NYPD cracks down on Flintlocks

[Alatriste]

Flintlock is just a method of setting off the charge of powder.  There certainly were rifled flintlocks.  Hell, there were rifled flintlock pistols.

I could be wrong I suppose, but I thought rifles (that is - firearms with rifling) only came into use in the 19th century - and that is what a quick wiki search seems to confirm.  So while there may exist some rifled flintlocks out there, the flintlock seems far more commonly associated with muskets.

Beware, you are entering Napoleonic territory... (we need a Nappy smiley, by the way) Rifles were certainly used during the Napoleonic Wars and earlier ones too. However, they were expensive, required more maintenance, they took far more time to reload, couldn't use bayonets, and quite simply most soldiers didn't get to fire their weapons once a month, they were too badly trained to benefit from their improved accuracy. Rifled muskets were - going a bit over the top here - the sniper rifle of the period until roughly 1850-1870.

[grumbler]

I could be wrong I suppose, but I thought rifles (that is - firearms with rifling) only came into use in the 19th century - and that is what a quick wiki search seems to confirm.  So while there may exist some rifled flintlocks out there, the flintlock seems far more commonly associated with muskets.

There were far more flintlock muskets (ie smoothbores) than flintlock rifles because, as Alariste points out, rifles had less military utility.  Rifles had far more hunting utility, though, and so were fairly common on the American frontier in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.   

[Viking]

Is there such a thing as a breechloading flintlock? Can a breechloading flintlock work?

[jimmy olsen]

Is there such a thing as a breechloading flintlock? Can a breechloading flintlock work?

Yes, but they were fragile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_rifle

[Viking]

Is there such a thing as a breechloading flintlock? Can a breechloading flintlock work?

Yes, but they were fragile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_rifle

wow, I didn't know they were flint locks...

[Malthus]

The exemption in question.

§ 10–305 Exemptions. The sections requiring rifle and shotgun permits and certificates and prohibiting the possession or disposition of assault weapons shall not apply as follows:

b. Antiques and ornaments. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to antique rifles and shotguns which are incapable of being fired or discharged or which do not fire fixed ammunition, or those weapons manufactured prior to eighteen hundred ninety-four and those weapons whose design was patented and whose commercial manufacture commenced prior to eighteen hundred ninety-four and whose manufacture continued after eighteen hundred ninety-four without any substantial alteration in design or function, and for which cartridge ammunition is not commercially available and are possessed as curiosities or ornaments or for their historical significance and value...

The weapon isn't antique, though it is an antiquated design.

The bolded section would seem to cover that if I'm not mistaken.

The section covers "antiques and ornaments". If this guy is intending to use his newly-minted flintlock as a weapon, the exemption doesn't apply and he needs a licence.

Thus, should he go on about a "right to bear arms" he'd be providing proof that the exemption doesn't apply. If he comes across as an outraged interior decorator, on the other hand ...

[alfred russel]

A just use of state power is to prevent interior decorating atrocities such as hanging rifles on the wall. I'm with NYC on this one.

[dps]

The exemption in question.

§ 10–305 Exemptions. The sections requiring rifle and shotgun permits and certificates and prohibiting the possession or disposition of assault weapons shall not apply as follows:

b. Antiques and ornaments. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to antique rifles and shotguns which are incapable of being fired or discharged or which do not fire fixed ammunition, or those weapons manufactured prior to eighteen hundred ninety-four and those weapons whose design was patented and whose commercial manufacture commenced prior to eighteen hundred ninety-four and whose manufacture continued after eighteen hundred ninety-four without any substantial alteration in design or function, and for which cartridge ammunition is not commercially available and are possessed as curiosities or ornaments or for their historical significance and value...

The weapon isn't antique, though it is an antiquated design.

The bolded section would seem to cover that if I'm not mistaken.

The section covers "antiques and ornaments". If this guy is intending to use his newly-minted flintlock as a weapon, the exemption doesn't apply and he needs a licence.

Thus, should he go on about a "right to bear arms" he'd be providing proof that the exemption doesn't apply. If he comes across as an outraged interior decorator, on the other hand ...

He said that he doesn't have gunpowder or bullets for it, so it doesn't sound like he intends to use it as a weapon.

However, I'd say that the section about not firing fixed ammunition would apply, but the wording is a bit ambiguous.

[grumbler]

The section covers "antiques and ornaments". If this guy is intending to use his newly-minted flintlock as a weapon, the exemption doesn't apply and he needs a licence.

I am not so sure about that (and also commonly mis-spell license) since he could fire it as a "curiousity."

I am more interested in why 1894 as the cutoff date, though. I suppose I could look it up, but why spoil the fun of the person here who knows?

[Siege]

The Kentucky Long Rifle was rather famous during the American Revolution.  There were certainly rifles prior to the 19th century, they just weren't used by masses of troops.  They were generally for private use or specialized or irregular troops.

What was the range of those things, and who manufactured them.

[Jaron]

The Kentucky Long Rifle was rather famous during the American Revolution.  There were certainly rifles prior to the 19th century, they just weren't used by masses of troops.  They were generally for private use or specialized or irregular troops.

What was the range of those things, and who manufactured them.

How much are they paying you for this information?

[Siege]

The Kentucky Long Rifle was rather famous during the American Revolution.  There were certainly rifles prior to the 19th century, they just weren't used by masses of troops.  They were generally for private use or specialized or irregular troops.

What was the range of those things, and who manufactured them.

How much are they paying you for this information?

Drop and give me 25 push ups.
Diamond push ups.
All the way down, all the way up.

[Jaron]

The Kentucky Long Rifle was rather famous during the American Revolution.  There were certainly rifles prior to the 19th century, they just weren't used by masses of troops.  They were generally for private use or specialized or irregular troops.

What was the range of those things, and who manufactured them.

How much are they paying you for this information?

Drop and give me 25 push ups.
Diamond push ups.
All the way down, all the way up.

Make me, hooknose

[Siege]

The Kentucky Long Rifle was rather famous during the American Revolution.  There were certainly rifles prior to the 19th century, they just weren't used by masses of troops.  They were generally for private use or specialized or irregular troops.

What was the range of those things, and who manufactured them.

How much are they paying you for this information?

Drop and give me 25 push ups.
Diamond push ups.
All the way down, all the way up.

Make me, hooknose

Come anywhere near me, internet brave, and you gonna do the push ups while crying with my boot in your ass all the way to the ankle.

And my nose ain't hooked.

[Ed Anger]