Texas Sporting Rifles
The rifles shown here are early examples of the long arms of Texas. All have Texas markings, some of which may have been stocked by local gunmakers. Others were manufactured in Pennsylvania and stamped with the Texas merchant's name. These rifles will be featured in The Texas Gun Trade, 1780 - 1899.
.50 caliber plains rifle with JACOB LINN SAN ANTONIO TEXAS stamped on the top flat of the barrel. The bottom flat of the barrel is stamped THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6 1851. This is the only rifle presently known made by Jacob Linn
.56 caliber plains rifle with C. HUMMEL SAN ANTONIO stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel.
.51 caliber plains rifle
with C. HUMMEL SAN ANTONIO stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel.
.50 caliber plains rifle with C. HUMMEL SAN ANTONIO stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel.
16 gauge over 8X57R European made Drilling with CHAS HUMMEL & SON SAN ANTONIO TEX. inlayed in gold on the top rib of the barrels.
.56 caliber plains rifle with E. KRAUSKOPF stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. Krauskopf was located in Fredericksburg, TX, 1846 - 1881. Krauskopf made many of the parts for his rifles including rifling the barrels,
.56 caliber plains rifle with E. KRAUSKOPF A FRIEDRICHSBERG inlayed in gold in the top flat of the octagon barrel. This is a large rifle and appears to have been completely manufactured by Krauskopf.
.52 caliber, full-stocked plains rifle with W M GAMMELL HOUSTON stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. William Gammell was located in the Houston, TX area, 1835 - 1869. Gammell was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.
.53 caliber, half-stocked plains rifle with W M GAMMELL HOUSTON stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel.
.55 caliber plains rifle with E. RICHTER stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. Ernst Richter was located in Bellville, Texas, 1853 - 1870s. This is the only known rifle made by Richter and belonged to prominent citizen of Industry, Texas, M. Meissner.
.52 caliber plains rifle with CONNELLY & MATTHIS SAN ANTONIO stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. This rifle was originally owned by early Texan, Arch Martin. Martin was a veteran of the Packsaddle Mountain Indian fight near Llano, Texas. This rifle was probably used in that battle.
.50 caliber plains rifle with J. C. SHORT stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. James C. Short was located in Lexington, Kentucky (1857), Tyler, TX (1858 - 1863), Ft. Worth, TX (1866 - 1878), Austin, TX (1878), and Graham, TX 1880 - 1886).
.44 caliber plains rifle with A. BROCK GALVESTON TEX. stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. Anthony J. Brock was located in Galveston, TX, 1866 - 1890.
.53 caliber plains rifle with C. DANIEL GALVESTON stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. Charles Daniel was located in Austin, TX (1839 - 1841) and Galveston, TX (1842 - 1860).
.44 caliber, full-stocked plains rifle with TORREY TEXAS stamped on the lockplate. The Torrey Brothers had a store in Houston and various trading posts along the frontier (1839 - 1849). Their trading posts supplied Republic of Texas government sponsored gunsmiths for the Indians. Archives reveal that these gunsmiths ordered tools and supplies for repairing and building guns.
.48 caliber, full-stocked plains rifle with TORREY TEXAS stamped on the lockplate. The patchbox on this rifle is typical of the ones used on Indian trade rifles of the period.
.45 caliber plains rifle with J.C. PETMECKY AUSTIN. TEX stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. Joseph Carl Petmecky came to Texas as a young boy in 1845. By 1860 he was a practicing gunsmith in Austin, TX. He eventually became one of Texas' most successful and well known gun dealers.
J.C. Petmecky seated at his bench in 1925.
(photo courtesy of The Institute for Texas Cultures, San Antonio, TX)
The following rifles are attributed to James Bown & Son, Enterprise Gun Works, Pittsburgh, PA. This company made thousands of good quality, low priced 'Kentucky Rifles' and would stamp various merchants names on the barrels. Two Texas firms, Joseph Labadie in Galveston and Schmidt & Kosse in Houston took advantage of this practice.
.50 caliber plains rifle with MAND FOR JOSEPH LABADIE GALVESTON stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. This is a model #1 'Kentucky Rifle' made by James Bown & Son.
.51 caliber (bored out from .45 caliber) plains rifle with MAND FOR JOSEPH LABADIE GALVESTON stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. This is a model #6 'Kentucky Rifle' made by James Bown & Son.
.45 caliber plains rifle with SCHMIDT & KOSSE HOUSTON TEX stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. This is a model #4 'Kentucky Rifle' made by James Bown & Son.
.50 caliber plains rifle with SCHMIDT & KOSSE HOUSTON TEX stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. This is a model #4 'Kentucky Rifle' made by James Bown & Son.
Gustavus Erichson was a gun maker, gunsmith, and gun dealer in Houston from 1838 until 1872. Two of his sons, Otto and Alexander, continued the business until the 1890s.
An amazing rifle has just been discovered hidden away in the vault at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Texas. An original flintlock rifle that appears to have been stocked in Houston as early as 1840 and stamped G. ERICHSON HOUSTON. TEXAS. on the lock and the barrel. Mounted in iron with a pewter nosecap, stocked in walnut. This large rifle measures 61 inches overall and has a 43 5/8", .51 caliber, swamped barrel. The rifle is in fine shape and, at this time, is the only known Texas marked flintlock sporting rifle.
This extremely fine rifle has G. ERICHSON HOUSTON TEXAS stamped on the percussion lockplate. The parts and workmanship are undoubtedly that of the Higgins family of gunmakers from Georgia. Robert Higgins, of this family, was located in Henderson, TX (1857 - 1860) and Beaumont, TX (1870 - 1890). A strong possibility exists that the lock could have been purchased from Erichson's store and the rifle was built by Robert Higgins.
.44 caliber repeating rifle, ca. 1875, invented and built by Emil A. F. Toepperwein. Toepperwein was located in Boerne, TX (1860s - 1870s) and Leon Springs and San Antonio (1870s - 1881).
.50 caliber repeating rifle, ca. 1875, invented and built by Emil A. F. Toepperwein.
.38-40 breech loading rifle with FRANZ SCHRAUD SAN ANTONIO TEX stamped on the top flat of the octagon barrel. The rifle has characteristics of a percussion, muzzle-loading gun but is not a conversion and appears to have been originally built this way.
