approved/dissapproved early cut off date

[Raven]

Why the 1803 cut off date?

I have a Transition Pennsylvania rifle.......would have been built in the 1760's
This rifle would have been 80 in 1840 and could easily been converted to percussion.

The persona I am developing is a Frontiersman from a Pennsylvania Dutch (Swiss/German) background
This man very likely was still wearing clothes of a style 50 years out of date and had gear that dated much earlier than the time period represented with the rifle as a hand me down. My family were gunsmiths in Pennsylvania and rifles were handed down for generations and used until used up!
I can understand wanting to keep the wheellocks and matchlocks out of the game. But any flintlock made in the Colonies or the States should be appropriate.
No one would have retired it for age.....There are still people hunting with 100 year old Winchesters and Mausers. And it certainly would not have been considered truly obsolete untill well into the breachloading era.

I understand the need for late cutoff dates but the early cutoff date is unneeded

Raven

[Caleb Hobbs]

Hi, Raven:

The 1803 date was chosen because the Worman & Garavaglia book, "Firearms of the American West, Volume I, 1803-1865" would make our work a little easier. The Plainsmen Society covers 1840 to 1865, an era in which the percussion gun was rapidly coming into favor. Firearms made earlier than that would be becoming increasingly rare. We are wanting to portray men and women moving into the West for whatever reason, and we felt there were plenty of organizations around for folks who wanted to portray an earlier time or a different persona. We're looking for common usage, a typical scene from the '40-'65 Western period. If a flintlock fits a certain persona, we obviously wouldn't turn that person away. But we also want to keep it correct to the period. Hope this helps.

Caleb

[Raven]

Thanks Caleb!

About my flintlock........

I am building it myself from a colection of parts in the style of John Schriet (my ancestor) I am also building several percussion transitional locks for it. The first transitional lock uses a standard flintlock with a "hammer head" clamped in the cock jaws and a nipple drum screwed into the barrel.

This site has a reproduction of the John Schreit rifle

http://www.allenmartinrifles.net/gallery-of-guns/john-schreit-rifle%e2%80%93berks-county/

Currently John's rifle is the earliest signed and dated Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifle known. John was married to Barbara Haga (Hawken) Great aunt of the Hawken Bros.

Barbara was a cousin of Wolfgang Haga and both John and Barbara were related to most of the early gunsmiths in PA., NJ, MD.and CT. The first Strite gunsmith was John Strait who was a Master barrel straightener (i.e. a Rifled Barrel Maker) was born in 1500 and there have been many since

I am working on personas related to my family history. The Schreit, Strite, Strydt, Schridt, Strait family were Mennonite plain people ......though not the most religious bunch with some exceptions! The Strites were at the edges of the frontier all through American history. The idea is to transition through personas from about 1750 to about 1875.....about 4 generations by adding updated pieces and subtracting out of date pieces. I firured on using the rifle with appropriate updates to the lock through about 1860 and then switch to my 63 Sharps. As for pistols I have a Kentucky through the 1830's, Patersons for the 40's, and Colts for every era after.

Raven