My First: Opinions Please - Model 1861 Rifle Musket

Johnny676767

Private
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Hello,

I posted a few days back about purchasing my first CW firearm. I’ve actually been out of work recovering from knee surgery, so I’ve had a lot of time to look around and read. All of the tips are great as are resources recommended. Now, I’m sure it’s too soon, but I think I found one. Priced higher than I wanted to go, but I love the originality.

What do you think?


Thank you for the help
 
Ok, good points, especially about the “real” Springfield. I see what you mean. I guess I haven’t looked enough based on what you‘re saying. I was excited there. One question, though: Where do those Norwich manufacturing numbers come from? I read in Flayderman that 63-64 production was 25,000. Thanks
 
Ok, good points, especially about the “real” Springfield. I see what you mean. I guess I haven’t looked enough based on what you‘re saying. I was excited there. One question, though: Where do those Norwich manufacturing numbers come from? I read in Flayderman that 63-64 production was 25,000. Thanks
"American Military Shoulder Arms Vol. 3" by George Moller. This is not an inexpensive book. There also was 14500 that were fabricated by Eagle Manufacturing that was taken over by Norwich. I did not included them in the numbers above. The first 5500 of these would have been stamped "Eagleville" instead of Norwich. These would be dated 1863
You may also want to consider The 1861 Contract Rifle. Put it in the search feature and you will see some of the variations. Looks like a close cousin.
 
check out the net. you can get a nice gun for a lot less. it has rust on top, and is worth about a grand at most. Ken
 
Take a look at that Bridesburg musket in that posted link - the seller's description says it is in "absolutely fantastic condition" but you can see there is rust pitting on the metal in that photo. The metal has been cleaned, but the brown rust remains in the bottoms of the pits. The description says the lockplate has "a perfect, untouched patina" but it has that rust pitting - that's not patina, that's pitting. You'll also notice the wood around the lockplate has slightly rounded edges - they were originally sharp and crisp, and if you look at other muskets on line, you will find some with the sharp edge look. The description says this stock has not been sanded, but those edges should not be worn down and slightly rounded except by sanding -- these are not really too rounded but some, and I can't imagine how they got that way without being sanded at sometime in the past. The seller says it have never been sanded or cleaned, and I think it has been both sanded and cleaned.
In fact, that Norwich you first mentioned shows that sharper edge to the wood - look at the wood just in front of the nipple - see how sharp the edges, compared to the Bridesburg?
Lodgewood is good folks, and this is not to say this is a bad example of a musket, but this gives you an idea of how you should look at items you are considering.
 
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