This fine quality contemporary Lancaster County Pennsylvania longrifle is stocked in curly maple and trimmed in brass furniture. This attractive rifle has a Germanic influence on the lock and brass furniture. The daisy head brass patchbox is hand engraved and the stock is attractively raised carved with smooth clean backgrounds. The .40 caliber Green Mountain swamped barrel is mated to a large Siler flintlock. and double set triggers. Fit, finish, engraving, and raised carving are all very well executed. The barrel is signed by contemporary builder R. Dietz. This rifle is used and has a few small marks on the finish at the breech and lock from firing and cleaning. The brass furniture, other than areas that are frequently handled have aged to a speckled patina. Trigger reach is 13-1/2" to fit a today's average size shooter. Weight is 8 pounds and it balances nicely due to the swamped barrel.

The heart of the rifle is a .45 caliber by 42" Green Mountain swamped octagon barrel. The swamped barrel is thickest at the breech for strength, tapers to a narrow waist to reduce weight, and flares at the muzzle to align sights. The .40 caliber bore is cut rifled with eight lands and grooves with a 1 in 56" twist for a tightly patched round ball. The bore is bright and has been well maintained. Green Mountain Barrels are machined from high quality American made bar stock, A.I.S.I. 1137 modified, stress relieved, annealed, certified rifle barrel quality steel. All barrels are drilled from solid stock, reamed to a high degree of smoothness, then optically checked for straightness. Very close tolerances are maintained. The breech end of the barrel is fitted with a patent style breech that adds about 1" to the barrel length. The top flat is signed R. W. Dietz 2009 with decorative flowers to either side. A Germanic style flat top rear sight with decorative finial is dovetailed 11" ahead of the breech. The sight has a flat top and square blade that is nearly as wide as the barrel. A steel bead front sight is dovetailed behind the muzzle, the front sight appears to be hand made for this rifle. The bead gives a very good sight picture with the rear sight, but does have a more modern appearance than the rifle. The barrel is finished to a dark brown and does have a few small handling marks as well as normal wear at the breech from firing and cleaning.

The figured maple stock is trimmed in brass furniture, which has aged to a mellow patina over the years. The buttstock is fitted with a tall, wide, buttplate. The buttstock has a long straight comb in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania influence. Raised carving defines the transition from wrist to comb. The carving on this rifle is very well done with smooth clean backgrounds. The buttstock is fitted with a daisy head brass patchbox, common to the Lancaster County region. The patchbox door is a side opening design, which was used by a few Lancaster County makers. The patchbox is neatly hand engraved with fine line engraving. A panel of raised carved scrolls decorates the stock around the flared thumbnail tang of the breech plug. The lock panels gently taper widest at the rear in early long gun fashion. The stock has a small amount of cast-off for a right hand shooter. Cast-off places the right hand shooter's eye directly behind the line of sight, making this gun instinctive to point and shoot.

The toe of the rifle is decorated with fine line hand engraving on the brass toeplate. The triggerguard is neatly hand filed with crisp flats. The triggerguard is mounted in Golden Age longrifle fashion with two pins. The ramrod pipes have a Germanic influence with a paneled body and round ends. The ramrod entry pipe is accented with raised carving around the skirt. The carving continues as a raised molding until the relief at the end to allow easy access to the ramrod end. The ramrod is fitted with a brass tip with 8-32 threads for loading accessories. If you plan to fire this fine rifle. We suggest a separate loading and cleaning ramrod to save wear on this well fitted ramrod. The side panel is fitted with a Germanic style sideplate with a square tail The sideplate has aged to a mellow speckled patina. The buttstock is shaped with a cheek piece with molded edge. Raised carved C scrolls show the artistry of Mr. Dietz as they flow down from the wist and around the cheek piece. All the carving is very clean with smooth backgrounds.

This rifle is fitted with a large Siler flintlock. This lock is modeled after a fine hand made original lock by the famous American gunmaker, Jacob Dickert. Few other American gunmakers made their own locks. Most flint locks were imported from England or Europe, for use by American gunmakers. The lock is finished to a purple heat blue, and is neatly hand engraved. The lock finish shows some normal wear from firing and cleaning. We recommend using our best 3/4" flints in this lock. The double lever double set triggers are tuned to fire from the set, or unset position. The lock can be cocked, or the triggers set, in any sequence. Adjust the screw between the two triggers, inboard to reduce set trigger release pressure, our outboard to require a stronger pressure. The set trigger can provide very light release, perhaps an ounce or two, for accurate aimed shooting during pleasant weather. The stainless steel vent liner is positioned high above the bottom of the pan, for fastest ignition. Fitted with a deep internal cone this liner is designed to bring the main charge close to the priming charge, producing fast ignition. The area around the vent shows typical wear in the brown finish from firing and cleaning.

A fine example of a contemporary longrifle with a curly maple stock with expertly executed raised carving. Metal to wood fit is excellent with tight inletting. The rifle has been used and shows some wear in the finish typical of firing and cleaning. 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 same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.