M1819 Hall rifle

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M1819 Hall rifle
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States, Argentina
Wars	Indian Wars Mexican–American War American Civil War Argentine Civil Wars
Production history
Designed	1811
Produced	1820s–1840s
No. built	23,500 rifles 13,684 regulation carbines 14,000 Hall-North M1843 carbines
Variants	several carbine variants
Specifications
Mass	10.25 lb (4.6 kg) (rifle) 8 lb (3.6 kg) (carbine)
Length	52.5 inches (1,330 mm) (original) various: 48 to 60 inches (1,200 to 1,500 mm) (conversions)
Barrel length	32.7 inches (830 mm) (rifle) 21–23 inches (530–580 mm) (carbine)
Cartridge	.525 inches (13.3 mm) Ball (original) Paper with .69 inches (18 mm) Ball (conversion)
Caliber	.525 inches (13.3 mm) .69 inches (18 mm)
Action	Flintlock/percussion lock (conversion)
Rate of fire	8–9 rounds per minute
Effective firing range	800–1,500 yards (730–1,370 m)
Feed system	Breech-loaded

The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech-loading rifle (also considered something of a hybrid breech and muzzle-loading design) designed by John Hancock Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It was preceded by the Harpers Ferry M1803. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. The years of production were from the 1820s to the 1840s at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the first breech-loading rifle to be adopted in large numbers by any nation's army, but not the first breech-loading military rifle – the Ferguson rifle was used briefly by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The Hall rifle remained overshadowed by common muskets and muzzleloading rifles which were still prevalent until the Civil War. The early flintlocks were mostly converted to percussion ignition.