Armi Sport 1842 Rifled Musket

La Tiger

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Jul 3, 2015
Location
Louisiana
Seriously thinking of purchasing an example of the 1842 Rifled Musket. I've got a couple of questions.

1. The Lyman conical mold seems too large at .685" for easy loading in a fouled barrel. Does anyone have experience with it?

2. Did you have it "defarbed" and by whom?

3. What's your impression of the quality?

4. I've seen bayonets listed from $50 to $200. What's the difference?

Thanks in advance.
 
Seriously thinking of purchasing an example of the 1842 Rifled Musket. I've got a couple of questions.

1. The Lyman conical mold seems too large at .685" for easy loading in a fouled barrel. Does anyone have experience with it?
It's the wrong mold for a buck n ball. You need their .64 or .64 I don't recall which and a .31 mold. Buck n ball was 1 64/65 call ball & 3 x .31 buckshot.

2. Did you have it "defarbed" and by whom? Todd Watts is excellent but I'm not sure if he's still foing defarbs and Lodgewood offers and excellent M1842 defarb.

3. What's your impression of the quality? The ArmiSport M1842 is probably the least bad of the Italian repops; though the new Pedersoli offerings are heads and shoulders better than the old Euro Arms P53 & M1861 in particular.

4. I've seen bayonets listed from $50 to $200. What's the difference? The $50 ones are typically the standard made in India offering. There is an Italian made spring steel which used to retail for about $100 (I don't remember them offering an M1842 bayonet) and there are originals which retail for betweel $100-250 for ones in decent shape.

Thanks in advance.

One other thing I always suggest to anyone looking at an M1842 is to buy the rifled version & pick up a spare barrel in smoothbore. If you talk to Lodgewood, S&S or other quality vendors they'll gladly jump at the opportunity to make a little more coin. Then you have the versatility to re-enact w/ the smoothie and live fire w/ the rifled by doing nothing more than swapping the barrel.
 
My experience with the repro rifled 42 is from shooting a friends. He got the Lyman mold, also. You have got to have that bullet mold HOT when you cast, and you have to pour the lead fast, to get good formed bullets. Having that removable core pin makes casting the bullet a slow process, you have to keep the mold hot at all times. You only get 9 bullets out of a pound of lead! The Lyman bullet is a great copy of the original .69 cal Minnie. It's BIG! http://www.midwayusa.com/product/63...-mold-68569-69-caliber-685-diameter-730-grain


We rolled up original style cartridges, with the prescribed 70 gr FFg black powder. The bullets were lubed with a mix of beeswax/shortening. We didn't have any trouble loading, they shot fine, but with that sight on the barrel band, and NOT on the barrel, point of impact did change to the point of aim. The band somehow needs tightened. We did not have a scale big enough to weigh out those heavy bullets, to segregate them into equal weight groups, so consistency in weight was an issue in accuracy.

The recoil is an attention getter! It will slap "L" out of a metal target at 100 yds!

The repro rifled 42 is a great looking gun, and it's a unique, fun experience for folk to shoot, and no too many are as commonly seen as the smoothbore 42.
Both are fun to own!

As to the bayonet...get the expensive Italian repro, it's worth having over a cheap one, made by God knows who!

Kevin Dally
 
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One other thing I always suggest to anyone looking at an M1842 is to buy the rifled version & pick up a spare barrel in smoothbore. If you talk to Lodgewood, S&S or other quality vendors they'll gladly jump at the opportunity to make a little more coin. Then you have the versatility to re-enact w/ the smoothie and live fire w/ the rifled by doing nothing more than swapping the barrel.
Shane:
What is your opinion of shooting Buck-n-Ball out of a rifled 42? As shallow as the rifling is, and you keep the barrel clean, would the lead balls really do any damage?

Kevin Dally
 
Thank you for your reply, sir. Your thoughts on the extra barrel echo mine. I'd like to shoot buck n ball, but I can't escape the desire to send 1 1/2 ounces of lead down range!
 
I misread the original post failing to note the rather obvious "rifled" and was thinking standard smoothie. That said I will always suggest to anyone interested in the M1842 going the route of buying the rifled model w/ a spare smoothie barrel. You get two weapons for only marginally more than the price of one.

I own an original "Special Model 1842" aka Fremont. She lets you know quite well when you've pulled the trigger and she is a LOT of fun. She is also one of my more accurate black powder arms, what I wish I could do was keep the !@#$% front sight from working loose and falling off. I think I will have to ask my father to replace the tall front sight withe the correct brass blade.

I've never tried buck n ball through her & admit I probably wouldn't want to. I don't see the soft lead round balls doing any damage but I just can't see myself doing it. I've purchased all of my .69 rounds online That said the buck n ball loads I acquired and sent down range through my original shortened Potsdam were FUN!!!! if a touch rough on the shoulder when using such a short arm. The spread at 50 yards was all over the place. I fired 5 at 50 and 5 more at 100 trying to kill a 4'x8' plywood piece. At 50 yards maybe 1/3 missed altogether and at 100... -hangs head in shame- I don't want to talk about it.
 
Here is a photo I took with a reproduction Washington Arsenal Pack I made up for a friend.
100_1583.JPG
.69 Minnie examples.jpg
Also one of an original .69 Minnie, the Lyman cast repro, and a cartridge form of the .69 Minnie.

Kevin Dally
 
My best friend had an Armi Sport and original. He liked and carried both depending on whether a Living History event or a reenactment. I like the repro myself. Myself. He shot both of them with live rounds.
 
The original loads and projectiles are unpleasant at best, and generally just plain punishing! But, for fun plinking, there are much lighter substitute bullets available, or at least there moulds available for a semi-wadcutter which is much more pleasant to shoot.
J.
 
Them .69 Minies...

Buddy, thems a durn PILL right there!! :D

An Armisport rifled model so defarbed would be a cool gun for sure!!
 
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