Is there any information about the caliber and type of rifles
used by the Lewis and Clark expedition? This was before the
Hawken rifles, so I would suppose they must have carried
something about 45-50 caliber. Does this sound right? They
didn't seem to have any trouble killing elk with them, lived
on elk all winter in Oregon, but grizzley bears were a problem
to put down, according to the journals. Clark was accidently
shot on the return trip but survived it ok. It just seems like
a round ball load from these rifles would be pretty weak
compared to what we think of as elk rifles today

excuse me, I meant to post this in the rifles category, not wildcat ctgs.

I'll move it for you.

For many years it was commonly thought that the "Lewis & Clark" rifles were the .54 caliber 1803 Harper's Ferry rifle. Recent research has shown without a doubt that the expedition left on their journey before the 1803 was in production.

So what kind of rifles did they take? No surviving rifles exist to provide an example.

We do know for sure that Meriwether Lewis obtained his rifles at Harpers Ferry Arsenal. There is strong evidence that it was the 1792 contract rifle that was carried on this expedition. These rifles were most likely the first U.S. government procurement of arms. They were ordered and delivered over an approximate 17 year period. These contracts were placed with established Pennsylvania gunsmiths; noteable in this group was C. Grumpf, J. Dickert, H.DeHuff, P. Gonter.

They are fullstock "Kentucky" rifles, for the most part very similar in appearance, with plainer wood and a more sturdy form than the civilian "Kentucky" rifle. This contract rifle had a barrel of 38 inches and a simple un-ingraved brass patchbox very much like the one used on the later produced 1803 rifle. Some of these rifles were purchased without locks, In 1800 the U.S. Government purchased over 1500 locks from the English firm of Thomas Ketland & Company. This was probably done to enhance interchangeability. Bores were .50 to .60 caliber and we of course will never know if all of the rifles on the expedition were of the same bore size.

Some folks think Lewis and Clark had prototype 1803 rifles, so they may have had them before the official date of issue.

Bye
Jack

And, don't forget they also had AIR rifles along with them! :D

One of the old Gun Digests had an article about the expedition and their guns.

What I remember most from it was that their 'stopper' for grizzlies was a 20 gauge ball gun with maximum loads.