Rifleman Q&A: Austrian Arms At Gettysburg

by
posted on March 4, 2022
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
Qajune5

Q. I need to identify this rifle. It is approximately a .71-cal. smoothbore musket fitted with a sling attachment on the trigger guard, but no forward sling attachment. The buttplate is brass and marked as follows: "R 32 8C 28." I’m told this gun was used at Gettysburg.


A. Your photos show an Austrian Model 1849 .71-cal. rifle missing the middle barrel band that carried the front sling swivel. It was originally located about a foot back from the fore-end cap.

The Austrian Model 1849 is distinguished by the bands securing its barrel in place of the wedges previously used on the Model 1842. The correct socket bayonet had a long, straight knife blade. It locked onto the lug on the right side of the barrel and was secured by a rotating ring on the back of the socket. More than 25,000 of these Austrian rifles were sold to the U.S. War Department in 1862 and 1863. One useful reference I have found for these European muskets and rifle-muskets is Complete Book of Firearms by S. Masis and G. Rotasso.

Regimental Strengths at Gettysburg by John W. Busey and David G. Martin indicates that there was a large number of Austrian arms with various Union Army units, but these were all in caliber .54 or .58 and rifled. The earlier .71-cal. arms were likely issued to second-line units on guard duty in the North. Their .71-cal. ammunition would certainly have been another problem the already hard-pressed ordnance supply service did not need.

—Angus Laidlaw


This “Questions & Answers” was featured in the June 2005 issue of American Rifleman. At time of publication, "Questions & Answers" was compiled by Staff, Ballistics Editor William C. Davis, Jr., and Contributing Editors: David Andrews, Hugh C. Birnbaum, Bruce N. Canfield, O. Reid Coffield, Charles Q. Cutshaw, Charles M. Fagg, Angus Laidlaw, Evan P. Marshall, Charles E. Petty, Robert B. Pomeranz, O.D., Jon R. Sundra, Jim Supica, A.W.F. Taylerson, John M. Taylor and John W. Treakle.

To subscribe to the magazine, visit the NRA membership page here and select American Rifleman as your member magazine.

Latest

Taurus GX2
Taurus GX2

Review: Taurus GX2

From cars to cellphones, as a product gets more sophisticated, it usually also gets more expensive. And, as modern handguns get more modular and optic-ready, their prices tend to go up.

Rifleman Q&A: A Garand Puzzlement

"We are a father-and-son NRA member tandem in search of an answer regarding the branding of an M1 Garand rifle. We own an M1 rifle that has markings indicating it was a “lend lease to England,” and it also has a .308 barrel/sleeve."

$160K Raised For HAVA At SIG Sauer Event

SIG Sauer hosted its 9th Annual Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) Charity Golf event early last month and raised more than $160,000 to support disabled veterans.

Scout The Trail To A General Purpose Rifle

The search for a universal longarm—one suitable for both hunting and defensive scenarios—is a trek that involves a bit of doubling back.

Trijicon Releases Green-Dot RMR

For the first time, the Trijicon RMR will now be available with a green aiming dot, providing some benefits to shooters with astigmatism and red-green color blindness.

The Armed Citizen® Sept. 15, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.