Shiloh Rifle...

[MarkTK36thIL]

Does anyone have a good image of the inscription? When I took a snapshot of it in person, my image wasn't the greatest. Thanks.

 

[Taji04]

Well boys, the wait is over. I finally tracked down an M1851 Saxon Dresden Rifle. with all matching numbers on the parts.
Put money down on it and now I will work a wee bit of overtime to pay for it. Now I need to find a bayonet for it. Pretty excited....!

 

[Jobe Holiday]

Congratulations on acquiring a Saxon/Dresden musket! And, good luck on the bayonet......I've been trying to find one for 25 years!
J.

 

[Taji04]

Congratulations on acquiring a Saxon/Dresden musket! And, good luck on the bayonet......I've been trying to find one for 25 years!
J.

Thank you Jobe. I will enjoy having this rifle in my collection, and I now own one of each model of rifle that each of my ancestors carried in the war. I thought that I would never get there.

Regarding the bayonet, it has quickly become apparent to me that they are more elusive than unicorns. College Hill Arsenal had one for sale in 2015, so the photos are still on their site. At least I know what to look for. Which leads to the next question:

Did all Saxon Dresden rifles come over with a bayonet made specifically for the rifle, or did Mahlberg use generic Belgian issue bayonets? Or was it a mix and match? I ask this because I have seen Belgian bayonets very similar to the Saxon Dresden bayonet, and Mahlberg's muskets had the same lugs in the same place on each model. Not sure of the calibers, but given that enough Belgian muskets of all types made it over here, I wonder if the toad sticker used was whatever fit. No documentation to back it, just speculation, so that's why I am asking.

 

[Taji04]

Alright, boys. I received the Saxon musket today. It is in great shape but the front swivel sling is cracked aas is the tang. No problem, I'll just take them into work and have them TIG welded. EXCEPT.....how do you get the front barrel band over the brass front sight blade? The blade is 1/16th taller than any which way I tilt the band. The band will not rotate upside down, and you can't tip it enough to get it over the sight. Is this normal? Now I understand why none of these defects were fixed over the years.

 

[Taji04]

Never mind the last post.....I figured it out. You have to slide all of the barrel bands forward, and then take out the tang screw, slide the barrel froward and turn upside down to clear the front sight, and all of the barrel bands come off with the barrel. Cool rifle. I will send pics when I get the defects repaired. BTW, the tang is broken--needs to be fixed!

 

[Taji04]

One last question for anyone who may know. The ramrod was about 1.75" short. I had the boilermaker add rod to make it the right length. What thread pitch and TPI should I use to restore the threads? Not sure what the Europeans used back then.

 

[Taji04]

Alright. Here are the photos. The ramrod tip still has to be threaded and patina added. As does the tang. The upper sling swivel was repaired, straightened and re-matched to the barrel band. The last photo is the musket in the rack. I now have one of every musket carried by my ACW ancestors.

 

[Taji04]

Here is that last photo of the musket in the rack. Sorry, I can't get it to rotate right and stick.

 

[Taji04]

Pards,

I am pleased to report that I have found a Saxon Dresden bayonet. I found it on e-bay listed as "a RARE Richmond Musket bayonet". I kept looking at it and it just didn't jive, since the Richmond musket is basically an M1855 without the primer tape system. The bayonet to fit it would be a Confederate copy of the M1855 bayonet or a captured Union M1855. Something looked wrong about it. Then I noticed that the bridge was on the opposite side of the blade, like many foreign bayonets. AND that it had two locking ring lugs. College Hill Arsenal cites two lugs as the dead give away for a Saxon Dresden Bayonet, and only Saxon Dresdens have two lugs. Also the markings nailed it for the Germanic serial numbering system used on the rifles. Mind you I paid a bit for it, The guy was still convinced of it's rarity as a Confederate Richmond bayonet, but I wasn't about to quibble--I just paid the money, thankful that I found it at all. Oh, and it fits the rifle like a glove the first time I tried it. Now to find a locking ring..... Pictures below.

 

[MarkTK36thIL]

I sent my Dresden down to the Rifle Shoppe for theme to cast molds to make parts for it. I found a friend a Dresden bayonet, and am urging him to send it down, but at 13 months later and TRS still holding my rifle- he's reluctant to send it to them.

Maybe at the very least, it will help guys whom really want a Dresden, to be able to get kits from TRS to assemble.

 

[Craig L Barry]

I sent my Dresden down to the Rifle Shoppe for theme to cast molds to make parts for it. I found a friend a Dresden bayonet, and am urging him to send it down, but at 13 months later and TRS still holding my rifle- he's reluctant to send it to them.

Maybe at the very least, it will help guys whom really want a Dresden, to be able to get kits from TRS to assemble.

You hear anecdotes like that about The Rifle Shoppe all the time.

 

[MarkTK36thIL]

I knew the three months time frame they gave me wasn't gonna happen, and expected it to be longer. I thought they were about done last month and was mistaken.

 

[Taji04]

I knew the three months time frame they gave me wasn't gonna happen, and expected it to be longer. I thought they were about done last month and was mistaken.

Shoot Dang! That is a LONG time to have a rare rifle on loan!

 

[MarkTK36thIL]

Yeah it is. Someone had to be first for the greater good of the hobby. I hope I can persuade my buddy to loan his original Saxon bayonet top them and that way there can be some more floating around. I bought it to unite with mine, but the socket was too small in diameter. So my search continues.