German Jaeger

VAFO00000168_D_2.jpg
VAFO00000168.jpg
VAFO00000168_D_1.jpg
VAFO00000168_D_3.jpg
VAFO00000168_D_4.jpg

Title

German Jaeger

Description

This German Jaeger-style rifle offers a fine example of the sport hunting rifles brought to Pennsylvania by the early German and Swiss settlers of the early 18th century. The term “Jaeger,” meaning hunter, or “the hunt,” in German applied to these sporting rifles which were the forerunner for the later developed American-Pennsylvania Rifle of southeastern Pennsylvania. American rifle technology and development would spread into central Pennsylvania and southward into Maryland, Virginia and the back country of the Carolinas.
This Jaeger Rifle includes a typical heavy well-constructed stock to support a pinned octagonal-shaped iron barrel. The barrel mounts a fixed rear sight located above the lock plate. The butt of the stock includes a sliding wood patchbox cover concealing an inside compartment for rifle patches, grease or extra ignition flints. The rifle's brass furniture and other components are surrounded by raised ornate carving of a floral design, typical for European hunting rifles of this style. This rifle also has a flame-pattern floral spray on the ends of the brass trigger guard and butt plate. The rifle's lock is typical German design and includes a faceted flash pan and squared frizzen. The iron rammer, or ramrod, includes a trumpet-style end. This Jaeger rifle is missing the rear sling swivel which was originally screwed into the underside of the stock, behind the trigger guard.

Caliber: .60
Weight: 8.0 lbs.
Length: 38"
Barrel: 23 1/2"

Source

Brown, M.L. Firearms in Colonial America: The Impact on History and Technology 1492-1792. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980.

Date

c. 1740-1760

Rights

George C. Neumann Collection, Valley Forge National Historical Park

Identifier

VAFO 168

Original Format

Photograph