M1819 Hall rifle

M1819 Hall rifle
First American breech-loading rifle
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States
Wars	Indian Wars Mexican-American War American Civil War
Production history
Designed	1811
Produced	1820–1830
Number built	23,500 rifles 13,684 regulation carbines 14,000 Hall-North M1843 carbines
Variants	several carbine variants
Specifications
Weight	10.25 lb (4.6 kg) (rifle) 8 lb (3.6 kg) (carbine)
Length	52.5 in (original) various: 48 to 60 inches (1,200 to 1,500 mm) (conversions)
Barrel length	32.7 in (rifle) 21–23 in (carbine)
Cartridge	.525 Ball (original) Paper w/.69 Ball (conversion)
Caliber	.525 inches (13.3 mm) .69 inches (18 mm)
Action	See Text
Rate of fire	8–9 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	?
Effective firing range	800–1500 yards
Feed system	Breech-loaded

The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech-loading rifle (also considered something of a hybrid breech and muzzle-loading design) designed by John Hancock Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It was preceded by the Harpers Ferry Model 1803. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. The main years of production were from the 1820s to the 1830s at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the first breech-loading rifle to be adopted in large numbers by any nation's army, but not the first breech-loading military rifle – the Ferguson rifle was used briefly by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. Breech-loading rifles remained overshadowed by common muskets and muzzleloading rifles (more often rifle-muskets) so prevalent in the early 19th century. The early flintlocks were mostly converted to percussion ignition.

United States Army inspectors conducted trials by having a 38-man infantry company fire at a 100 yards (91 m) target for ten minutes at their own speed.

The original flintlock model had a 32.5-inch barrel rifled with 16 "clockwise" (right-hand) grooves making a turn in 96 inches. The muzzle was reamed to a depth of 1.5 inches, creating the illusion of a smoothbore when you looked down the barrel from the front. Overall length was 52.5 inches, and weight without bayonet was 10.25 pounds. The rifle fired a .525 ball weighing 220 grains (one-half ounce), using a 100-grain black powder charge and 10 grains of fine powder primer (flintlock versions only).