Mention the words “Baker Rifle” and one image comes to mind: Richard Sharpe, the main character in Bernard Cornwell’s series of historical novels and the BBC television series it inspired, and his band of green-coated riflemen.
Until recently, to get your hands on a Baker Rifle like Sharpe’s you had to choose between a rare original, a custom-built replica or an affordable, but less authentic reproduction that often lacked the Baker’s key feature—its rifling. That has changed with Pedersoli’s introduction of its 1805 Baker Rifle.
The flintlock Baker Rifle was made in seven different versions and served the British Empire from about 1800 to 1837. Pedersoli’s Baker follows the 1805 pattern. Its overall design shows the influence of the German Jaeger rifles that inspired it, with its full walnut stock and brass patch box.
The rest of the features are authentic, from its sling mounts to the bar for mounting a sword bayonet at the muzzle. The rifle has an overall length of 45.44 inches and weighs 8.4 pounds. Most importantly, the rifle’s 30-inch Pedersoli Match Grade, tapered round barrel has the proper .625-inch bore and seven-groove rifling with a 1:120-inch twist rate. The company is also selling a bullet mold to cast the proper .614-inch round ball.
While the Baker is most associated with the Napoleonic Wars, the rifle also has a connection to American history. British troops carried the Baker during the War of 1812 and quantities of the rifle were also sold to Mexico and were used in the Texas War of Independence, including at the Battle of the Alamo.
The Pedersoli 1805 Baker Rifle has an MSRP of $1,995. For more information, see the company’s website.