Guns and Gunmaking Tools of Southern Appalachia: The Story of the Kentucky Rifle

I bought this book to study primitive long rifle manufacturing techniques in Appalachia. It is very well laid out. It is also an interesting insight into life in the mountains during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This is the best book I have found on tools of the gun makers in the south. The southern mountain gun is placed in a better context of isolation from the Eastern traditions through the photos and accounts. After studying the photos I will have to duplicate some of the tools for my own use.

A great book on old time methods and old time tools of the gun trade. Great pictures!

For students of the Southern mountain rifle as well as Appalachian lore, this book is a must. What is so amazing is how these plain, but entirely serviceable rifles were made under such primitive conditions. The chapter on cross bows and how they were made gives the reader an idea of the extreme poverty that these folk lived in. I also found the chapter on Hacker Martin, a 20th century maker of these guns to be entertaining and informative. Being a collector and muzzleloading shooter, I certainly appreciated what John R. Irwin has done with the subject