Subject Guide
Mountain West
Malachite’s Big Hole
New English Rifle:
This style of rifle was developed by J. Henry in 1834. It was a stoutly-stocked, flintlock, furnished with either an English or American patch-box. It had a strong, brash scroll trigger guard similar in appearance to the Hawken trigger guard. In later years it would come to be called the "Scroll Guard" rifle. It was a popular style amongst traders and trappers in the late 1830's, and apparently sold briskly amongst the tribes along the frontier. This rifle had a barrel length of generally 40-44 inches, and was generally available as 32 or 35 gauge (guage/caliber conversion chart).