The Grouseland Foundation, conservators of William Henry Harrison's Grouseland home in Vincennes, has commissioned an authorized Bicentennial Reproduction of Indiana's Official State Rifle. The "Grouseland Rifle" was built circa 1803 by John Small -- Revolutionary War veteran, first sheriff in Indiana, militia captain and first adjutant general to Harrison's Indiana Territorial Militia from 1801-1812, territorial legislator, surveyor, engraver of the Indiana Territorial Seal (precursor to today's Official Indiana Seal) -- and gun maker.
This Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction is coming up for auction on GunBroker.com. The listing can be found here -- http://www.gunbroker.com/item/577428668 -- and will go LIVE from 22 August 2016 (opens at noon) to 5 September 2016 (closes at noon).
John Small has been called “perhaps the finest gunsmith to work west of the Appalachian Mountains in the years following the American Revolution” (Gallien and Dresslar, "The Gun Report," July 2004). His arms were highly prized in the Old Northwest Territory, with explorer William Clark, General Henry Knox, and trader Francis Vigo owning rifles, pistols, or tomahawks crafted at John Small's workbench in Vincennes.
John Small is no obscure figure in modern times, either. In 2014, the NRA selected second-generation Indiana gunmaker Marvin Kemper to craft a presentation flintlock for the NRA Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis that year. When LaPierre asked Kemper what kind of rifle he'd want to build, Kemper could think of no more important Indiana gunmaker than John Small -- and crafted a reproduction of John Small's "Kindig Rifle," which was presented to author and speaker Mark Levin during the NRA Leadership Forum.
Kemper's skill and craftsmanship, and his familiarity and affection for John Small's work is why the Grouseland Foundation selected him to craft the Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction of John Small's Grouseland Rifle -- which was named the Official Rifle of the State of Indiana by act of the General Assembly in 2012.
Owning the Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction of the Official Indiana State Rifle is a wonderful opportunity for the right collector or enthusiast of Indiana's frontier history.
A story about the Grouseland Rifle and John Small is available on the site of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association: http://bit.ly/298O0XB
Also, a story titled "John Small's Grouseland Rifle: An Official State Rifle and Its Reproduction" appears in the September/October 2016 issue of Muzzleloader magazine, available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.
This Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction is coming up for auction on GunBroker.com. The listing can be found here -- http://www.gunbroker.com/item/577428668 -- and will go LIVE from 22 August 2016 (opens at noon) to 5 September 2016 (closes at noon).
John Small has been called “perhaps the finest gunsmith to work west of the Appalachian Mountains in the years following the American Revolution” (Gallien and Dresslar, "The Gun Report," July 2004). His arms were highly prized in the Old Northwest Territory, with explorer William Clark, General Henry Knox, and trader Francis Vigo owning rifles, pistols, or tomahawks crafted at John Small's workbench in Vincennes.
John Small is no obscure figure in modern times, either. In 2014, the NRA selected second-generation Indiana gunmaker Marvin Kemper to craft a presentation flintlock for the NRA Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis that year. When LaPierre asked Kemper what kind of rifle he'd want to build, Kemper could think of no more important Indiana gunmaker than John Small -- and crafted a reproduction of John Small's "Kindig Rifle," which was presented to author and speaker Mark Levin during the NRA Leadership Forum.
Kemper's skill and craftsmanship, and his familiarity and affection for John Small's work is why the Grouseland Foundation selected him to craft the Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction of John Small's Grouseland Rifle -- which was named the Official Rifle of the State of Indiana by act of the General Assembly in 2012.
Owning the Authorized Bicentennial Reproduction of the Official Indiana State Rifle is a wonderful opportunity for the right collector or enthusiast of Indiana's frontier history.
A story about the Grouseland Rifle and John Small is available on the site of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association: http://bit.ly/298O0XB
Also, a story titled "John Small's Grouseland Rifle: An Official State Rifle and Its Reproduction" appears in the September/October 2016 issue of Muzzleloader magazine, available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.
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