Model 1817 common rifle
The M1817 common rifle (also known as Deringer M1817 rifle) was a flintlock muzzle-loaded weapon issued due to the Dept. of Ordnance's order of 1814, produced by Henry Deringer and used from the 1820s to 1840s at the American frontier. Unlike the half-octagon barreled Model 1814 common rifle that preceded it, it had a barrel that was round for most of its length. The 36-inch barrel was rifled for .54 caliber bullets.[1][2] For rifling it had seven grooves. Like the Model 1814, it had a large oval patch box in the stock, however the stock dropped steeper than on the Model 1814.[2]
| Deringer M1817 rifle | |
|---|---|
 An extremely rare Hall Model 1817 breechloader. Fewer than five examples are known to exist. Note a typical Long rifle-pattern stock. The Model 1817 was called the "Common rifle" to differentiate them from. | |
| Type | Rifle |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | Seminole Wars, American Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | M.T. Wickham and Harpers Ferry Armory |
| Designed | 1817 |
| Produced | 1817–1842 |
| No. built | 38,200[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 9.3 lb (4.2 kg) |
| Barrel length | 36 in (910 mm) |
| Cartridge | .54 ball, black powder, paper |
| Caliber | 0.54 in (14 mm) |
| Action | flintlock, muzzle-loaded |
| Rate of fire | 2–3 per minute |
| Feed system | muzzle |
After producing the Model 1814 common rifle through contractors, the military decided to do the same with the Model 1817. The Harper's Ferry Arsenal produced a pattern weapon, which was then taken to gunsmiths to be copied.[2] The rifle was built by Henry Deringer of Philadelphia (13,000 made), Nathan Starr & Co. of Middleton, Conn. (10,200 made), Simeon North of Middleton, Conn. (7,200 made), R. Johnson of Middleton, Conn. (5,000 made), R. & J. D. Johnson of Middleton, Conn. (3,000 made).[1]
Over time, the rifles became obsolete, but they still saw service during the Civil War; originally flintlocks, most were converted to percussion cap for their firing mechanism.[1] They saw service in the west, as far as California, where there were still Model 1817s in the Bencia, California arsenal in the 1860s.[1][2]
References
- Robert P. Broadwater. "A most uncommon rifle, the model 1817 U.S. flintlock". Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- The Rifle Shoppe, Inc. "1817 Common Rifle (516 B)". Retrieved December 20, 2011.
Bibliography
- Russel, Carl P., Guns on the early frontiers: A history of firearms from colonial times, University of Nebraska Press, 1980, 395 p., ISBN 0-8032-3857-6