R. & J.D. Johnson U.S. Contract 1817 Flintlock "Common Rifle" | Detailed Overview and History

The Model 1817 "Common Rifle" was one of the world's first widely issued military rifles and was manufactured by multiple American contractors in 1817 to 1840. R. & J.D. Johnson were the contractors that produced the smallest number of these rifles: only around 3,060 of the 39,067 manufactured per George Moller on pages 448 of "American Military Shoulder Arms, Volume II: From the 1790s to the End of the Flintlock Period." Many of these rifles were also converted to percussion in the 1840s and after and used into the Civil War era. It has seven groove rifling with small rounded grooves, a ring on the muzzle face, the standard blade and notch sights, "US/AH/P" on the breech end of the barrel, "J" on the left flat at the breech, "1826" dated on the barrel tang, "U.S./R & JD.JOHNSON" surrounding an eagle with shield at the center of the lock under the non-fenced brass flash pan, "1826/MIDDN CONN." on the tail of the lock, and the distinctive oval patch box. The ramrod has a proper brass tip.