With
the fall of the Alamo in 1836,
two of the most famous weapons in Texas history--a knife carried by Jim Bowie
and a rifle used by Davy Crockett--were lost in the mists of history.
Crockett actually left his favorite rifle, which he called “Old Betsy” with his
son John Wesley when he departed for Texas in 1835. Today, it resides in the Alamo
Museum collection in San Antonio.
Crockett used “Old Betsy” to kill 125 bears between 1825 and 1834.
Early
pioneers and explorers such as Crockett and Daniel Boone probably depended on
Kentucky rifles and a successor, the Plains Rifle, for survival on the expanding
American frontier.
Before the two rifles were developed, Texans likely
used smoothbore rifles and muskets, but they were often inaccurate, even at short
distances.
It was not until the early 1700s, when German arms makers invented
a method for rifling a gun barrel that long-range accuracy was possible.
Rifling, the process of cutting spiral grooves on the inside of the rifle barrel,
helped achieve greater precision when firing. As the bullet passed down the spiral
grooves, the grooves imparted a spin to the bullet.
As is the case with
a thrown football, this spin helps the bullet fly in a much straighter line, thereby
improving accuracy.
German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the
early 18th century brought this tradition to America. These gun makers had perfected
their Jaeger rifle and that design evolved into what is known today as the Kentucky
rifle.
This is actually a misnomer because these rifles were made in Pennsylvania,
but were intended for use on the Kentucky frontier.
The first Kentucky
rifles were made in or near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, around 1740.
Most
of the military companies serving in the American Revolution were armed with rifles
made in Pennsylvania. After independence was won, the new U.S. government asked
Pennsylvania rifle makers in 1892 to supply firearms to all military rifle companies.
The Pennsylvania rifle makers worked at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, to help
develop the first military rifle, the Model 1803, which clearly exhibited its
Kentucky Rifle heritage.
The early rifles were plain and simple, but as
time passed the production of the rifles evolved into a high art form.
The golden age of Kentucky Rifle manufacturing was 1775 to 1845.
When
more modern repeaters eclipsed the Kentucky Rifle, it was regulated to the poor
man, who used it well into the 20th Century to put meat on the table.
Bob
Bowman's East Texas
November 17, 2010Column.
A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers |
