I think they called it a Kentucky Rifle for the same reason people call the Lunar Rover the Lunar Rover. It’s not because it was made on the Moon but because that’s where it was made to be used. Many of the rifles were made to be used in the Kentucky lands, which was pretty everything west of PA and VA back then.

With a beautiful wood stock, you don't need another of engraving to beautify the weapon, the stock stands out all by itself, beautiful all on its own.

Love seeing the flintlocks on the channel. My ancestors were William and Felix Settle, rifle makers out of Barren and Glasgow county,Kentucky. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to purchase two Felix Settle rifles and have one barrel and one stock. I’m always on the search for them. Thanks for all your content and hard work doing so

Remember when a man who knew how to shoot proficiently with a rifle was an honorable characteristic in this country?

Having you make videos like this makes me happy. I am a few years older than you and I only shoot muzzle guns anymore. Life slows down when you get older and you like to savor experience. 🤗🐻

This is so much more interesting than a glock or AR vid.

Very good video on flintlocks. I didn't start shooting flintlocks until I was in my 60's, Sure wish I had started a lot earlier. Along with longbows, flintlocks are all I hunt with and shoot anymore. As you mentioned, the history behind them is fascinating. It is pure American history that is not taught in our schools now a days. Thank you for delving into the history a little.

Favorite hobby wood project I have ever made was the Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit. Not very demanding, lots of sanding, and so satisfying.

I am writing from faraway Chechnya. Hickok, I wish you good health. I don't understand English, but I always enjoy watching your videos. By the way, I wrote with the help of a Yandex translator, so I apologize for the mistakes.

I've got a .54 with a Siler lock and 42" Getz... George Suiter, Jon Laubach and I had our roles in building the gun. It came about when I had the opportunity to work in the gunsmith shop at Williamsburg. Best job experience I ever had and that rifle has a lot of meaning to me... and it's about time to see something similar here! 😉

The long rifle is truly American. Rifling came from Germany but was frowned upon at first by Britain/France since it took longer to load. The long barrel combined with rifling made it extremely effective at hunting and later during unconventional war (Britain tried to disarm the colonists would ya know). It was hand made by gunsmiths here in the backwoods of America, rather than being shipped in with restrictions to colonists. There's too much history here to post but it's very rich. The Long Rifle is the true basic name. Then depending on where it was made people attached their home colony to it. From my understanding a long rifle was on average 44-76 inches long

I always had a soft spot for muzzleloading rifles. Beautiful piece

There's a hole in the bucket dear Liza dear Liza. I remember getting the 10,000 page Dixie gun works catalog back in the 80's. It wasn't 10,000 pages but it was a big one. They were in TN if I remember correctly. I bought a black powder rifle kit from them. My dad and I put it together. We had a lot of fun shooting it. I think it's time to get another one. I'm glad I saw this video. Happy Safe Shooting 🇺🇸💪.

One of the reasons why you are shooting so well with this rifle is a matter of the Design. Take a look at how deeply notched the barrel is for the flash pan. This is an innovation invented by a Gunsmith named Joseph Manton, who darned near founded the British Sporting Gun industry. Some of his staff were named Purdey, Greener, and Boss. Doing this reduced the lock time of a gun because it make the flash hole shorter in length. Because the speed of the flame front for burning black powder slows down in a closed channel. Shorter lock time means that less time between when the flash pan is lit and the charge in the barrel fires.

I love watching you’re content! I feel like I’m hanging out with my grandpa! Much love to you and yours🙏

I would have loved to have a grandpa like Hickok to spend time with as a child. Both of mine died before I had any memories of them. Always thought I missed out on a special relationship not having them around.

Love watching you shoot flintlocks and you have a beauty. I have a jim kibler rifle kit in 58 caliber colonial coming I'm so excited!

FINALLY I LOVE YOU HICKOCK! ive been waiting on the long rifle review for years haha. Ive been watching you since i was just a young lad around 2011-2012. You've taught me almost everything i know about guns and the history of them! Youre the best!

I find these old flintlocks so fascinating myself.......its the theatre of preparing for each shot that makes it so much more special.

The legendary rifle that was trusted and used for so many years by the frontiersman such as Hugh Glass. After re-watching "The Revenant" recently, I've become more fascinated with these historical firearms.

My friend put together three nice CVA reproduction kits back in the 80s of the classic Early American black powder rifles one for my dad and one for each of my uncles All of them have now passed on and they have left two of them to me my dad’s Hawken 50 and Uncle Jerry’s 45 cal Kentucky Long Rifle Both are mounted over my mantle along with a deer rack and two Bear and Son Bowies I never shot the rifles but my friend who smithed them did and he said they shot wonderfully Thanks for another fine video and for your wonderful way of instructing with humor and care And thanks for your patriotism I have loved your work for many years

Current SDI student. We just started muzzle loading and wood working course. They don't give you a Kentucky rifle kit but I bought one for myself. They are easy to build but it's easier after taking the course. Love you Hickock your like a cool grandpa for me

My go-to rifle for flintlock season is a .54 caliber. One of my favorite firearms, and one of the most fun to shoot.

We were at Friendship as well! I got into flintlocks a year ago, and now have a rifled.50 and .54, and a smoothbore 20 gauge - it's the funnest damn thing I've ever shot, and the most addictive!! Great video and info - every man needs a flintlock!

I also live 45 minutes away from friendship indiana. Have been going there for years but after watching your videos I have a whole new appreciation for muzzleloading and Flint locks

The joy of flintlock shooting comes with a good lock and well set touch hole. Then just learn to follow through each shot. Truly love walking the woods with my Rupp. Welcome to the love of flintlocking.

Love your videos on historic firearms.

Love your show Mr Hickok. You always have something to say that makes me want to look deeper into what you are talking about. I'm surprized that Netflix or Amazon haven't given you a call.

The speed to the gong is incredible.

Beautiful rifle. I like what you did with the shooting bench to prevent the rifles falling over.

Your channel was among the first I sub’d to which inspired my trajectory into the community. Infinite respect to you good sir!

As the founding fathers intended...

Good day Hickok. Really enjoyed the Long Rifle video! My Dad introduced me to shooting muzzleloaders back in the early '70s. We lived in Monterey Tennessee at Bee Rock. Soon, we had a group of 20 or so folks shooting one Sunday a month for a few years. It was great fun for a kid in highschool. My Dad and Mom both shot. We started out with TC Hawkins caplock rifles. We shot for years. Mom and Dad have gone on to the "happy hunting grounds". Dad in 1997, Mom in 2004, but they gave me a great love for firearms, shooting, and hunting for which I will always be thankful! My first flintlock was a Dixie Gunworks 32 caliber Tennessee Squirrel Rifle. Love it and still shoot it today. A few years ago I was hunting with my friend Norman Bates. He was carrying a really nice flintlock built by John D Anderson of Tullahoma, Tennessee. Long story short, I met John and had him build me an iron fitted flintlock Tennessee rifle in 54 caliber with a curley maple stock, banana shaped patchbox, and a hooked breach to make it easier to clean. Overall the rifle is about 57" long, and I affectionately call it "Thumper". Thanks again for sharing your beautiful long rifle with us!

This is the content that made me start watching your channel!

I love it when you get the smoke poles out especially one as pretty as this I have to say hands down one of the best looking ones I've seen and were a big black powder flintlock hunting and shooting family

SDI actually does have a Black Powder section in their curriculum. It's one of the projects for their Associates in Firearms Technology program. Beautiful Long Riffle you got there, sir!

Flintlocks are fun to shoot, the whole process of loading the gun is part of the experience. I just recently put together a Kibler Colonial American Longrifle 54-caliber the barrel is either 43 and 1/4 or 3/4 I don't remember which. And I couldn't be happier with it. Beautiful curly maple stock, the lock time is extremely fast and reliable. And the gun is way more accurate than I am but that's not a bad thing, I can still hit everything I want to shoot within reasonable distance. And I've been shooting real black powder long enough to know that contrary to what some people think, its easy to clean. Thanks for sharing this rifle with us.

Such a graceful weapon. So beautiful that they are a work of art.

Anyone would have the time of their lives getting a chance to shoot at his range. Great vid yet again love these older collector style beauties.👌🏽👌🏽

I always learn something new when watching these videos .. Buck and Ball was a good one too

Haven't even had the chance to watch it yet but I can already tell that this is gonna be the best Hickok45 video made!

One of your best videos. Mr. Hickok, and a really nice rifle

What a beautiful rifle! Guess you are a musketeer now, mister H ! That big knife on the table is a beauty too, by the way. Thanks for sharing 👍

It’s a Pennsylvania long rifle. It wasn’t called a Kentucky long rifle until after the battle of New Orleans, where the poem, the Hunters of Kentucky” was written to commentate Andrew Jackson’s win at the battle of New Orleans. In the poem/song the “The long rifles of Kentucky “ is mentioned. Hence, Kentucky rifle was used to describe any long “rifled “ gun. Jackson use the song by having it played during his campaign in 1824.

Ahhh a Flintlock shooting the holy black! Congrats on getting a real beauty!

I think one of the reasons these were used for so long (and still appeal to many today) is because of economics. On the frontier, making purchases at a trading post was not a reliable occasion; thus, having a weapon that did not rely on primers, brass, or other expendable items was preferable. Newer, cartridge rifles may have been technologically superior, but they were not economically superior. With a humble amount of gunpowder and some lead, a frontiersman armed with a Kentucky rifle could protect and provide for his family without worrying as much about limited supplies.

Really enjoy this content! There was a short lived show on history/discovery of a good fella that forged his own locks and handmade the guns. Interesting stuff seeing how these things are made and operate

Always wonderful to watch anything to do with BP. Love it

“FlintLock Life”….. Great quote!! We Love you Hickok45🇺🇸🏕

I remember, what, two or three years back, the long range rifle videos you did, maxing out your available range distance. Would be great to see such a video with something like this.

I put together a CVA kit in 85 . I've been hooked ever since.

What was it Hank Sr. said ?… my buckets got a hole in it and I can’t buy no beer 🍺! This is a rifle for every man’s wish list.

Great video as always. I have a Long rifle that I put together last spring. It's patterned after a Whitson rifle from western North Carolina, it has a 44 inch swamped barrel in 45 caliber. It's a great rifle. It shoots better than I can.

Beautiful piece of art!

thank you hickox for featuring the longrifle side of shooting . great job........

I have a Dreppard Landcaster/Kentucky smooth bore brass fitted flintlock long rifle. Brass butt plate, patch box, side plate and nose cap. Just a beautiful piece of art and has full engraving on all brass and iron. I feel fortunate to own it.

I own 4 Flinch Locks and love them! It's just the Love for the Gun! Great Job!

I have a few black powder guns. I love them. More fun than the modern rifles to shoot.

Feels good when Hickok uploads

Nice presentation!!!

Really perdy, I started shooting and hunting with patch and round ball 30+ years ago and have never looked back, great video thank you Sr.

Great video. My son wants to get into flintlock rifles. What blows his mind that even though we live in Western Pennsylvania, at the time these were common, we would be living in the wild frontier. Again, thanks for the informative video.

Are those Jon’s Guitar hangers??😅 Great cross useful adaptation!! Absolutely Love these old rifles!!! Keep giving us more history!! You are a great Presenter!!

Love going out in PA for the late flintlock season. It's a tradition

Welcome to the flinchlock longrifle club! Beautiful gun. Nothing is more satisfying than hunting with and shooting a flintlock for me.

I have never known they were actually Philadelphia rifles. Never to old to learn something. Good stuff!

Great video thanks Hickok 45

I had the same love/dislike for Flinchlock rifles but after a few years of close disciplined loading the pan only and seeing the flash before my eyes really helped me to be patient with follow through and also becoming numbafied to the things that cause inaccuracy with the Flintlock rifles. I was totally disgusted with the flintlock until I developed that method of shooting. Now I can hold a 2.5" group with the two flintlocks whereas I shoot 1.250" groups at 50 yards with the percussion rifles which are inherently easier to shoot. I'm now hooked like you Greg and thoroughly enjoy Flinchlock rifles as an old man should. Thanks for the video and lets see more of them on the Flintlock! I'll tell Charlie Haffner you said Hey!

Great video as usual. Took a deer in Illinois’s late season with my Pensilvania cap lock for the first time this year. Been hunting for over 20 yrs and it was the most fun I’ve ever had in the field. Can’t wait to expand into a flintlock after I save some money for one. Beautiful rifle I prefer the iron.

I shoot the first Sunday of each month at our local club a rifle I built .54 cal percussion, 31-inch-long Green-Moutain 1-60 twist barrel, Siler lock with set-triggers, silver front blade and Buck horn rear and a full-length stock that uses many different design features. It will put 5-shots into a 2-inch group from a bench at 100-yards. We'll shot 25 shots at 5 different targets off-hand at ranges from 75 down to 25 yards or do the playing card split. The 230-grain patched round ball over 60-grains Triple-7 for plinking. Hunting load 1800 fps using 100-grains triple-7 FFg powder.

Fifty-some years ago, I had an unbranded kit .54 flintlock pistol - and it was a blast (literally) to shoot. Five or six years after I sold it, I bought another unnamed black powder .48 cap and ball musket, that used #11 caps. While I really liked the flintlock, that delay really gave me trouble. The musket, however, had negligible delay, and I was using FFFg for the propellent and a patched .45 ball. I don't really remember the powder load I used, but I remember thinking my 12ga. felt like a .22 compared to it.

I built a little matchlock pistol for fun when I was around 19. That got me hooked and years later I had a super accurate gun cal. 2mm with electric ignition. I had to destroy it later since it's not legal where I live.

Hi Hickok45 Very nice Flintlock, Very cool 💥💥💥

I've never been interested in muzzleloading or flintlocks but after watching several of your videos I'm becoming quite interested in them

That flintlock is beautiful man!

What a beautiful rifle! I have a .50 caliber percussion rifle and it’s a lot of fun to shoot. Looking forward to buying a flintlock.

Awesome video. Thanks for the history lesson.

A lot of shooters underestimate the abilities of these classics. I own a beautiful replica of Kit Carson's rifle (right down to the metallurgy, hardness index, stock, rifling, buckhorn' sights, etc., in .53 caliber bore. In a document case somewhere I have the range marshal signed, winning 100 yard 'open' match target showing a 3 round group which looks like Mickey Mouse:) i.e., one hole with two very small 'bumps' for 'ears'. Center to center? I seem to remember it being measured at around .2, like I said, the ears are just barely bumps. I've kept the target, cause this was an 'OPEN" match- my fixed iron sights, against all shooters, including scoped modern rifles :) Talk about shocked expressions LOL. This all took place many years ago at the old Los Angeles Range.

Hey! You're getting pretty good with that thing! I'm like you. One of the first muzzle loaders I owned was a hand built flinter, but it wasn't by someone who knew what he was doing and I could pick those things out now. Following that I put together kits and and scrabled together some pretty good replicas with parts from parts houses. But none of them flint locks. Now I'm putting together my first flintlock. Wish me luck. Congratulations on that very nice rifle. Nothing wrong with that flinter.

Thanks for the history

Great video as usual it's nice for someone to tell about the Pennsylvania long rifle . I advise everybody to least try it if you're interested in making them there are people like Jim kibler and Jim chambers that make nice kits that are very easy to do and rewarding to make your own rifle to Hunt and shoot with something that you made

I love that sound, flash boom!!

I have been reading a book on Daniel Boone recently, and the author stated that they were in fact first developed in Pennsylvania. So I suppose if you want to get technical, "Pennsylvania Long Rifle" is the truest name. It would be very interesting to go hunting with one. I just would not try it against something like a bear. lol. Great video as always, by the way!

Enjoyable! Beautiful rifle.

Hickok45, You need a 3 grain charging flask! I make them out of antler and ebony wood and would be happy to send you one. Let me know where to send and it'll be on it's way! Great video, thanks for sharing!!!

Those are real nice. I have a hawken flintlock I built out of a kit. It’s a tack driver as long as you keep a steady hand

Have a great Friday folks!

Depending on the lock time, few guns can compete with a muzzleloader for speed of the mag dump.

I have a Tennessee mountain rifle. It’s a fifty cal and is very accurate. I shoot prb out of it. Works for me

I have an Early Lancaster school longrifle that I built 10 years ago or so from Chambers parts. 54 caliber, 44" swamped Getz barrel, curly maple stock, carved and a wooden patch box. I was able to finally kill a deer with it last year, which was really awesome. The flintlock gets into your blood. I have no desire to ever shoot another cap lock muzzleloader again. And if you learn the gun and how to properly prime the pan, you can get the delay down to nearly nothing. Great video, and cool to see you have success with it after the struggle. 👍🏼

I've owned three flintlock longrifles in my life. One .45 caliber, one .50 caliber, and one .62 caliber. All three rifles were equipped with large, right-hand, Siler flintlocks. ALL three locks were assembled and tuned by the gunsmith who built the rifles. The .45 caliber barrel was a Golden Age Arms stamped barrel manufactured by Douglas, with a 1:48" rate of twist. It was a straight octagon barrel, and measured 13/16" across the flats × 40" long. The .50 and .62 caliber barrels were manufactured by Don Getz. Both barrels measured 42" long, had a swamped profile, were rifled with a 1:48" rate of twist, and were purchased with the optional factory coned muzzles. The powder charges for the rifles were, respectively, 55 grains, 65 grains, and 75 grains. I shot 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's GOEX fffg black powder in all three rifles. I shot hand cast, pure lead balls surrounded by 100% cotton denim blue jeans material that I purchased from a fabric store. The balls measured 0.445", 0.495", and 0.615" in diameter, and respectively weighed approximately 132 grains, 182 grains, and 330 grains. Once tuned for optimal accuracy, which *WAS NOT* a maximum powder charge, all three longrifles, which were made by three different builders, were capable of repeated, sub-M.O.A. 5-shot accuracy, off of a bench, at 100 yards. All three rifles could be shot, ad infinitum, in any humidity conditions, without requiring any wiping of the bore. The average number of offhand shots that I took when shooting at the range was usually somewhere around 30-40. I *NEVER* cleaned any of the three rifles until I got home.. The greatest number of shots that I ever shot consecutively without wiping was with the steel-mounted .62 caliber longrifle on a day where I was stump shooting as I wandered aimlessly around my friends' heavily wooded property. I shot somewhere north of 85 shots on that humid, 90° Fahrenheit plus summer day in Maryland with oppressive humidity hovering close to the 100% mark. Anyway, that's a good-looking iron-mounted longrifle, and a .54 caliber pure lead ball will kill anything up to, and including, a grizzly bear; although most experienced muzzleloading round ball shooters would opt for a larger diameter lead ball if they were deliberately hunting grizzly bears.

I have a 3/4 stock Pennsylvania with about a 44” barrel, 1/60” twist, in .50 with a percussion side hammer “mule ear” lock. A nice shooter! They are a hoot, you done real nice shooting yours! That is one nice piece,

What a beauty!

There's an old documentary on youtube called "the gunsmiths of Williamsburg" fantastic watch I highly recommend it.

Sir, the secret to quickest ignition with a Flintlock is in the pan priming. Only about 2 grain of 4f and keep it to the outside of the pan away from the flash hole. Delays come when pan powder must burn its way thru to the main charge. I enjoy your videos, keep it up. God Bless

AFAIK there are nuances in the styles between Pennsylvania and Kentucky long rifles. The design certainly evolved and gunsmiths added personal style and practicality to their guns. But either way you have a fine looking long rifle.

I shoot steels at 100 yards with my Deerstalker Flintlock rifle 24" 50cal round ball at 70gr. I love it. I also instruct for the BSA at camporees and other events with a T/C Firestorm with a 28" barrel 50cal round ball. To conserve powder for the scouts I only load the minimum at 50gr but they're shooting targets at 50 feet. They love the sound and smoke.

I love the older ones, love to see them. Keep up your great work, all styles are interesting, but I like the old or the weird. Maby you could get one of Military Herritage matchlock musket.....or for the weird, the trailblazer life card 22, or an altor single shot 9mm whatever, just keep up the good work thanks

Such beautiful guns.

I had a Navy Arms 1803 Harpers Ferry Rifle. Boy was I good at having all kinds of problems with it. From too much lube killing the powder charge, not picking the vent hole enough, discovering that you have to reharden the frizzen from time to time, etc it was a blast. But sold it for some other project and still miss it. Finally found a 1792 Contract Rifle repro to replace it.