Leman Trade Rifle

[Hueco]

In my collection the rifle calibers vary between .32 and .58
The average being .47 caliber.

For the "Plains Rifles " / "Mountain Rifles" / Western Fur Trade Rifles , in my collection the calibers are :
.45 takes a .454 round ball / .50 ( x3 ) takes a .490 round ball / .53 takes a .520 round ball / .58 take a .570 round ball
I do have a St. Louis rifle made by a company associated with the Western Fur Trade in .32 caliber...
It was probably made for the local trade...and not meant as Plains or Mountain rifle.
Andy

Is there any correlation between the caliber and the region/game or was it basically just personal preference of the trapper?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Is there any correlation between the caliber and the region/game or was it basically just personal preference of the trapper?

Short answer depends....

Since most trappers worked for a fur outfit....the fur outfit provided the guns and equipment to hunt , trap and trade.

Most Trade Rifles used about a .50 to about a .54 caliber round ball
This made it a bit easier for the trading outfits to supply ready made round ball
Most Trade Guns were in 20 , 24 or 28 gauge...again easy to supply ready made round ball
Most Trade Rifles and Trade Guns were also sold / traded with the proper size round ball mold.

That said many trappers carried their own rifle ...which could be a different caliber.
Again this trapper would have a mold to make round ball of the correct size. for his rifle.
Andy

 

[DunRanull]

A co-worker years ago hunted with a gun from the Michigan trade era- flinter, 20 gauge (believe it was .56 cal, IIRC). He did take deer with it and it may have been a smooth bore. For the heck of it he sometimes used modern shot cups. Goes without saying that I was a little bit envious of that gun.. He also hunted waterfowl and upland game with a "fowling piece"... Me, Ive stuck with a couple of "buffalo guns" in the modern "Hawken" style- one a flinter- and a perc double 12 gauge made by Pedersoli, actually my nicest shotgun by weight, looks, and "feel"...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@DunRanull
I have a nice 20 gauge fowler...that I use to hunt with .
Maybe a thread about that gun might be fun....
Those Pedersoli side x sides are very nice.
Andy

 

[98sporty]

So I posted this pictures of this rifle before...just thought that I would add more detail to the description.

View attachment 711414
Henry Leman Trade Rifle Circa late 1830's.
.50 caliber percussion full stock rifle.
1-60 twist , 42 inch barrel , maple stock , single trigger and a cap box.
Henry Leman made rifles from 1834 -1887 Leman's factory was in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

A note or two about Trade Rifles and Leman rifles...
A Trade Rifle was a rifle made to be used / sold or traded in the fur trade.
These rifles were used as personal rifles by fur traders and trappers as well as being traded to the tribes for furs , hides , horses etc...
Many companies made Trade Rifles J.Henry , Dickert , Fordney , Derringer and many others as well as Leman.

Henry Leman was a prolific rifle maker....But...
He had a factory...so lots of folks actually made Leman rifles...one guy was a stock maker...another guy worked on assembling the locks...someone else made barrels...etc..
It was a true assembly line process.
Also Leman sold parts such as locks and barrels....so just 'cause a rifle has a Leman marked lock or barrel...does not mean that the rifle is a Leman rifle...you gotta look at the whole rifle and see if it fits in with a actual Leman rifle's style.
Leman made two basic Trade Rifles...one with a full stock and one with a half stock.
Both have some basic forms that make for a distinctive Leman look.

View attachment 711416
The Ashmore lock..
Originally a flintlock , this lock was converted to percussion...if one look close you can see the brass pins in the screw holes , where the frizzen spring was located.
I think that this lock was converted to percussion , then fitted to this rifle...I do not think that the rifle was a flintlock.
Ashmore was a English Gunmaker from 1827 - 1855...many American rifles used imported English locks.

View attachment 711417

View attachment 711418
The rear and front sights.
18th and 19th century rifle had low sights....much lower than the sights commonly seen on today's replicas , recreations and reproduction rifles.
Why...?
I do not know for sure...
Lots of armchair reasons out there...such as low sights won't snag on brush etc.....
I think it was just style...as in firearm styling and shooting style.
The low sights are quick to align and make for "easy" snap shooting...they do however suffer from "heat mirage"
( becoming blurry) with extended shooting.

View attachment 711419

The capbox...used to hold percussion caps or shooting patches.
These come in many styles...the one seen here is very typical of a Leman rifle.

Also note the stripe pattern....its very pretty.
Just like today...folks in the 19th century like a good looking rifle.
Leman knew this and often artificially stripped his rifle stocks....this one is done with stain applied to the stock to simulate natural curl , before the actual finish was done.
Some folks say that he heated a thin metal rod and scorched his stocks....I have never seen a Leman rifle stock that was made that way.

Well I hope y'all enjoyed a little more detailed look at this rifle and that I didn't bore ya too much.
Andy

Thanks for the info. I have a GRRW .54 Trade rifle. Feel lucky to have found it.
I also like the appearance of that stock. Would like to know the technique. whatever it was, it was obviously time consuming and representative of the builder's dedication to his rifle building art.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@98sporty
Thanks for the kind words bout my rifle.
Those GRWW rifles are very nice for sure.

As for the finish....
Any of the original Leman rifles that I have seen , to include mine...
It appeared to be a stain to make the curl....with maybe a light line , very lightly craved into the stock , with stain applied.
Never seen any thing like scorch marks from heat.

It would have been time consuming for sure , no matter how it was done.
Andy

 

[tac]

While we are talking about older guns, I was walking around the village late last year when I saw a young lady selling old books outside her house. It was a very old house that, AFAIK, has always been rented out to rich American service personnel of Major/Lt Col rank - I picked out three books instantly. Seems her dad, whom I have never seen, was a shooter back at home in the US, and not at all here in yUK. If only he had known that there was another shooter just around the corner!

Such is life.

Anyhow, here are the three books, a nice little selection of BP-related reading material including the best of the lot - 'The Plains Rifles' by Charles E Hanson Jnr. I handed over exactly what the young lady asked for - £1.50 for the three books. That's just under $2 at that time.



All three are mint inside, too. I reckon I did pretty well on the deal. I never got to see her dad, he was stateside at the time of the sale and they had gone next time I looked.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@tac
Hanson's book The Plains Rifle is a real find....Neat books you got there...
Andy

 

[tac]

Yup, it is a very informative book sure enough, with hundreds of useful pics. I'm not surprised to see that lot of folks have a copy in their library. I've never seen one for sale in this country so I guess the original owner must have brought it with him when he came here. I would like to have met with him even introduced him to our gun club and got him shooting. He could easily have had a smooth-bore on a shotgun 'ticket' the easiest way of getting into BP shooting here in yUK. I would have refereed him for sure.