This Jaeger rifle is representative of those Germanic rifles which influenced the design of the early American longrifles. This Jaeger, which literally translates to “hunter,” has a large caliber octagon-to-round barrel. The maple stock is trimmed in brass furniture. A single trigger is mated to a round face lock. The round faced lock has a slight banana shape design found on early flintlocks. This rifle has a stepped wrist with a considerable amount of drop from the line of sights. Trigger reach is 12-3/4". This shorter length of pull has a very correct appearance, and should fit today's average size shooter well. Weight is 7.2 pounds.
The octagon-to-round barrel is 33" long. The barrel is thickest at the breech, tapers to a single wedding band and flares slightly at the muzzle. The .62 caliber bore is cut rifled with eight lands and grooves with a slow twist for a tightly patched round ball. The bore is bright and clean. The barrel is finished to a lightly textured patina finish. The breech end is decoratively filed with a wedding band. A long base rear sight staked to a dovetail base is mounted 9" ahead of the breech. The front sight is round base with two half moon ears soldered to the barrel with a bone insert mounted in between the ears. The bone insert is just held in with tension and can be removed.
The buttstock has about 2-3/4" of drop from the line of sight. The buttstock is fitted with a wide flat buttplate to spread the recoil of the .62 caliber bore. The buttplate has a long decorative comb decorated with stippled engraving. The nickel silver thumbpiece has a shield with a crown shape. The buttstock blends into the wrist with a pronouned step at the transitions. Both of these architectural details are features that early German immigrant gunmakers brought to America. The buttstock is fitted with a sliding wood patchbox, another feature common to German rifles. The door is shaped with a bullet shaped nose and molding along the edge and inset bone inlay. Compress the button in the center toward the door lid to allow the door to slide to the rear. Beneath the door is a large cavity for storing loading and cleaning accessories, and it contains homemade worm, ballpuller, and fouling scraper.
The buttstock is shaped with a square toe, and fitted with a sling swivel button. The forward "U" shaped swivel correctly rests against the middle ramrod pipe to prevent the swivel from blocking the ramrod channel. No sling is included. The triggerguard is shaped from wood, which is not uncommon on Germanic rifles. The triggerguard has a brass inlay that extends from the forearm along the bow and grip rail. The forearm is decorated with raised carving and a bone inlay. The ramrod entry pipe is shaped with a tapered skirt and the end has a crenelated appearance. The two forward ramrod pipes have the same shape. The forearm carving transitions into a raised molding along the edge of the ramrod channel. The tapered wooden ramrod is fitted with a steel tip threaded to accept 10-32 cleaning and loading accessories. The buttstock is shaped with a square cheek with inlaid bone. The cheek is flanked with raised carving on either side of the cheek piece. The side panel is fitted with a large bone side plate that fills the side panel in Germanic fashion. Two large domed head lock bolts pass through the stock to engage the lock on the opposite side.
The round faced lock is finished to a speckled gray patina. This early 1700's design is shaped with a slight banana shape that droops toward the wrist. Later locks tend to be straighter in shape. The lock has been reshaped from a Jim Chambers Virginia fowler lock, so parts are readily available if ever needed. We recommend our #FLINT-ENG-7 7/8" knapped English gun flints for best performance. The lock is mated to a single trigger. A White Lightnin' stainless steel touch hole liner is mounted to the barrel. Shaped with a deep internal cone the liner brings the main charge as close as possible to the priming charge, speeding ignition and increasing reliability.
This Jaeger rifle is used with a few minor handling marks on the stock. The bore is bright and has been well maintained. The stock architecture may not suit all tastes. 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.
