Today we're talking with Jeff Jaeger. Jeff is a historian, collector, and all-around enjoyer of muzzleloading, but he didn't come into muzzleloading as anyone I've ever talked to on the show has before. You see, Jeff grew up in Wisconsin in the 60s and 70s. Like many of you, he grew up watching Fess Parker as Daniel Boone on television when he got home from school, but that was all the exposure to muzzleloading he had until his early 30s. Although he was an avid hunter and outdoorsman through his childhood, Jeff and his area missed much of the American Bicentennial fever that swept the nation. Even the uproar created around "Jerimiah Johnson" and the Thompson/Center Hawken didn't make it into Jeff's world.

It wasn't until Jeff was visiting an antique shop in North Carolina that he saw his first true American Longrifle. That antique shop and a little bit of chance would go on to change Jeff's life forever.

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Jeff Jaeger has been a collector and student of Indiana-made muzzle-loading rifles for over 25 years. He believes that while architecture, engraving, or craftsmanship should be appreciated, it’s the stories of the gunsmiths who crafted the rifles that make them most interesting. Jaeger is known for coauthoring John Small of Vincennes, Gunsmith on the Western Frontier with the late collector, Jim Dresslar in 2009.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

Albert Lindert’s Book

Indiana Antiques Arms Collectors Association

Jim Dressler, John Small Collector: https://www.facebook.com/people/Indiana-Antique-Arms-Collectors-Association/100064626766504/

Richard Day, Mr. Vincinnes: “The Pictorial History of Vincennes”

NMLRA

KRA

Grouseland: https://grouseland.org/

Indiana State Rifle: https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/indiana/military-firearms/grouseland-rifle

Mel Hankla, “Strike for our Country’s Good”: https://youtu.be/gWIr10dhnm0

American Society of Arms Collectors

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