The week after Christmas is well known among hunters as the primitive rifle hunting season for whitetail deer.

The flintlock rifle has been used since colonial times with lead balls, black powder and various types of flint. Pennsylvania was well known for producing exceptional black powder long guns commonly used for hunting and warfare.

The Pennsylvania Rifle was also known as the Kentucky Rifle, but they were originally built in Pennsylvania by German gunsmiths who immigrated to America, bringing with them the technology of rifling. Having grooved barrels improved the accuracy in the long rifle which made it an ideal tool for hunting wildlife in colonial America.

I never realized how accurate the flintlock could be until I observed some long rifle enthusiasts putting on a shooting display. The marksman was shooting at two targets that consisted of clay birds commonly used by trap shooters with shotguns.

The goal was to hit an axe head stuck into a flat end of a log with their lead round ball. The soft lead would split in two if a great shot was made and the two pieces of lead would then hit the clay birds and shatter both of them.

Now that is some impressive shooting and far better than most of us could do. I was trying to hit a pie pan sized target and that would satisfy my plans for deer hunting purposes.

The long rifle was used for a long period in the colonial days from the French and Indian Wars, American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Over 73,000 rifles were built by gunsmiths during that era and they were greatly prized by friends and foes of the colonialists.

Every homesteader wanted a rifle such as these for hunting and protecting the family from hostiles and wild animals. Many of the first rifles were built in Berks County and Lancaster County, Pa. and then later in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and south.

Most rifles were built by both blacksmiths and gun smiths. Blacksmiths generally were noted as builders of simple smooth bore rifles with limited ranges and poorer accuracy. The rifled barrels of a gunsmith could hit a man-sized target at up to 200 yards when in the hands of a competent shooter.

Daniel Boone was credited to have made a long shot of 250 yards in the siege of his town that killed a British officer who stuck his head around a tree. Other famous battles that had many long rifle using soldiers included the Battle of Saratoga, the Battle of New Orleans and the Alamo.

Lewis and Clark used these rifles in their expedition in 1803, which was made into a shorter model of 36 inches known as the Plains Rifle, a shorter carbine model. They had special uses in mind for their Model 1803’s.

Today many variations of the flintlock long rifle are offered to primitive hunters. We see the carbine models, the Hawkens models (named after Samuel & Jacob Hawkens) the plains rifles and the full length original rifles that were built to custom sizes of the shooter.

Gunsmiths often built the rifle to match the height of the shooter and no longer than the height of his chin. The Hawkens and plains models were popular with fur trappers and mountain men. Weight of firearms and supplies was very important to consider as groups worked their way out into the mountains. While the long rifles were more elegant and used smaller calibers, the plains rifles used a heavy load meant to handle dangerous game such as grizzly or buffalo.

While .32 to .45 caliber round balls were common in the long rifles in colonial times, it’s not so much the case in today’s rifles. The most common caliber used today is the .50 or .54 caliber round ball for deer hunting. Some hunters use the .45 caliber and small game hunters often use the .32 caliber ammo.

My personal choice is the .50 caliber and I have found it to be quite effective on deer-sized quarry. I have made shots on deer with this caliber and it does what it has been touted to be able to do.

The primitive flintlock season goes on into January and ends on Jan. 14 in our area. The dress for hunting during this time can be in the colonial period of buckskins or woolens, but as I have always emphasized, a little fluorescent orange is a good safety precaution.

You must possess a valid deer license and a muzzleloader stamp/license. Archery hunters can also be afield during this late season and groups of hunters working together can be quite successful.

Stalking deer in snow is a common practice and a hunter can really sharpen up his hunting skills during this season. Until we meet again, have an eye on your rifle, keep it close and may your powder always be dry!