gunbunny76
New member
Ferguson Ordnance Flintlock Rifle
Produced: 1776-1778
Number built: 100
Weight: 7.5 lbs
Length: 48 to 60 in.
Ball: .615 in
Caliber: .650 in
Action: See Text
Rate of fire: 6 to 10 rounds a minute
Muzzle velocity: Variable
Effective range: 200 and 300 yard sights
Feed system: Breech loaded
The Ferguson Ordnance Rifle was used by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The superior firepower was unappreciated because it was too expensive to manufacture, and the Brown Bess musket had just began production as the standard gun for the British Army. The action was adapted from the earlier Isaac de la Chaumette design by Major Patrick Ferguson, who redesigned it around 1770 and obtained British patent #1139 in 1776.
The breech of the weapon is closed by threads on a tapered screw, and the trigger guard serves as the crank to rotate it. One complete turn dropped the screw to allow a ball into the exposed breech followed by a minor overcharge of powder which sheared to proper charge as the breech was closed. In capable trained hands it fired six to ten rounds per minute. The rifle broke easily with rough handling, particularly around the lock mortise as the mechanism and breech were larger than the wooden stock could take. All surviving military Fergusons feature a horseshoe-shaped iron repair under the lock to hold the stock together where it repeatedly broke around the weak, over-drilled out mortise.
Roughly one hundred of the Ordnance rifles were manufactured. After Ferguson was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, his Experimental Rifle Corps was subsequently disbanded, issued standard Brown Bess muskets and sent back to their original units.
A properly made reproduction Ferguson rifle, made according to Patrick Ferguson's specifications of the 1770s, is available. The parts cost, including bayonet, will set you back roughly $1700 if you wish to assemble your own rifle.
Produced: 1776-1778
Number built: 100
Weight: 7.5 lbs
Length: 48 to 60 in.
Ball: .615 in
Caliber: .650 in
Action: See Text
Rate of fire: 6 to 10 rounds a minute
Muzzle velocity: Variable
Effective range: 200 and 300 yard sights
Feed system: Breech loaded
The Ferguson Ordnance Rifle was used by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The superior firepower was unappreciated because it was too expensive to manufacture, and the Brown Bess musket had just began production as the standard gun for the British Army. The action was adapted from the earlier Isaac de la Chaumette design by Major Patrick Ferguson, who redesigned it around 1770 and obtained British patent #1139 in 1776.
The breech of the weapon is closed by threads on a tapered screw, and the trigger guard serves as the crank to rotate it. One complete turn dropped the screw to allow a ball into the exposed breech followed by a minor overcharge of powder which sheared to proper charge as the breech was closed. In capable trained hands it fired six to ten rounds per minute. The rifle broke easily with rough handling, particularly around the lock mortise as the mechanism and breech were larger than the wooden stock could take. All surviving military Fergusons feature a horseshoe-shaped iron repair under the lock to hold the stock together where it repeatedly broke around the weak, over-drilled out mortise.
Roughly one hundred of the Ordnance rifles were manufactured. After Ferguson was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, his Experimental Rifle Corps was subsequently disbanded, issued standard Brown Bess muskets and sent back to their original units.
A properly made reproduction Ferguson rifle, made according to Patrick Ferguson's specifications of the 1770s, is available. The parts cost, including bayonet, will set you back roughly $1700 if you wish to assemble your own rifle.
