California Rifle?

[Niederlander]

LOVE that inscription!  Can't really argue with it being a California rifle!

[Tsalagidave]

I'm learning from this too. So what I am seeing is that a California Rifle is a western pattern, similar to a St. Louis gun with a short (compared to eastern long rifles) but heavy barrel in .36 to about .54 in caliber. They can either be made for the California market or they could have actually been made in the state by craftsmen who had come and set up shop during the Gold Rush.

I have had the privilege of learning so much about our muzzle-loading hobby over the years but I'd really like to know more about this topic. The more articles and leads, on the California Rifle, the better.

Thanks

-Dave

[Crooked River Bob]

Thank you very much to LongWalker for posting the link to the "California Rifle" shown on the ALR forum.  I had missed that one!  I believe the maker's name may be incorrectly spelled on that ALR post, though.  I think it was more likely John Wurfflein, who was a prolific Philadelphia gunsmith in the mid-19th century.  The photo that apparently showed the barrel inscription does not show in the images I see in the link. There is another example of his work with a little more about him here:  Lot 287: John Wurfflein Rifle Anyway, we do know Wurfflein shipped a great many rifles west, especially to California, and called at least some of them "California" rifles.  I didn't know they were marked as such, though.

Dang!  I wish I could figure out how to post pictures on this forum!  Anyway...

Tryon, another Philadelphia maker, was also sending a lot of rifles west, and all of the gun manufacturers were in stiff competition.  The California trade was booming.  The St. Louis riflesmiths did not want to miss out.

There was an enigmatic ad placed in the Missouri Republican January 20, 1855 by William S. Hawken and Tristam Campbell offering, among other things, "Mountain and California rifles made to order, and repairing done at the shortest notice."  People have wondered exactly what those California rifles were for many years.  Note that the term, "Plains Rifle," is believed to have been coined by collectors in the mid-20th century.  The Hawken brothers called their iconic heavy-barreled, iron mounted arms "Mountain Rifles."  Charles E. Hanson addressed this in The Hawken Rifle:  Its Place In History on page 42, along with a complete transcription of the Hawken & Campbell advertisement and some speculation about California rifles.

This interesting S. Hawken rifle surfaced a few years ago, and sold at auction:  Brass Mounted S. Hawken Rifle  I think this rifle is likely a Hawken "California Rifle."  I don't want to generalize from a sample of one rifle, but what I'm seeing here is a very plain, heavy, brass-mounted half stock.  It differs from the Hawken "Mountain Rifles" in that it is mounted in brass, and it has a single barrel key, instead of two.  It does have a patent breech with the classic Hawken "snail," but it looks like a solid patent breech to me, i.e. it is not hooked.  I think the brass hardware was more expensive than iron, but the single barrel key and the solid patent breech are money-saving features.  I think they built this rifle, and probably others similar to it, to compete with Wurfflein, Tryon, and others cashing in on the California and emigrant market. 

One feature that gets our attention is the triggerguard on the brass-mounted Hawken rifle.  Most modern folks will say it looks like a T/C Hawken guard, and it sort of does.. kind of...  Others will say it looks like a Dimick guard, which it does, but if you really cast a wide net in your search, you'll find a lot of mid-19th century rifles with that type of guard.  By that time, there were a number of riflemakers actually in California, and a lot of California dealers "importing" rifles from the east.  This style of triggerguard was very much in style at that time.  There was a terrific book published in 1977, entitled California Gunsmiths 1846-1900, by Lawrence Shelton.  He shows a lot of percussion muzzle-loaders by California builders, and a great many of them use that type of triggerguard.

There is a short, full-stocked rifle by Henry Leman shown on page 231 in Garavaglia & Worman's Firearms of the American West 1803-1865 which is marked on the barrel JOSH M. BROWN & CO. IMPROVED PATTERN BEAR RIFLE SAN FRANCISCO CAL..  This resembles Leman's "Indian rifles" in many respects, but is has a full-sized patchbox and double set triggers.  It has a heavy barrel in .58 caliber.  California was full of big game in those days, including the famous grizzlies.  I don't think this Leman rifle would have been consistent with Hawken & Campbell or Wurfflein's idea of a "California rifle," but it does suggest that hunting rifles in larger calibers may have been desirable in the Golden State at that time.

So, what is a "California rifle"?  Limiting the discussion to 19th century muzzle-loaders, it could obviously refer to rifles made in California.  However, more generally, I think this term could have been applied to a distinct style of rifle from the middle of the century.  Probably in a larger caliber, half stocked, and very likely mounted in brass or even German silver instead of iron.  Any one of us, myself included, would see one of these and probably call it a "Plains Rifle."  However, Hawken & Campbell distinguished "Mountain Rifles" from "California Rifles," and this is the best I can come up with by way of explanation.

Best regards,

Crooked River Bob

[LongWalker]

There's an original California rifle for sale here:  https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/a-j-plate-plains-rifle-original.139469/  Rifle was made by Slotter & Co in Philadelphia, and is marked for A. J. Plate in San Francisco. 

Folks, after I bought the Leman I cross-posted here, it is someone else's turn! 

[Niederlander]

I'm learning more all the time!  One thing that seems obvious to me is the tremendous VARIETY of features on rifles of that period.  Not surprising when you consider they were all handmade, by probably hundreds of different 'smiths. 

[LongWalker]

A bit of thread necromancy here!

There is an original Slotter-made rifle marked for A. J. Plate in San Francisco for sale here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/a-j-plate-plains-rifle-original.139469/#post-2194886

Per description, it is in shooting condition.  Price is $2k, trades considered.  Might be worth a look if anyone is interested in a California rifle!

[Jake MacReedy]

That is one cool rifle!  And not a bad price!

[nativeshootist]

Track of The Wolf has a california rifle for sale. looks pretty good.

[Tsalagidave]

With all this considered, I agree with the article that Jack Wagon provided.  It reinforces what I suspected, which is that it would be more of a plains type half-stock rifle that is ideal for killing large grizzly bears. Barrel length would be about 32 inches, give or take either way. It is either big-bored like a typical plains rifle for buffalo, or it could have a stouter, heavier barrel to accommodate a smaller .40-.45 ball with a much heavier powder load just like the American target rifles used by snipers during the American Civil War. Polygonal bullets on smaller loads? No, I believe that was a feature pioneered for the Whitworth rifle, but if anyone in the group knows more about it, please share. I don't know as much about the Whitworth and its hexagonal bullets as I ought to.

-Dave

[greyhawk]

Totally agree.  Not sure how we'd ever prove it, though.

I reckon a good part of your proof is sitting in the racks in that museum in Chadron

[Jack Wagon]

A couple of interesting books on this topic. As Crooked River mentioned, California Gunsmiths 1846-1900 has loads of pictures and info. Another is Frank Bekeart Goldrush Gunsmith, not much on his guns but and interesting read on the trials of getting to and surviving in early California. His gun shop still stands today and is considered the oldest surviving building in Coloma, Ca.  Jw

[Jake MacReedy]

Here's a link to a thread over on Bushcraftusa forum in the Traditional Muzzleloaders Group.  One of the guys just purchased a "California Rifle" from Track of the Wolf.  Interesting read!
https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/half-stock-california-rifle-from-track-of-the-wolf.346087/#post-6420362

[Cap'n Redneck]

@ Tsalagidave:  For info on the Whitworth and its users, I can recommend this book:
(the author is John Anderson Morrow)

https://www.berkeleymuseum.org/shop/confederate-whitworth-sharpshooters

[Tsalagidave]

This is a good one Cap'n. Thanks for sharing.

-Dave

[Cap'n Redneck]

I stumbled across this copy of "California Gunsmiths 1846-1900" for sale on eBay: 
(I have no dog in the fight)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/235589973904?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20240304123752%26meid%3D3c972395a6eb44929e0a4f9a33a4d262%26pid%3D100417%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26b%3D1%26sd%3D335420670483%26itm%3D235589973904%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D1%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWithV9BertRefreshRankerWithKnnNlpV3RecallWithMyFG&_trksid=p1.c100417.m3734&mkevt=1&plmtId=1110100102&mesgId=3041&mkpid=0&emsid=enull.m161560.l174180&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid&bu=43007977725&trkId=e42bb5ff-7d8f-3377-8f9a-94bcd1f75efb&cnvId=a7fb74a1-c76a-4a5d-81a4-a4efd73d9c0c&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20240605202115&segname&recoId=235589973904&recoPos=2

[Hair Trigger Jim]

Thanks for posting.  I didn't buy it, but I got to read this thread.

Interesting thread.  A common theme with a lot of these "California" rifles linked to seems to be the half stock with a single barrel key.

All, enjoy these threads immensely!
Just a passing thought on this one: my cousin in Northern CA who checks in once every 10 years or so, has a M/L half-stock. It is 'old' he says, and has GOLCHER imprinted on the lock. He claims it has been in his possession forever, gifted to him many years ago by a fellow worker at P&G where they both worked. He also said it was called a 'California Gun' because of the GOLCHER lock.
It has been years, over a decade or two, since I talked to him about it. He has no way of taking pics, is in his 80's and not interested in much of any of this banter. Ah, well. I hope to be able to get it for family safekeeping sometime in the future.
Is this any help in the above search?
Best regards and good shooting!
'Ol Gabe
ncows925olgabe@gmail.com

Golcher may well have been the lockmaker and perhaps didn't make the lock in California, although a California gunsmith could easily have used a Golcher lock to finish a rifle.  Here's a (non-California) rifle with a Joseph Golcher lock, and somebody states he was a lockmaker in Philadelphia.  That rifle is marked with a different gunmaker on the barrel, and it does appear that Golcher made only the lock.  https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182470

Or if it is, perhaps, Goulcher, see here for a long rifle with a G. Goulcher lock; the text states that George Goulcher was a lockmaker in New York.  https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/a-prospering-new-republic-1780-to-1860/case-9-the-plains-rifle/george-goulcher-(new-york,-ny)-kentucky-percussion-long-rifle.aspx

So the Golcher gun in question could have been made either by or for the California market using a Golcher lock.

[Hair Trigger Jim]

Searching "California rifle percussion" instead of just "California rifle" turned up this thread with some nice examples: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/what-is-a-california-rifle.148399/

[Tsalagidave]

Jim, this article has great mention of both California and Missouri rifles.  There is even a real interesting mention of what appear to be Dreyse needle-guns. I'd love to get a copy of California Gunsmiths 1846-1900.  Notchy Bob on the other site posted an image of the page featuring "California Bear Rifles". It looks like there is a pattern here.  Half-stocked and heavy-barreled from around .50 being typical to larger caliber sizes (.58).  There is also a Leman California Bear Rifle that is full-stocked.  It looks like it is patterned after a typical mountain rifle (plains rifle) but is shorter and more suitable to wield from a saddle for hunting grizzlies. A mounted hunter has the advantage of speedy pursuit and just as quick a retreat if he botches his shot. I'm really loving this discussion.

-Dave

[Jack Wagon]

I thought this add from Merrill was on topic. He was making breech loading sporting rifles at this time and went on to make the famous civil was carbine.   Jw

[Modoc]

This has been an interesting read, especially since one of my shooting hobbies is Rendezvous here in Northern CA.  I'm going to have to check at our next Arms Collector's meeting about the rifle a member brought in that is attributed to the fatal mauling of a rancher in Whitmore CA. by a Grizzly.

The descriptions here just scream California Rifle!

What is interesting, except for the sights my TC Hawkens seems to be more of a California pattern than my Lyman Great Plains which is supposed to be a Mountain Rifle.