1850 Springfield
Can anyone give me some help with this rifle, I think it's an 1849 Mississippi rifle, but I'm not all that knowledgeable about these. This gun was given to a friend of mine, and we're just trying to pin down what it realy is, and a little history. It's 69 cal, and someone has cut the barrel to 20". Thanks for the help.
W.D.
;
;
;
;
;
W.D.
;;;;;
0
-
Looking in Flayderman, I think it is most likely an 1842 Percussion Musket cut down.
The Mississippi Rifle was a .54 and nearly all were made at Harper's Ferry, not Springfield.
If it is/was an 1842, it started out as a .69.0 -
The reason for it being 69 caliber, rather then .54 or .57. Is that when these rifled muskets became obsolete after the end of the Civil War, they were sold off as surplus in great numbers. To make them viable for sale to the folks participating in the western expansion, they had the rifling bored out. Also the barrels and stock cut back, to convert them into inexpensive shotguns. 0 -
All Model 1842's were originally .69 caliber. The majority (approx. 172,000) were smoothbore muskets although some (approx. 14,000) were rifled at both the Springfield and Harpers Ferry armories. 0 -
Thank you all for the information, it is a smooth bore.
W.D.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
4 comments