Trigger job on Colt Special musket?

johnnyo55

Cadet
Joined
Jul 14, 2014
Note: I've already posted this on the reenactor's forum, but thought it might get a little more exposure here. Apologies for the cross-posting...

I just scrounged one of the reissue 1861 Specials that Colt made back in the '90's, and was wondering what the correct procedure is for lightening the trigger a bit. I know that the 1861 special was a sort of hybrid between the Springfield and Enfield designs, which have distinctly different mechanisms. Ideally, I'd like to bring it down to 3-4 pounds. Any advice from you vets?

Also...I've already "relocated" the serial number from it's top-of-the-barrel location in an effort at defarbing. Any other suggestions?
 
Are you going to use it to fire live rounds for hunting or target events? If just for firing blanks, why would you consider messing with the trigger pull? The lighter the pull the more likely to cause an accidental discharge. By defarbing it would seem that it's primary use is for reenacting events. I would not lighten the trigger pull for safety reasons at such events.
 
A 3-4lb. trigger is reasonable for target shooting and hunting. I can't see that it makes a difference firing blanks. If you don't now what you're doing though, take it to a competent gunsmith familiar with the basic lock mechanism to have the work done. 3lbs. would be minimum.
 
I don't plan on firing blanks; don't really have any formalized plans for the rifle but will likely do some target work with it. The relocation of the serial number was just an effort to make the piece more closely resemble the prototype. Once again...is the lockwork of the Springfield or Enfield pattern?
 
The reproduction Colt Special was not manufactured by Colt. It was simply licensed by Colt and manufactured by another manufacturer. The same was largely true of the second and third generation reproduction Colt revolvers bearing the Colt name. In the North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) the minimum trigger weight for a rifle(d) musket is three pounds, and Skirmishers try to get close to that. What several members of my team found was that the quality of metal/case harding in the lockwork of the "Colts" was so poor that once they had adjusted the trigger weights, or had them adjusted by someone else, the gun would not maintain the weight; generally failing in a short period of time. It is a bad thing when the N-SSA Inspector General weighs your trigger and it doesn't meet the requirements. All of them disposed of the guns.

You may want to reconsider your objective, or give the gun to someone who really knows what they are doing. Good luck.

Regards,
Don Dixon
 
The basic lock works are the same for Springfield, Enfield, Colt. Parts are different, though the basic mechanism is the same. I've had and shot original specimens of all three, and going by memory here, the Colt as I remember uses an Enfield "pattern" internal lock parts. If you have the skill, use a new small fine Arkansas stone to smooth the tumbler and sear squarely. If this produces a trigger pull you can live with, use "Casenite" available from "Brownells" to case harden the parts. Even if the parts are soft, this may work with proper lubrication. I honestly don't know if the re-pro Colts will accept original parts, I would suggest contacting Bill, at Lodgewood. He may stock original lock parts and will be able to give you proper advise on obtaining a suitable trigger on your Colt.
 
After a conversation with Dave at Lodgewood (whose opinion of the Colt repro muskets is high; he thinks they are of higher quality than most of the Italian repros), I neatly solved the "problem" in about 15 minutes. He suggested that I remove the sear spring and reduce the temper by heating it. I was able to do so and reduced the pull from >10 lbs to what I'm guessing is about five. It's a bit of a tricky business as if one heats the spring too much it will lose all temper along with its effectiveness. I heated it in a gas stove flame until a dull cherry color was JUST beginning to show, then let it cool naturally.
I must emphasize that a hint of color was just beginning to show through the black. I suppose that if one overdid this, it could just be re-heated and quenched in water to restore its original temper, then start over again...

Next, a higher front sight blade needs to be fabricated and pinned in!

Southron, that's an interesting article you posted. I had no idea how little steel was used in "our" period...I had always wondered why "steel" was stamped on the breech end of some muskets.
 
S & S Firearms carries a "Competition" front sight.

http://www.ssfirearms.com/proddetail.asp?prod=58S148A&cat=87

[While you are at it, order a spare Sear Spring, Sear Screw, Mainspring, Stirrup, Hammer Screw, etc., and then put them away-sooner or later you will have a broken part that needs to be replaced. You are a lot better off if you have the replacements handy-like in your shooting box.] While you are at it, get a Musket Tool as those have two "screwdriver" blades that fit your screw slots on the Colt. NEVER use a regular screwdriver on your gun as a regular screwdriver will "bugger" your screw heads.

You have to have either a competent gunsmith with a milling machine who can heat and take the old front sight off (it is soldered on) and then cut the dovetail for the new front sight in exactly the same place.

Here is a trick on installing the Front Sight-

1. Flip the front sight over and put it in a Vise of a Drill Press, with the base of the sight up.

2. Then drill a shallow hole in the base.

3. Heat the base of the sight up to red hot and run some silver solder in the hole in the base.

4. Wait until the front sight fully cools and file off the excess silver solder until the base is flat again.

5. Use a brass hammer to tap the front sight into the dovetail slot.

[If you still want to be able to fit a bayonet on your Colt, then have the machinist/gunsmith mill a slot in the socket portion of the bayonet so it can fit over the higher, new front sight.]

6. Cast up your Minie Balls out of PURE LEAD-nothing else will do.

6.Weigh your Minie Balls on an electronic scale. Separate them into "Lots" of Plus/Minus 1 Grain. Your underweight Minie Balls get remelted into the lead pot because they have hidden air holes.

7. Hint: A small amount of TIN in your casting pot of molten lead, like a short piece of 50/50 Lead/Tin Soft Solder Wire, will make it much easier to cast perfect Minie Balls. The Minie's will also come out "brighter."

8.Run your Minie Balls thru a sizing die, YOUR MINIE BALLS SHOULD BE SIZED 2 THOUSANDS OF AN INCH UNDER YOUR BORE DIAMETER,[Very Important.] Any competent gunsmith can determine your true bore diameter by "slugging" your bore or using a special micrometer that can measure the inside diameter of 3 Groove Barrels.

9. Then load up 5 rounds of your weighed bullets with 40 Grains of FFFg Black Powder, 5 rounds with 32 Grains of FFFg black powder right on up to about 54 Grains of FFFg powder. Be sure to "Lube" your Minie Balls in their grease grooves. I recommend a mixture of 60% real Beeswax and 40% Bore Butter melted together. Avoid paraffin like the plague as paraffin in your lube mixture will produce a nasty "sludge" fouling.

You can use plastic cartridge tubes that can be used over and over after a trip thru the clothes washing machine:

http://www.ssfirearms.com/search.asp

10. Before heading to the range, make sure your Tang Screw is TIGHT. A Loose Tang Screw will kill your accuracy. Another option that will greatly improve the accuracy of your Colt is to have a gunsmith Glass Bed the breech and tang using Brownell's Acraglas Glass Bedding Compound. If done correctly, it will be impossible to tell from looking at your Colt that the breech has been glass bedded.

11. At the 100 Yard Target Frame put up a fairly large white poster board with a 5 or 6 inch black aiming spot in the center.

12. Go back, put your Colt "On the Bench" and fire your five 40 Grain loads, aiming carefully. At this point you don't care where the bullets hit in relation to the aiming spot-YOU ARE ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR GROUP SIZE IN THE PAPER.

13. Of course after every 5 shots, go down range and measure your group size and then tape it over with white freezer tape.
Shoot all of your different loads.

14. What you will find is that there is one particular powder charge your Colt likes best and rewards you with a very tight group.

15. Go home and load up a bunch of rounds using the powder charge that gave you the tightest group.

16. Go to the range, this time to "Sight In" your Colt. With the S & S Front Sight you will find your bullets hit low, below the aiming point. Well, bring along a file and FILE DOWN your front sight until your bullets come up on the target and are hitting on the same level as the aiming point. Of course, file down your front sight when the gun is unloaded and Never,Never, Never stand in front of the muzzle! A well known gunsmith by the name of Freund ignored that rule and killed himslef while he was adjusting the front sight of a Sharps rifle!!!

17. To take care of your Windage, you are going to have to tap your front sight over in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION to get your bullets to hit the aiming point! When your Colt is "Sighted In" to your satisfaction, i.e., the bullets hitting the aiming point and producing small groups-then make sure your Colt is unloaded.

18. Then sit it on the bench where it will not fall over with the front sight level and on top. Heat the BASE of the front sight on both sides with the flame of a propane touch. The silver solder in the base of the front sight will melt and when it cools it will "lock" your front sight in place.

When you have your Colt "Sighted In" IF YOU LIVE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, then go to:

www.n-ssa.org/

Thru the website, contact the "Recruiting Officer." He can put you in touch with several N-SSA "teams" in your state. Shooting your Colt in rapid fire, N-SSA target matches is a lot of fun, plus it will do wonders for your marksmanship abilities!

Oh yes....STEEL barrels. Most Civil War era guns were made with iron barrels. The government had been experimenting with steel in gun barrels before the Civil War. Matter of fact, Remington made up some experimental barrels out of steel in the 1850's for the Ordnance Department.

It was the invention of the Bessemer process of producing steel in the 1860's that made the mass production of steel practical. Colt did make some of their Special Model 1861 barrels out of steel and so marked the barrels. Whether those barrels were barrel blanks made in England and imported by Colt, I do not know.

Interestingly enough, the British NRA held target matches all though out England in the 1860's and 1870's using Enfield Rifles and later Snider-Enfields. There was a belief in the British NRA that iron barrels were more accurate than steel barrels!!! Regardless, thanks to the Bessmer process, steel barrels in firearms became the norm by the turn of the Century in 1900. The development of smokeless powders required that gun barrels be made of steel.

One of the current favorite steels from which to make barrels is good 0ld 4140 steel. This steel has been around about a Century now and will probably remain a favorite barrel making steel for a long time!
 
Oh Yes....while I am thinking about it, another thing you can do to "decrease your lock time" [the amount of time it takes from the time you pull the trigger until the hammer fires the percussion cap] is to polish your lock inside.

Here is what to do:

1. Carefully disassemble your lock. (The only thing mechanically simpler than a musket lock is a spear.) If you don't have a Spring Vise, you can always use a Vise Grip Pliers or even an adjustable wrench to keep the mainspring compressed so it can be removed.

2. Be very careful and don't lose your "Stirrup" it is that very little "S" shaped part that falls off when the tumbler is removed form the lockplate. The Stirrup connects the mainspring to the tumbler.

3. Place all of your parts in a plastic box with a lid so you don't lose them.

4. Get a small piece of flat steel to use as a "Sanding Block." Then head down to your local hardware store and get some 9" X 11"
3 Sheets of 600 Grit Emery Paper, 3 Sheets of 900 Grit Emery Paper and 4 or 5 Sheets of 1200 Grit (or finer) Emery Paper.

This is one of those jobs that is going to take a lot of hand work, but you can watch TV while you do it. Just be aware that when you have worked with the paper for a while, you will have a black, soot type dirt on your hands and clothes.

Anyway, tear or cut off a piece of the 600 Grit emery paper, wrap it around your flat, metal "sanding block" and start polishing the BACKSIDE of your Lock Plate. You will note the more you "polish" the shiner the metal of the backside of the lock plate will become.

Go thru your various grades of Emery Paper. The rule is that when the backside of the lock plate is polished with the 1200 Grit Emery Paper enough, it will LOOK LIKE A MIRROR-when you can actually see the reflection of your face in it, you are about done!

Polish the hole in the lock plate that the tumbler protrudes thru.

Polish the round section of the tumbler that rotates in that hole when the gun is fired.

By polishing all of those lock parts along with the lock plate you are reducing the "friction" and your lock will operate much faster and smoother when the trigger is pulled.

Of course, after everything is polished, use a good oil on the lock parts to also help reduce friction but to protect the parts from rust.

You will be surprised how much a quick "Lock Time" will help your marksmanship-but it does.

GOOD LUCK!!!
 
The reproduction "Colt" Special Model of 1861 that you have will accept Armi Sport Enfield lock internals. There is a chapter on them in The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy. As far as quality, it is on par with the other Italian repros, point being in no way close to what Colt made back in the 1860s (or Amoskeag & LG and Y for that matter). Cosmetically it is pretty close, except for that farby "Sam Colt" signature on the trigger guard.
 
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