"The Hall Rifle was the first breechloader adopted by the U.S Military and the first rifle made with fully interchangeable parts. The 1833 Hall Carbine was the first new arm adopted that used a percussion cap." -Excerpt from NRA American Rifleman Nov/Dec 1998
A Little History - The United States was the first country to adopt a breech loading rifle, the Hall. Though little know today, the Hall rifles and carbines played a significant role in the development of our republic. On A general scale America tended to copy other country's rifle designs, for example the Springfield 1903 was patterned after the German Mauser. Taking the lead by issuing A breech loading rifle was a big step for the U.S. military. The weapon the Hall replaced was the Brown Bess Musket. As most people know, the only advantage to shooting a smoothbore musket, is that it was faster than the Kentucky Rifle to load. But the rifle was accurate from 300-600 yards.
How the Hall Works - And this is where the Hall Rifle came into play, being a breechloader it was able to load much faster than the older style Kentucky Rifle. And the Hall Rifle used a percussion cap rather than a priming pan. The breechblock was hinged at the back of the rifle, and the release was positioned under the rifle, in front of the trigger guard. Once popped up the ball and powder were rammed back into the tilted breech, then the breech was shut, a percussion cap applied to the nipple, and the rifle was ready to fire!
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4 comments:
The original Hall was a flint lock not a cap and ball. The existing weapons began being converted in the mid 1840's with all new production, beginning in 1841 or 42being cap and ball.
Additionally, the Hall predecessor was from a succession of musket designs copied from the French 1763-66 Charleville and the 1777 Charleville, not the Brown Bess musket.
I have never seen such historical ignorance and false information. The upper picture is a trap-door Springfield rifle of post-civil war vintage - not a Hall. The Hall did not replace anything, most particularly the British Brown Bess. It was a new concept in long arms for the US military Ordinance Dept., and though thousands were purchased, it ultimately was never adopted as replacement for the smooth bore muskets then dominant in the military.
I never said the Brown Bess got scrapped/never used again by the USA. The Hall was purchased to replace the Bess. Besides, you are not arguing with me (the lowly blogger) about this either, this info has all been compiled by NRA historians.
You were right however about the upper picture, I uploaded the wrong one. Small victory there...
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