[ModelBreaker]

Was this the first widely distributed rifle in the world?

[Pharmboy]

Each long rifle had to be hand-crafted and were fairly expensive at the time. Although rifles were were first produced in Europe in the 1500s, they were mainly used for hunting and did not see wartime use until the mid 18th Century. The American frontiersmen--first in PA, western MD and then "over the mountains" e.g., KY--used them for hunting. They were made in America mainly by German immigrants or the sons of same.

The Brits thought the Americans were unsporting when they picked off officers from 250 yds away; but, they definitely helped us win the war.

Many say that without Daniel Morgan (born in NJ, but had a fight with his dad as a teenager and walked to Virginia) and his riflemen, the Battle of Saratoga would have likely gone to the Brits.