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1834 George Washington Hwy, Oakland, MD 21550 • (301) 334-0624 • appalachianrifle@yahoo.com |
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This is not a replica of the rifles used by 19th century hunters. This rifle incorporates materials and design features that improve on the strength and ergonomics of the great, classic arms of the past. The custom barrel is made of 1144 steel and is far stronger than the wrought iron barrels of a century and a half ago. The barrel profile is octagon-to-round to place the majority of the rifle’s weight between the shooter’s hands and eliminate the clumsy, muzzle-heavy feel of most muzzleloaders (full octagon & full round profiles also available). Sights are ramp mounted to raise the line-of-sight, allowing for less drop at the comb of the stock. The stock architecture retains the graceful curves and feel of the original rifles while incorporating modern butt dimensions for straight-line recoil and a solid fit between cheek and comb. In fact, all stock dimensions can be made to the individual customer’s specifications at no extra charge because the stocks are hand shaped from stock blanks- not shaped on a machine to one-size-fits-all specifications. The standing breech is glass bedded for absolute 100% contact with the stock as well as greatly increased strength at the point where the stock absorbs the full force of recoil.
In recent times, much has been made of Forsythe rifling for large bore muzzleloaders. However, The Appalachian Rifle Shop does not agree that this is the best recipe for a rifle barrel. Forsythe rifling combines shallow grooves with a slow twist for increased velocity and “good accuracy” with round balls. The velocity increase is achieved, but at the cost of accuracy. Forsythe-rifled barrels typically shoot no better than good smooth-bore barrels, so the claims of “good accuracy” are not substantiated. Perhaps the hype from other barrel makers has more to do with the fact that .003” grooves can be cut in less than half the time required to cut .008” grooves than with any particular properties of the rifling itself. This is not intended to be a criticism of Lt. Forsythe. After all, hunting on horseback was common during his time and tight groups are difficult to achieve when firing from the back of a nervous horse that’s ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Accuracy under those conditions is hopeless, so there was nothing to lose by pushing for maximum velocity. However, The Appalachian Rifle Shop believes that the modern hunter who stands on his own hind legs to take the shot is much better served by .008” deep rifling that gives the hunter a better chance of making one shot count.
The other pages on this website provide more information about the rifle and it’s components and are recommended reading, especially “Choosing a caliber”. Rifle and barrel prices and specifications are listed on the "Pricing/Contact" page.
Last Update: 11-21-09 |
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The Appalachian Rifle Shop specializes in providing the serious muzzleloading enthusiast with quality, well balanced custom big bore rifles suitable for hunting any game animal under any conditions with barrels and stocks made in-house one at a time. Available calibers range from 58 to 8 bore with rifling twist rates suitable for round balls or conical bullets. In recent years, black powder-only seasons have expanded to allow more and more hunters to pursue game animals far larger than deer with muzzleloading rifles. Many of these hunters have realized the limitations of the traditional 45 and 50 caliber rifles and the demand for more effective arms has risen dramatically. The Appalachian Rifle Shop agrees with the philosophy that, where black powder rifles are concerned, bigger is definitely better and builds rifles that would satisfy even the 19th century big game hunters whose lives and livelihood depended on the rifles they carried.
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