The Spencer's virtues as an affordable, durable, reasonably powerful repeater, however, made it popular among budget minded civilians for many years after its military demise. Spencers were still dropping deer east and west into the early years of this century. For a long time, civilian Spencer shooters were amply supplied with surplus and commercially produced ammunition for their .56-.56s and .56-.50s. The sun began to set on the Spencer, however, with the obsolete cartridge purge conducted by American manufacturers in the wake of World War I. Like the Henry, the rimfire Spencer was limited to factory produced ammunition. As the years slipped by, existing stocks were largely expended or deteriorated and by the Civil War Centennial there were few Spencers firing salutes.

While other Civil War breechloading small arms, including the Henry, Sharps, Gallagher and Smith Carbines have returned to production and are seen on firing lines at skirmishes and reenactments across America, the Spencer has not been resurrected. American and European replica makers are no doubt capable of reproducing the Spencer,, but it seems unlikely we'll see any new seven shooters soon. Probably the most important reason for this is the unavailablility of a satisfactory ammunition supply. The Smith and Sharps are externally primed breechloaders; cartridge tubes, bullet moulds and percussion caps for these arms are readily available from sutlers and ammunition is easily fabricated by shooters. The new Henry can be fed .44- 40 cartridges and remain true to its original bore diameter and ballistics, and reloading the .44-40 is a relatively painless procedure. The Spencer, on the other hand, cannot be chambered for a readily available contemporary cartridge which even approximates its original caliber.

There is hope, however, for Spencer shooters who wish to blaze away with blanks at reenactments, participate in N-SSA cartridge rifle competition or simply bust tin cans in the spirit of the 1860s. Dixie Gun Works (Dept CWN, Gunpowder Lane, PO Box 130, Union City, TN 38261; catalog $4) has long sold brass stock 56-50 cartridge cases, which may work in 56-56s as well. The Dixie cases are primed with a .22 short blank or a .22 short case with the powder and bullet removed and then loaded with black powder and Spencer bullet. The priming blank must be aligned properly with the Spencer's rimfire firing pin, however, effectively rendering the repeater into a single shot.

For those who want to use their Spencers as repeaters there is another solution. As early as 1967, an article on Spencer centerfire conversions by E.V. Hathaway appeared in the December issue of Shooting Times. Hathaway's conversion involved modifying an original upper breechblock. While relatively common when the article was published, breechblocks have grown scarce since. This problem was solved in 1985 when S & S Firearms (Dept. CWN, 74-11 Myrtle Ave., Glendale, NY 11385; catalog $3) introduced a newly manufactured Spencer center fire upper breech block. The hardened steel block, which is N-SSA approved, comes complete with spring loaded firing pin and firing pin carrier and sells for $100. It is suitable for all Spencer models, although minor fitting may be required for some guns. Since installation of the S & S breechblock does not require any firearm modification, a Spencer owner who wishes to shoot his rifle or carbine may retain his original breechblock and the collectible value of his gun.

I have never subscribed to the belief that all original guns are too fragile or valuable to shoot. As long as reasonable care and common sense are excercised, shooting original guns will not degrade their value, unless they are in "factory new" condition. Each gun is an individual case, however, and should be evaluated by a good gunsmith.

Once he installs a centerfire breechblock in his rifle or carbine, the potential Spencer shooter has to craft servicible ammunition. Cartridges for centerfire Spencer conversions are usually made from .50-70 cartridge cases, although John C. McQueen reports using 11mm Spanish cases successfully. The major American ammunition makers have long since ceased production of .50-70 cartridges, but Dixie Gun Works sells new .50-70 brass at a reasonable price. Before discussing the creation of modern Spencer cartridges, however, a brief word on original ammunition is in order.

Civil War Spencers were chambered for the "Number 56," or .56-.56 rimfire cartridge, developed by the inventor, Christopher Spencer. Unlike many 19th century cartridge designations, the numbers do not indicate bullet or bore diameter or powder charge. They represent the dimensions, in hundreths of an inch, of the cartridge case's base and mouth. The diameter of the .56-.56's 350 grain bullet was a nominal .52 caliber, (most are actually around .54 caliber) and, like a modern .22 rimfire, was held in its case by a short "heel" at the bullet base. Most of the bullet's length, including the lubrication grooves, was exposed. A charge of 45 grains of black powder gave the round a muzzle velocity of 1200 feet per second.