Jacob Dickert (1740-1822) is among the most famous of all American longrifle makers. He was a well-respected Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, gunmaker with a career spanning from the 1760s to 1820s. He produced rifles under contract for the U.S. government in the early national period. He also briefly partnered with his son-in-law James Gill in a store in the mid-1790s, and it has often been said that Dickert & Gill made contract rifles. However, these "J. Dickert Gill" rifles appear to have actually been the work of his grandson Jacob Dickert Gill (b. 1788). A "J. Dickert Gill" rifle was sent to J.J. Henry by the American Fur Company to base their trade rifles on in 1831. This rifle features a lightly swamped octagonal barrel with seven-groove rifling, blade and notch sights, and "J: Dickert [tomahawk and pipe cartouche] Gill" signed on top. The lock is marked "NOCK/WARRANTED" and has light engraving and a roller on the frizzen spring. The rifle is equipped with a plain trigger and has lightly engraved brass mounts, three small silver crescent moon inlays, an inlet for an oval wrist escutcheon (absent), and a later brass inlay added to the cheekpiece. The nicely figured curly maple stock has a checkered wrist.

Good with dark brown patina and oxidation on the lock and barrel, moderate pitting concentrated at the breech, replacement top jaw and jaw screw, re-faced frizzen, attractively aged patina on the brass mounts and silver inlays, the noted absent wrist escutcheon, and general moderate wear. The stock is fair and has worn but visible checkering, some chips and cracks, loosely fitting barrel wedges, attractive flame figure, mild scrapes and dings, small hole on the underside of the butt, and general mild wear. The lock needs work as it does not hold in half or full cock. The distinctive signature is crisp, and the maker's marks is faint but legible.