Henry · Rifle
Henry Dreppard Longrifle
Muzzleloader · .45 Caliber Ball · introduced 1810
Also known as Henry Drepperd Longrifle, Drepperd rifle, Lancaster longrifle
About the Henry Dreppard Longrifle
The Henry Dreppard Longrifle is an American muzzle-loading flintlock longrifle handcrafted by Lancaster, Pennsylvania gunsmith Henry Dreppard (whose guns were signed "Drepperd"). Firing a patched .45 caliber round ball from a long octagonal rifled barrel, it embodies the classic Lancaster County school of the Pennsylvania/Kentucky longrifle: a slender curly-maple stock, brass patchbox and furniture, and a double set trigger giving a fine target-quality let-off. Dreppard-marked locks were also fitted to rifles built by many other Lancaster makers, making his name one of the best known in early American gunsmithing.
Henry Dreppard signed his barrels and locks "Drepperd" even though the Lancaster tax rolls recorded the family as "Treppert." His signed gun locks became so respected that other Lancaster gunsmiths bought and fitted them to their own rifles, spreading the Drepperd name across the Pennsylvania longrifle tradition.
Henry Dreppard Longrifle specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Flintlock
- Trigger
- Set trigger
- Calibres
- .45 Caliber Ball
- Magazine capacity
- 1 rounds
- Magazine
- Internal
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 1100 mm (43.3 in)
- Overall length
- 1500 mm (59.1 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 4.10 kg (9.04 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling twist
- 1:48 in (1220 mm)
- Rifling
- Right hand
- Grooves
- 7
Materials
- Barrel
- Iron
- Stock
- Maple
- Finish
- browned
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 550 m/s (1804 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 1270 J (937 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 100 m
History
- Introduced
- 1810
- Discontinued
- 1840
- Production status
- Out of production
- Country of origin
- US
- Designer
- Henry Dreppard
Features
- Octagonal barrel
- Double set trigger
- Brass patchbox
- Brass furniture
- Carved maple stock
- Signed lock plate
- Patched round ball
- Muzzle loader
- Rifled barrel
Dreppard worked in Lancaster City at the corner of Mulberry and King Streets, listed as a locksmith or gunsmith between roughly 1810 and 1840. Tax records spelled the name "Treppert" while he signed his work "Drepperd." Surviving examples span the transition from flint to percussion ignition; many original flintlocks were later converted to percussion caps. Measurements are representative of Lancaster-school longrifles and vary between individual originals.
