About | Homer Dangler

A Little More About Me

As a child I liked to build things, anything, really. Mainly boats and model airplanes of which I built many. In a few years I learned to fly the old Piper Cub J4. I am at this time, 2010, building my third experimental airplane. The last one took me nine years spare time to build and the current one two or three more years to complete. I have and fly quite often a 1941 Aeronca Chief that I have flown from my home in Michigan to Florida for the winter.

My first love was airplanes, but, after getting married and having a family, it became a bit too expensive a hobby, so I turned to building guns. I liked stocking modern cartridge rifles, but after seeing my first nice carved Kentucky rifle I knew, that was what I wanted to do.

In 1955 I started working at it in my spare time. In 1975, after 20 years of building, I began applying myself full-time to the trade and have never been without work. It is still my desire to build a violin and a wood dory. I have and play my grandfather’s violin, an activity I enjoy very much.

I had gun building and carving videos professionally made in 1991 and 1993, showing me at work, to help others that want to build Kentucky rifles for themselves. They were very well received, and are still in demand!

The Craftsman

My work is recreating the American Longrifle of the Golden Age so that it closely resembles the originals in every detail. I have for many years built each rifle as near exact to the original as possible.

I have studied the Kentucky rifle since my first introduction to them in 1955. I have been a member of the Kentucky Rifle Association for many years, and also having visited the late Joe Kindig Jr., and viewing his extensive collection on several occasions, I have handled and studied most all of the fine Kentucky rifles known.

The American longrifle is a true American Heritage. It was developed here (we strongly feel it was in Pennsylvania) in the Colonial period and was used for protection, to put food on the table, and also as a fine instrument in sport shooting. These firearms were used by the rifle companies in the Revolution and all of our wars until the development of the cartridge gun.

I feel the Kentucky rifle is a beautiful work of folk art, not to be compared to the fine European guns made for royalty, which were re-pleat with silver wire and precious stones.

I strongly hope that in the years to come the contemporary builders of the Kentucky rifle keep it true to form and not co-mingle too much with the ornate English designs. Very few Kentucky rifles had silver wire, and most had none.