A classic American flintlock, this Virginia long rifle was built by contemporary maker David Kuyper and is signed on the patchbox and barrel. Stocked in a lovely piece of curly maple, the stock is decorated with raised and incised carving. Mr. Kuyper has hand-forged all of the furniture on the rifle, which in turn has been fire blued. The accents on the patchbox, wrist, and cheek piece are sterling silver. With an overall weight of 8.6 pounds, the rifle has a trigger reach of 13-1/2” and is perfectly suited for the average modern-era-sized shooter.

The swamped barrel was cut rifled by the Getz Barrel Company. The 44" barrel is thickest at the breech for strength, tapers to a narrow waist to reduce weight, and flares at the muzzle to align the sights. The .54 caliber bore is cut rifled with seven lands and square grooves with a slow twist for a patched round ball. The bore is bright and appears well maintained. The exterior of the barrel has been draw-filed smooth and finished to a deep fire-blued finish. The barrel is fitted with a flat-top rear sight dovetailed 11-1/2" ahead of the breech. Shooters with corrective lenses or "older" eyes will find the extra distance from the breech easier to use. The front sight is a silver blade with a brass base dovetailed behind the muzzle.

This attractive flint fullstock long rifle is trimmed in hand-forged iron furniture, which has been fire-blued to exhibit a wonderful contrast of dark blue with hints of yellow and red below. Stocked in an attractive piece of curly maple with narrowly spaced stripes of figure over the length of the stock. The buttstock has a strong Germanic influence with a wide, tall, nearly flat buttplate in mid-18th-century style. It engages your shoulder to minimize the recoil of this. 54 caliber rifle. The stock appears to be dense, an ideal choice for raised carving. The raised cameo wrist, molding from the toe to trigger guard, and lock panels are all crisp with well-finished backgrounds. Notice the handmade iron patchbox in the butt of the rifle, it has been hand engraved and fire-blued like the rest of the furniture. The head of the patchbox is fitted with a sterling silver acorn. The square patchbox door has a spring catch at the base. The door is overlaid with a sterling silver oval engraved "This Rifle Made By D. Kuyper Gun Smith ". The hand-forged trigger guard is shaped with a large open bow and offset grip rail with a curled spoon on the end. Viewed from above, the tapered comb can be seen flaring rearward from the wrist. The wrist is fitted with a sterling silver oval initial plate, currently blank. A panel of raised and incised carving surrounds the flared tang of the breech plug.The carving has a folk art style and is very crisp and well executed with smooth backgrounds.

Our bottom view of the rifle shows off the hand-forged iron trigger guard of the gun. Note that no toeplate has been installed, leaving that delicate portion of the stock relatively unprotected. What protection is given is the buttplate sticks down below the bottom of the stock, allowing that area a small amount of protection from contacting the ground. The narrowly spaced figure is visible over the length of the stock. Further up on the forend of the rifle, the tapered wooden ramrod is held in position by three ramrod pipes, two forward and one entry. The ramrod channel is decorated with a raised and incised molding that terminates just behind the muzzle cap to provide access to the ramrod. The tapered ramrod is fitted with a steel tip with 8-32 threads for loading and cleaning accessories. The stock is rounded out with a forged iron muzzle cap at the forward end. Neatly executed, the cap provides protection for the end grain of the wood. The side panel is fitted with a hand-forged iron sideplate with a sterling silver point on the tail. The square cheek is inlaid with a sterling silver hunter's star with a matching open star in the center.To either side of the cheek, the stock is decorated with raised and incised carved scrolls.

The large, round-faced Virginia Fowler flintlock, sometimes called a "Queen Anne" lock, dates from the 1730 to 1760 period, well after Anne's reign ended. This fine fowler lock is finished bright in traditional fashion. The pan has a bridle arm to support the frizzen, not always found on early English locks. These early London-style locks are often found on Colonial American long rifles and fowlers. This lock was assembled and tuned by Jim Chambers, one of America's most respected lock and gun makers. We recommend our 7/8" knapped English flints for use with this lock. The rifle is fitted with Germanic-style double-set triggers with a large curled rear trigger. The triggers are tuned to fire set or unset. You may cock the lock before or after setting the triggers. Fast ignition is assured by the stainless steel vent liner, positioned well above the bottom of the pan, centered on the heat of the flash. If your flint long rifle suffers from that infamous slow whoosh-bang ignition delay, study the work of today's best gunmakers, and position your vent well centered on the pan, high above the bottom, to serve as a window on the center of the flash.

We recommend this attractive Virginia rifle for the French & Indian War era or Revolutionary War enthusiast. This long rifle is new and unfired, with only a few marks on the frizzen from the testing by the maker. Order it for a ten-day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for a same-day refund. Postage is your only risk when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.