun would have gone from a hardware store in Independence. It's your story.
Price $368
Check out the Kentucky Rifle Flintlock Kit here.
See the Kentucky Rifle Percussion Kit here.
