Help needed

[Omegaman357]

Found rife in a shop yesterday, need help to identify . Marked U.S. Bridesburg 1862 with the letter O under the word Bridesburg. Has short stock, 1 band. 2 faint cartouches on left side above trigger. No rear sight or evidence that there was one. 32 inch barrel, iron butt plate. all mechanics working fine. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[captaindrew]

A Springfield model musket made by Bridesdurg Machine Works that's been cut down/shortened for sporting use. One of the gun experts can tell you more about the Bridesburg contract muskets. I'm a little confused of the lock. To me it looks like a M63 lock but marked 62 but maybe that's a feature of the Bridesburg contract guns. I'll be interested in what the gun experts have to say.

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina. Nice photos, but I can help paging @ucvrelics

 

[johan_steele]

M1863 that was sporterized into a shotgun post war. To someone like me the value is in the parts to restore or a custom build.

 

[captaindrew]

M1863 that was sporterized into a shotgun post war. To someone like me the value is in the parts to restore or a custom build.

Did the production of M63s actually begin in 62? That confused me being it's stamped 62, thanks

 

[UCVRelics]

I'm no expert on Bridesburgs, but as @johan_steele stated it has been sporterised post war which greatly hurts the value. There are some great threads on this musket here. Below are a few. If you go to the search feature at the top right hand corner and search for Bridesburg there a wealth of info.
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/1864-bridesburg-contract-musket.130526/
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/bridesburg-rifle.146748/

 

[Jobe Holiday]

This is a post-war farm grade shotgun put together from parts. Bridesburg only delivered M-1861 muskets in 1862. The hammer and barrel are am-1863. These mixed parts exist because of the interchangeability of parts. I can't see from the photo whether there is a band spring, or not, so it is hard to tell any more. I will respectfully disagree with Johan's assessment of the only value being in the sum total of the parts. That is correct regarding sales, but I see another value in this arm, which is as a representative piece of American History that shows the end use of thousands of ACW muskets. A number of well known gunsmiths also converted muskets into high grade fowling pieces! These cut-downs were sold also commercially by the likes of Sears & Roebucks and Woolworth's well after the turn of the century. They stayed in use on the farms for quite a few years. So many of these arms have been cannibalized for parts that they are now no longer common to find. All of this is why I feel they deserve a place in a Civil War arms collections. Just my thoughts on cut-down muskets!
J.

 

[tbuckley]

Welcome from eastern Ohio.

 

[johan_steele]

Did the production of M63s actually begin in 62? That confused me being it's stamped 62, thanks

No, it's a parts gun as Jobe mentioned. It isn't a bad arm but one put together. To me I see the value of the parts to scalp to restore or build. Jobe is quite right, these were economical and effective shotguns post war and were readily available well into the 20th century. many a bird has been brought down with arms like this and more than a few front doors defended I expect.

 

[Omegaman357]

This is a post-war farm grade shotgun put together from parts. Bridesburg only delivered M-1861 muskets in 1862. The hammer and barrel are am-1863. These mixed parts exist because of the interchangeability of parts. I can't see from the photo whether there is a band spring, or not, so it is hard to tell any more. I will respectfully disagree with Johan's assessment of the only value being in the sum total of the parts. That is correct regarding sales, but I see another value in this arm, which is as a representative piece of American History that shows the end use of thousands of ACW muskets. A number of well known gunsmiths also converted muskets into high grade fowling pieces! These cut-downs were sold also commercially by the likes of Sears & Roebucks and Woolworth's well after the turn of the century. They stayed in use on the farms for quite a few years. So many of these arms have been cannibalized for parts that they are now no longer common to find. All of this is why I feel they deserve a place in a Civil War arms collections. Just my thoughts on cut-down muskets!
J.

Thanks to all for information. Still an interesting piece for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Omegaman357]

A Springfield model musket made by Bridesdurg Machine Works that's been cut down/shortened for sporting use. One of the gun experts can tell you more about the Bridesburg contract muskets. I'm a little confused of the lock. To me it looks like a M63 lock but marked 62 but maybe that's a feature of the Bridesburg contract guns. I'll be interested in what the gun experts have to say.

Thanks

 

[Omegaman357]

Thanks to all for information. Still an interesting piece for a couple hundred bucks.

There is a band spring and the forend of the stock is tapered. I'll post more pictures if you want.

 

[WJC]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your find! The value is in what you want from it. Enjoy the piece and be sure to join in our discussions.

 

[Omegaman357]

Thanks, I plan to.

 

[Omegaman357]

A Springfield model musket made by Bridesdurg Machine Works that's been cut down/shortened for sporting use. One of the gun experts can tell you more about the Bridesburg contract muskets. I'm a little confused of the lock. To me it looks like a M63 lock but marked 62 but maybe that's a feature of the Bridesburg contract guns. I'll be interested in what the gun experts have to say.

Found one like it online, said possibly a carbine manufacture by a contractor in Ohio explaining the O on the lock plate????

 

[Omegaman357]

By the way my bayonet came today for the 1854 Lorenz. Sure looks good on the old girl.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

Omegaman357 - Thanks for the additional information. The band spring makes the stock from a M-1864 Springfield, so you have the full range of Civil War Springfield models all in one gun!
J.

 

[Yankeedave]

Hello and Welcome from Colorado.

 

[Omegaman357]

Omegaman357 - Thanks for the additional information. The band spring makes the stock from a M-1864 Springfield, so you have the full range of Civil War Springfield models all in one gun!
J.

That's a lot of history