Traditional .45 Caliber Muzzle-loading Rifle:
A true traditional .45 caliber muzzle-loading Kentucky, Pennsylvania or Tennessee long-rifle will be a flint-lock side hammer ignitioned hand made rifle, it will have a barrel of approximately 48 inches in length, 1 in 66 inch rifling twist and was most likely hand made in a small gun shop somewhere in the hills of Kentucky, Pennsylvania or Tennessee.
While there have been many so called replicas to the traditional .45 caliber muzzle-loading rifle it is worth noting at best they do come close to replicating its appearance except for barrel length. The true success of the original traditional .45 caliber muzzle-loading rifle rested entirely with its barrel length of 48 inches or longer for maximum effectiveness.
Traditional, .45 Caliber Muzzle-loading Rifle Power:
The .45 caliber muzzle-loading rifle is probably the least understood caliber of all muzzleloaders. Historically the .45 was used for deer and small game hunting in the eastern United States where it originated.
The .45 was for the most part noted for its flat trajectory, low recoil and accuracy. There is documentation stating that the first high quality 'Kentucky rifles' were from a gunsmith named Jacob Deckard.
The 48 inch barreled, .45 caliber, long-rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifle that was a unique development of American rifles. The Pennsylvania rifle, Kentucky rifle, and Tennessee rifle were all variants of the long-rifle.
The long-rifle developed on the American frontier in the period beginning in the 1740s, and continued in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina, well into the 20th century, as a practical and efficient firearm, a good rifleman could hit a man-sized target at 300 yards.
The main reason for the longer barrel was it gave the black powder more time to burn, increasing the muzzle velocity and aided the accuracy by having a much longer sight plane.
To conserve lead on the frontier, smaller calibers were often preferred, .36, .40 and .45 caliber were commonly used for hunting small game and deer. As a rifle became worn from use, it was common to see many such individual rifles being re-bored to larger calibers and re-rifled.
.45 Caliber Muzzle-loading Rifle Used For Commercial Hunting:
The most famous frontiersman of the time was Daniel Boone (1734-1820) commercial hunter by trade. Boone would go on long hunts alone or with a small group of men, accumulating hundreds of deer skins in the autumn, and then trapping beaver and otter over the winter and return in the spring and sell their take to commercial fur traders.
The settlers of western Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina soon gained a reputation for hardy independence and rifle marksmanship as a way of life, by the 1750s it was common to see frontiersmen carrying a new and distinctive style of rifle that was used with great skill to provide tens of thousands of deer hides for the British leather industry.
These woodsmen were also exceptional trackers and Indian fighters, and played an important role in the French and Indian War which was fought in many parts of the American back country as a guerilla war. By the time of the American Revolution a strong tradition of riflery had been ingrained into the citizens of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.
The (.45 caliber diameter) Forty five caliber bore diameter muzzle-loading rifles are a good choice for hunting wild game animals such as: Antelope, Black Bear, Black-Tailed Deer, Hogs, Javelina, Mule Deer & White-Tailed Deer.
.45 Caliber Muzzle-loading Rifle Used During The Revolutionary War:
The legendary status of the .45 caliber muzzle-loading rifle was well established by the end of the revolutionary war in 1783 when the United States of America won its freedom from British rule. Fair warning was given to the effectiveness of the .45 caliber rifle when in 1775 the London Chronicle printed this warning that was sent to them from a Philadelphia printer "This province has raised 1,000 riflemen, the worst of whom will put a ball into a mans head at 150 to 200 yards, therefore advise your officers who shall hereafter come out to America to settle their affairs in England before their departure".
While this probably inflamed British troops beyond belief, the one thing they quickly discovered was that it may have seemed arrogant to issue such a warning but it was definately true and so the mood of British troops went from disdain for frontier colonists upon arriving in America to one of fear once they realized the effectiveness of the American made .45 caliber muzzle-loading rifle.
In 1778 at the siege of Boonesborough, Kentucky, one of the officers of the British assault force was hiding behind a tree. He stuck his head out from behind the tree and was instantly killed by a ball to the forehead fired by Daniel Boone. This shot was later confirmed by witnesses on both sides and the distance measured was 250 yards..45 Caliber Muzzle-loading Rifle Range:
The .45 caliber muzzle-loading long-rifle of many years ago was definately a successful rifle as it was used extensively to settle the eastern United States from the Missouri river eastward, it was used for deer hunting and it saw usage in several wars as well. An experienced shooter who knows how to take variables into account such as, sight height, bullet weight, (gunpowder) load, windage and bullet drop can easily have a light recoiling rifle that has deer hunting range of at least 100 yards with plenty of bullet energy to spare for 300 yard shots as well, depending on rifle configuration.
Reloading:
Equipment
