hog rifle
An old muzzle-loading long rifle, the kind mountain folks kept for hunting and hog-killing.
Also called hawg rifle, long rifle, muzzleloader.
Updated September 24, 2026
hog rifle pronunciation
/HAWG RYE-ful/
Meaning
A hog rifle is a long-barreled muzzleloader, often a family piece or a homemade mountain gun. Same breed as the Kentucky or Pennsylvania long rifle. In Appalachian talk the name stuck because those black-powder guns were what you used at hog-killing time, and for deer, squirrel, and whatever else paid for supper. Stress falls on rifle: hog RIFLE.
How folks use it
- “Grandpa's hog rifle still hangs over the mantel.”
- “They won't let modern guns in that beef shoot; it's hog rifles only.”
Origin and etymology
Southern Appalachian name for a muzzle-loading hunting rifle. Horace Kephart recorded it in the early 1900s. Folks also called them hawg rifles. The label comes from using those long guns to shoot hogs at slaughter, not from a special factory model.
Frequently asked questions
Is a hog rifle only for hunting hogs?
No. That's where the name comes from, but mountain folks used the same gun for deer, squirrel, and target shoots.