A US MODEL 1819 HALL BREECH-LOADING RIFLE IN PERCUSSION

A US MODEL 1819 HALL BREECH-LOADING RIFLE IN PERCUSSION

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$3,295.00

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Item Code: 490-7457

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John Hancock Hall was born in Maine in 1781; little is known of Hall's early years. In March,1811, Hall secured a patent for a breechloading rifle design that featured a removable pivot-mounted breechblock.  Hall's Patent Rifle was a breechloader and could be loaded faster than a smoothbore and shoot accurately as a rifle. Most important was Hall's claim that the precision-manufactured machine-made parts for his rifle would be completely interchangeable, thus eliminating the need for skilled craftsmen to repair broken arms. Government testing was delayed by the War of 1812 and Hall turned to the production of sporting arms. In 1817, the U.S. Army asked Hall to produce 100 Hall's Patent Rifles for testing and evaluation. These hand-made examples were delivered that same year. At government invitation, Hall relocated his operations to the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, where he would produce additional examples. The Hall Patent Rifle was formally adopted by the government in 1819. Hall received an initial contract to produce 1,000 rifles but no rifles were assembled prior to 1824, at which time all 1,000 were completed. The government ordered an additional 1,000 rifles, and these were completed in just over one year. Hall received yet another government contract in 1828, this time for 3,000 rifles. Manufacture of these arms at Harpers Ferry continued until 1840, with a production total of nearly 20,000 rifles.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, not only were there the large numbers of Hall flintlock rifles in storage at Harpers Ferry but over 10,000 were in storage in other Federal Arsenals, North and South. It was apparently at this time that both Federal and Confederate ordnance officers started to look seriously at the alteration of these breechloading flintlock rifles to percussion.

Offered here is an excellent condition example of a 2nd production type US Percussion Altered Model 1819 Hall Rifle. The gun is a typical example of a “Northern” or “Federal” alteration. The breech block has been appropriately modified, polished and refinished, the new percussion hammer has been added the fence has been repurposed to serve as flash deflector. The breechblock is marked in four lines: "J.H. HALL" over "H. FERRY" over "US" over "1831". The markings are slightly weak due to the work done on the block during alteration, particularly the polishing prior to refinishing. This 1831 dated percussion altered Hall Rifle remains in nice crisp overall condition. The gun has an action that works exactly as it should and still seems to have a very tight gas seal. The breechblock locks tightly and securely into positions and the hammer locks crisply into both the half cock and full cock positions. The breechblock has a mottled blue and gray appearance, retaining strong amounts of the arsenal's reapplied case colors.

The 33-inch barrel of the rifle retains about 70% of the original period applied lacquer brown finish, with moderate amounts of thinning and wear.  The rifled bore is in excellent condition. The first 1 ½ inches of the bore is smooth, allowing bayonet use without the potential for damaging the rifling. The trigger guard, barrel bands, butt plate and other furniture all retain strong traces of their period lacquer browned finish. The original offset front sight and bayonet lug is in place at the end of the barrel, and the matching offset rear sight is in place at the rear of the barrel as well. The original button head “ramrod” (cleaning rod) is in place in the channel under the barrel. It is full length and retains fine threads at the end. The stock retains excellent, sharp edges, with crisp lines and flats. The stock shows the usual scattered bumps and mars from limited service and storage, but no abuse. The rifle is 100% correct and retains a nice amount of its period brown finish and has a really crisp stock.

This is a very nice example of one of the many 2nd class acceptable guns that were pressed into Northern service at the Civil War's beginning.  [pe] [ph:L]

DISCLAIMER: All firearms are sold as collector's items only - we do not accept responsibility as to the shooting safety or reliability of any antique firearm. All firearms are described as accurately as possible, given the restraints of a catalog listing length. We want satisfied customers & often "under" describe the weapons. Any city or state regulations regarding owning antique firearms are the responsibility of the purchaser. All firearms are "mechanically perfect" unless noted, but again, are NOT warranted as safe to fire!

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