| 1711/1841/51 Skiløper rifler (The "ski runners" rifles) |
| The M1711 (probably not from 1711, but a slightly later year) was for a long time regarded as the ultimate rifle in a collection of Norwegian military long-guns. As far as I recall, only 17 were known on private hands in the late 1970’s. As of today, there are at least 30 or 40 known among collectors. The Skiløperrifle is still of emotional value for me. My first Norwegian muzzle loaded long-gun was a Lang skiløperrifle with a M1851 stock. The long one I have today has the original stock from 1711, the short one a stock from 1851. Just see the difference in workmanship on the two stocks – how all the trimmings have been reduced on the “new” one and how simplified the carvings are on the “new” compared to the “old” one. You still find a few Kort Skiløperrifle with the original stock, but I have only seen two Lang Skiløperrifle with the original stock. The rifles had no bayonets fitted until 1801, when they got the huge M1788 hirshfenger as bayonet. The M1791 - a cut down version of the dragon pallask M1750 was also used. A steel angle was mounted by the crossbar, this would enter a “square pipe” soldered to the barrel of the rifle. There are not too many of these around, as they later were converted back to hirshfenger sidearms in the 1830's. They were terrible as a bayonet. They were heavy and placed some two inched to the left of the barrel made shooting virtually impossible with the bayonet attached.. In 1841 it was decided that all Norwegian military flintlock guns were to be converted to percussion – not one single Skiløperrifle seems to have escape this conversion. In 1851 one found that the rifle needed a bayonet, but that the hirschfenger really was too large and heavy and way too old-fashioned. They were then fitted with the M1851 bayonet – the longest sword bayonet with Yataghan-shaped blade the Norwegian army ever has used – and on these rather short rifles. In 1851 they were again converted, this time to tappstusser (pillar-breech), they got new conical ramrods, new advanced sights and old stocks with flaws were changed. The new two-leaf rear sight also had a primitive distance measuring device by holding your eye at the brass screw on top of the butt. |
 |
 |
 |