RESEARCH & WRITING

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I have enjoyed researching the old guns, and the firms, men and boys who made them. Often with friends, I have written for various publications. Since I was living in Colorado and portraying a mountain man, my early work followed rifles and other arms for the plains and mountains.

November 1990 article for Muzzle Blasts describing Leman rifles, their history and contemporary copies made by Jack Brooks from Colorado. Copies available from the NMLRA, call (812) 667 5131

Of course the fur trade began much earlier – here’s an English trading gun ca. 1760, but the original had been converted and used into the mid or late 1800’s. Visits to the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska and attendance at various gun collectors’ shows provided examples. Books, trade orders and inventories, gunshop records and historical society microfilm provided many details.

October 1994 article for Muzzle Blasts describing early English trade guns, their role in the fur trade and the English gun trade, with contemporary copies by Jack Brooks. Copies available from the NMLRA, call (812) 667 5131

As my interests moved back through generations of gunmakers to earlier times, articles and a book looked at work from 1750 to 1775.

My research on the life of William Antes, early Pennsylvania gunsmith – first published in the Kentucky Rifle Association Bulletin – Vol 31, #2, Winter 2004, illustrated with a variety of rifles by Wm. Antes and his contemporaries. Copies available from the KRA, email to iinfo@kentuckyrifleassociation.org

Good friend Scott Gordon found this letter from early Pennsylvania gunsmith Christian Oerter, and we worked together on translation and context. This information was first published in the Kentucky Rifle Association Bulletin – Vol 38, #1, Fall 2011. Copies available from the KRA, email to info@kentuckyrifleassociation.org

A recent article published in American Tradition – Vol 5, #1, Winter 2014 uses records from the Moravian gunshops at Bethlehem and Christian’s Spring to show the variety of gun repair and new work performed. Careful recreations of original rifles by Jack Brooks illustrate the different price points. Copies available with membership in the Contemporary Longrifle Association – email at cla@longrifle.com or call (540) 886 6189.

Our first book – Moravian Gunmaking of the American Revolution was a group effort, made possible by the Kentucky Rifle Association and their Foundation. It is close to sold out. Work on a second volume and other projects is ongoing.

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Over thirty years of research and three years in preparation Same format as our first book but larger, 224 pages with more fine arms and more history Focused on the gunshops at Bethlehem and Christian’s Spring from 1750 to 1790 Year by year review of shops, tools and materials, men and boys and the world around them Rifle and pistol stocked in Germany as example of what Albrecht and Beck learned there Thirteen rifles or smooth rifles, a long fowler and pair of pistols from the gunshops, including new color photos of the Edward Marshall rifle and a related smooth rifle, Shumway’s #43, all known Oerter rifles including the smooth rifle in Windsor Castle and two “new” 1774 Oerter rifles never seen before! Six additional and very interesting long arms that seem related Details, sketches and dimensions to aid students and contemporary gunstockers Available in late spring 2018 Here is a small part of the story of the birth and development of the Kentucky rifle, and of our art and history as expressed upon this common tool. The book is now available on the Kentucky Rifle Foundation's website at  http://kentuckyriflefoundation.org/ or contact the Kentucky Rifle Foundation, 844 Round Hill Rd, Winchester, VA 22602