Kentucky Rifle Association
1920
- 1920s created by George N. Hyatt and a number of early collectors and students of the Kentucky rifle and pistol
- 1924 Captain John G. W. Dillin, wrote “The Kentucky Rifle”
- 1961 Dilin invited a number of collectors to participate in an exhibit and discussion at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
- April 14 – 15, 1962, a second meeting was held at the Mountain View Inn, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
- 1975 KRA book, Kentucky Rifles and Pistols, 1750 – 1850
- 1979 Annual Meeting marked the 5th anniversary of our KRA Newsletter
- 1981 our KRA book, Kentucky Rifles and Pistols 1750 – 1850, was reprinted
- 2004 Kentucky Rifle foundation formed
- 2010, after thirty-eight years at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, annual show was relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 2012 Annual Meeting, celebrated 50 Year Anniversary
About the Kentucky Rifle Association
The Kentucky Rifle Association (KRA) is a non-profit collectors’ organization devoted to the study, collection and preservation of antique Kentucky rifles, pistols, powder horns and related accoutrements. Its roots go back to the 1920s circle of collectors around Captain John G. W. Dillin, whose 1924 book The Kentucky Rifle was the first comprehensive work on the subject, and George N. Hyatt of Wilmington, Delaware, who conceived the idea of a permanent organization. After a well-attended 1961 exhibit at the Valley Forge Hotel in Norristown, Pennsylvania, collectors met again at the Mountain View Inn in Greensburg on April 14-15, 1962, where the association was formally founded. It was incorporated as a Pennsylvania non-profit on August 26, 1970.
For gun owners, the KRA matters because the American longrifle is the firearm of the frontier and the Revolution, the arm of the expert riflemen raised by the Continental Congress in June 1775. The association publishes the KRA Bulletin three times a year, has produced reference books on longrifles and their makers, and works alongside its educational arm, the Kentucky Rifle Foundation, on museum exhibits and photographic archives. Membership is by invitation and has held at roughly 520 to 580 members in recent years. The association remains active in 2026, holding its annual meeting and show in the Pittsburgh area.
Key Facts
- 1924: Captain John G. W. Dillin publishes The Kentucky Rifle
- April 14-15, 1962: Association formally founded at Greensburg, Pennsylvania
- August 26, 1970: Incorporated as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation
- 1975: KRA book Kentucky Rifles and Pistols, 1750-1850 goes into production
- 2010: Annual show moves to Cranberry Township near Pittsburgh after 38 years at Carlisle
- 2012: 50th anniversary meeting held
Learn More
Sources
- History of the Kentucky Rifle Association
- Kentucky Rifle Association: Preserving America’s Longrifle Legacy
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