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Rooted in a lifelong love of early American history, hunting traditions, and the natural world, Gobbler Knob Longrifles is a craftsman’s workshop where 18th‑century Americana is brought vividly back to life. Founded by a master gunmaker and former wildlife conservation officer, the company is known for its historically accurate Pennsylvania longrifles—especially those inspired by the Lancaster School—as well as its handcrafted Mountain Music game calls. In this interview, we talk to Rick Larnerd about his story and the experiences, and passions that led to Gobbler Knob Longrifles; from a boyhood spent hunting in rural Pennsylvania to decades of recreating the tools, art, and spirit of America’s frontier past.
Could you tell us a bit more about the wonderful products you create at Gobbler Knob Longrifles?
I have a love of history, early American history, in particular. The time period from the mid-1700s to 1830s is the era I am fascinated by the most. The longrifles, fowling pieces and pistols I make would have been seen on the American frontier during this time frame. Those longrifles from the Lancaster School are my absolute favourite to recreate.
My dad started taking me on hunting and fishing trips as a young boy, so I grew to love our natural world with as much enthusiasm. In fact, it was this exposure and nurturing at such an early age which fueled my desire to become a game warden when I grew up.
I harvested my first wild turkey when I was 13 years old and was bitten by the bug! When I began to give thought to what I’d like to do when I retired from being a game warden, it was natural for me to look at Pennsylvania longrifles and game calls.
I have been “Recreating 18th Century Americana” for the past 26 years. While I began making turkey box calls at the same time, it was in 2023 that I separated my call making from my gunmaking and expanded those calls I now make as Mountain Music Game Calls. I make turkey box calls, turkey pot calls, barred owl locator calls, crow calls, and deer calls.
What is your favourite rifle / game call that you have built and why?
The Pennsylvania longrifle is defined by “Schools.” That means, the architecture of the finished arm is defined by the geographical area from which the maker comes. My absolute favorite is the “Lancaster School.” Originating in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, guns from this area typically feature full-length stocks, swamped barrels (barrels which are one diameter at the breech, slim down moving forward through the waist, then flaring out slightly at the muzzle) that are typically forty-two inches in length and are just a beautiful sight to behold. When someone says, “Pennsylvania longrifle,” The Lancaster School is what I envision.
My favorite game call to make is the deer call. I take inspiration for its architecture from 18th Century gun and cannon barrels I mentioned earlier. I shape them to be one diameter at the mouth, slimming down in the waist, then flaring back out at the bell. The architectural profile is one I created and find them to be very aesthetically pleasing. I would note that none of what I do is mass-produced. It is made to order, and I take great pride in this.
How was Gobbler Knob Longrifles established?
As I mentioned earlier, I harvested my first wild turkey when I was a mere lad of thirteen. Then, at sixteen, I harvested a deer with a flintlock rifle I made. This was in the 1970s. One spring evening, I was out listening for turkeys gobble after flying up to roost for the night. They give away their rooting site by doing this and it makes finding them in the morning easier when hunting. This particular evening was a sterling example of a spring night, and I heard thirteen turkeys gobbling on the point of one ridge. The point where a ridge terminates is often times referred to as a “Knob” and I named that spot, “Gobbler Knob” right then and there. Many years later, I had an opportunity to purchase the land on which that ridge occurred, so it was only natural for me to name my shop, “Gobbler Knob.”
I launched Gobbler Knob Longrifles in 2000 and started by making longrifles and turkey box calls. My goal was to, one day, become a full-time maker. In 2020, that dream came to fruition when I retired from full-time employment as a law enforcement officer and took up gunmaking full-time. Here it is, twenty-six years later, and I’m going as strong as ever. In fact, demand for my longrifles has my build calendar backlogged until the spring of 2028!
Having shot your first turkey in your early teens, and harvested a deer at 16, it sounds like hunting and rural life was an important part of your childhood?
Oh, has it ever! I grew up in a very rural part of NE Pennsylvania. My dad introduced me to the outdoors when I was five or so by taking me on fishing trips to Canada. He started taking me hunting with him when I was about eight or nine. I hunted and fished all through my teens. After graduating high school, I enlisted in the United States Army. I spent two years in Germany then two years stateside before my enlistment was up and I returned to my home. My dream was to become a game warden so that I could help conserve the natural world I hold so dear. I am blessed to have spent a twenty-two-year career doing just that before retiring.
During my game warden career, I wrote a bi-weekly newspaper column about my job and the cases I was investigating. I am now in the process of having those columns reproduced in a three-volume set of books entitled, “The Thin Green Line: 16 Years of Pondering.” Its release should be coming within the next couple of months. I also wrote a book which was published in 2008 entitled, The Thin Green Line: A Thumbnail Sketch of the Career of a Wildlife Conservation Officer in Rural Pennsylvania.” That book contains several expanded versions of the columns I wrote. It is available now on Amazon.
I’ve written another book entitled, “The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay.” It is a work of fiction about a Florida Alligator poacher and the game warden who hunts him. It is geared toward young adults, but it’s a great story about pirate treasure, poaching, and the good guys catching their man. It should be released and available for purchase by mid-spring. I genuinely enjoy writing about our natural world as much as I enjoy living, working, and playing in it!
If you could experience any type of hunt / rural pursuit (hunting, shooting, fishing etc.) in the world, what would it be?
Honestly? I have a couple. In this country, we have a conservation organization which does its best to conserve turkey hunting and the traditions which surround it. There are four sub-species of turkey here in the States. Harvesting each of them constitutes a Grand Slam. I have harvested three of the four with a flintlock I’ve made, using calls I’ve made to lure them to the gun. I am traveling to Florida in April to try to harvest the last sub-species – the Osceola. If I’m successful, I’ll have completed a wild turkey Grand Slam. I am unaware of anyone ever having accomplished this using a flintlock.
Second, I have long wanted to harvest a bull moose with a flintlock rifle I’ve made.
Last on my list is to hunt for gold. Not because I want to strike it rich, but because I would thrill to being in the wild areas where gold is found. I would love to travel those places where the men from the 1800s and early 1900s went in pursuit of those riches.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get into gunmaking or game call making?
Great question! When I started in 2000, I did not have access to anyone or the internet to help me. Everything I know today I learned the hard way. Because of that rich history, I am looking into the concept of hosting those who wish to pursue this craft and being a mentor to them. I built my current shop in 2022 and now have the space to mentor four or five students/apprentices. It is something I would dearly love to do. As you know, this tradition of making guns from scratch is an artform which few know. I don’t want to see this die.
