The long rifle was made up largely of wood with the metal barrel inset along nearly the entire length. The trigger unit was underslung in the usual way and the flintlock cock set to the right side of the gun's body. Sighting devices were fitted over the receiver and closer to the muzzle for ranged fire. Two barrel bands added rigidity to the length of the rifle, joining the barrel and wooden forend to one another. The ramrod was held in a channel burrowed into the forend under the barrel assembly.
In terms of production the Model 1816 was a resounding success, accounting for some 675,000 total units created by both of the government arsenals - Springfield and Harpers Ferry. Production spanned 1816 until 1844 and improved models followed the line throughout its lengthy career - the Model 1822, Model 1835, Model 1840 and Model 1842. Such was the circulation of this long gun that it remained in service during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and was featured throughout the Civil War (1861-1865) though more or less rendered obsolete by the end of 1862. By the time of the latter conflict, the guns were being modernized to the percussion cap system of operation (moving away from the temperamental flintlock action) which did much to improve firing reliability in-the-field.
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