1864 Springfield Muzzle Loading Rifle

[CT_Shooter]

A very good friend of mine gave me a civil war rifle today. It's 154 years old, has all of its original parts (including the bayonet) and seems to be in working condition. I would love to bring this rare piece of American history back to life. It has hung on the wall of a sportsman's bar for many, many decades and has not likely been cleaned or used since the 1800s, but it shows no sign of rust or any other serious deterioration, other than a small piece of chipped wood on the butt stock up top near the metal of the action (maybe occurring during wartime). It's also not loaded; I checked.

I plan to clean the exterior and the inside of the barrel with Ballistol and coat it in RenWax because I do not want to damage the very warm patina on both the wood and the steel, while also wanting to preserve and use it again.

Any advice about proceeding with conserving this wonderful rifle?

It's an awesome gun. I'm honored to own it.

1864 Civil War Springfield Muzzle Loading Rifle

1864 Springfield Rifle.jpg (143.75 KiB) Viewed 5787 times

[JEBar]

OUTSTANDING .... OUTSTANDING INDEED .... as one point, I'd suggest you really soak where the primer nipple screws into the side of the barrel .... if you don't have one, they make a tool to remove and reinstall the nipple .... I've found that the small area below the nipple and the hole into the rear of the barrel can become clogged .... if you want to put it back into use, once you get that area cleared, you can do so .... all that being said, my first move would be to take it to a gunsmith in which you have confidence for a thorough inspection

[Mags]

You have a really, really good friend to have parted from it and given it to you. Very generous indeed.

[CT_Shooter]

You have a really, really good friend to have parted from it and given it you. Very generous indeed.

I'm nearly 68 and we've been friends since I was 14. He's in the process of selling (or giving away) everything he and his wife own to set off on a retirement adventure exploring the U.S. in an RV. I will miss him. Friends like Harry are very, very rare... much more so than this rifle.

[PT7]

That gifted rifle makes a person nearly speechless. It is a very cool, history-filled rifle to have! BTW, you've taken a great photo to show it to us....looks to be in excellent condition at 154 years old.

But as you said, CT_Shooter, Harry's friendship is rare and has so much more value. You are a most blessed and fortunate man in having your friendship with him ongoing for almost 5-1/2 decades. Sorry that his planned U.S. explorations will take him away.....I cannot imagine how you will miss having him near.

Take care.
PT7

I'm nearly 68 and we've been friends since I was 14. He's in the process of selling (or giving away) everything he and his wife own to set off on a retirement adventure exploring the U.S. in an RV. I will miss him. Friends like Harry are very, very rare... much more so than this rifle.

[RanchRoper]

Wow that is very cool.

[Travlin]

JeBar, "Take it to a confidence that you have confidence in" ? ? ?

[BigAl52]

CT have you put a bore light in it? What caliber is it? 58? If your wanting to shoot it you can buy the minnie balls for it online. Maybe you have a blackpowder store close buy. I might also suggest looking up a blackpowder club in your area and see if there is someone there that might be willing to lend a hand with shooting it should you decide to do so. I personally have not ever shot one of those . All of the rifles I own in Black are side locks both flint and percussion.

[JEBar]

JeBar, "Take it to a confidence that you have confidence in" ? ? ?

thanks, went back and corrected it to read ===> Take it to a gunsmith that you have confidence in


dang spell check, if it is so smart, it should have known what I was trying to say ...

[CT_Shooter]

CT have you put a bore light in it? What caliber is it? 58?

It is a 58 and, no, I haven't seen the bore, yet. I'm currently looking around for a local smith who has experience working with these rifles, someone who can examine it and determine if it's possible (and advisable) to bring it back into service.

Hickok45 has one that's in excellent condition and he's produced two videos that have me excited to shoot it.

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkkLO0UMXBU


Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwx679bGz-s

[PT7]

Thanks for the links. I watched the videos, CT_Shooter, and Hickok45 was really very enthusiastic about shooting the Springfield black powder rifle. He couldn't say enough about how much fun he was having!

Glad his excitement is spilling over to you about shooting your new rifle. Looking forward to your effort and progress to get it back into service. Targets from your first Range Report, and any closeup photos of the gun's "character/personality," will be very cool to see!

Have a lot of fun with this project....and ENJOY
PT7

CT have you put a bore light in it? What caliber is it? 58?

It is a 58 and, no, I haven't seen the bore, yet. I'm currently looking around for a local smith who has experience working with these rifles, someone who can examine it and determine if it's possible (and advisable) to bring it back into service.

Hickok45 has one that's in excellent condition and he's produced two videos that have me excited to shoot it.

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkkLO0UMXBU


Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwx679bGz-s

[Mistered]

The .58 Springfield rifles are one of my favorite models - and I have a repro '63 Zouave, which is the shortened version of the original design of 1861.
Love to shoot it and it is DEADLY accurate with .58 cal Hornady Great Plains conicals, which the Springfields were designed to shoot (but shoot round balls NEARLY as well)
I used to hunt with mine in a special Muzzleloader only season here in Oregon and I can tell you a Mulie plows dirt with it's nose when hit by a 425 grain conical from it!
The Springfield's are fairly simple rifles and if you have average mechanical skills I see no reason you can not disassemble, clean and inspect it yourself for potentially shooting it again.
PM me for details on this if you like.

[RudyN]

Once you get it up and running again you will really like it. I have a reproduction 1861 Springfield and an original 1863 Springfield.

[CT_Shooter]

I'm meeting with an expert gunsmith, someone who specializes in antique firearms, on Tuesday to examine and evaluate the condition of my newly acquired 1861 Springfield (dated 1864) rifle. I'm very much looking forward to getting this historic firearm back into service. It will be an adventure for me.

[JEBar]

great to hear .... looking forward to hearing his comments

[Todddanger]

Dixie gun works should have anything you need to shoot it.

I'd pull the nipple and maksure the threads are in good shape, then replace the nipple with a new one.

One of the things people miss on these guns is that the bore diameter can vary from gun to gun. I have a 1858 Enfield Euroarms that has a .576 bore. The bore on my Dad's Zouave is .573. I can shoot a .575. minnie ball from mine as it comes out of the mold, but have to run then though a sizer die to fit my dad's gun.

It's been years since I shot my rifle, but let me know if you need any help with it. With right size minnie ball, you'll be suprised how well it shoots.

[CT_Shooter]

Dixie gun works should have anything you need to shoot it.

I'd pull the nipple and maksure the threads are in good shape, then replace the nipple with a new one.

It's been years since I shot my rifle, but let me know if you need any help with it. With right size minnie ball, you'll be suprised how well it shoots.

The gunsmith disassembled it completely to clean and check it out; however, he didn't want to force the nipple or the breach-end plug, both of which would not budge with some amount of trying. He said the nipple was in excellent condition in spite of being frozen in the barrel, and he blew compressed air through it and out the muzzle to determine that it was clear and would deliver a spark. He did a very thorough inspection and cleaning before reassembling it.

I'm not likely to shoot it very often, but I do want to. What brand of percussion caps, what powder, and what brand of mini-balls would you recommend? Local sources may be scarce, but if I have a shopping list, I may be able to have someone order them to avoid the hazmat charges. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Mistered]

What brand of percussion caps, what powder, and what brand of mini-balls

You''ll need 'musket' caps and the CCIs are the most common.
The Hornady 'Great Plains' bullets are the best hollow base conicals for it and are incredibly accurate in both of my rifles. Your '64 should be a .58 cal and the ones in the pic are .54 for my Renegade but the same bullet.
You can use round balls in these rifles but that a different subject and conicals are easier to load as they do not require a patch and lube.
As far as powder is concerned I 'weaned' myself off of real black powder many years ago and tried Pyrodex. There are MANY substitutes available but in a traditional (or replica) BP rifle Pyrodex is the replacement for BP. Many of the other substitutes are meant for in lines that use 209 shotgun primers for ignition and will not ignite consistently with traditional percussion caps.
Pyrodex 'P' is the equivalent to the '3F' granulation of black powder that is used in this caliber of rifle. Understand however Pyrodex is not necessarily cleaner than black powder but does not build up as fast in the inside of the barrel and on the outside around the breech. I can shoot many more rounds before a barrel swab than with black powder and while not cleaner, it CLEANS up faster than black powder - and the biggest advantage - it will be available where BP is sometimes unobtainable.
The max charge for a Springfield 61/63/64 was 60 grains of BP but I would probably start with about 40 in that rifle - and most likely stay there.
If you are unfamiliar with any of this get an experienced muzzleloader shooter to help you or follow the instructions for such in a KNOWN, quality reference such as the ABCs of reloading or other reloading manual that outlines loading muzzleloaders.
Someone else jump in any time!

IMG_1185[1].JPG (77.12 KiB) Viewed 5907 times

[CT_Shooter]

Thanks, Mistered.
The info about the bullets and the powder is very much appreciated. I'll likely follow your advice on them, but are you referring to CCI 0301 four wing caps?
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Four-Wi ... s?slotId=0
They've gotten some bad reviews (and not just at Cabela's website), so I'd like to learn more about them.

Edit: I see in your photo the caps you use are 0300, not 0301. I'm guessing there's a big difference.

What brand of percussion caps, what powder, and what brand of mini-balls

You''ll need 'musket' caps and the CCIs are the most common.
The Hornady 'Great Plains' bullets are the best hollow base conicals for it and are incredibly accurate in both of my rifles. Your '64 should be a .58 cal and the ones in the pic are .54 for my Renegade but the same bullet.
You can use round balls in these rifles but that a different subject and conicals are easier to load as they do not require a patch and lube.
As far as powder is concerned I 'weaned' myself off of real black powder many years ago and tried Pyrodex. There are MANY substitutes available but in a traditional (or replica) BP rifle Pyrodex is the replacement for BP. Many of the other substitutes are meant for in lines that use 209 shotgun primers for ignition and will not ignite consistently with traditional percussion caps.
Pyrodex 'P' is the equivalent to the '3F' granulation of black powder that is used in this caliber of rifle. Understand however Pyrodex is not necessarily cleaner than black powder but does not build up as fast in the inside of the barrel and on the outside around the breech. I can shoot many more rounds before a barrel swab than with black powder and while not cleaner, it CLEANS up faster than black powder - and the biggest advantage - it will be available where BP is sometimes unobtainable.
The max charge for a Springfield 61/63/64 was 60 grains of BP but I would probably start with about 40 in that rifle - and most likely stay there.
If you are unfamiliar with any of this get an experienced muzzleloader shooter to help you or follow the instructions for such in a KNOWN, quality reference such as the ABCs of reloading or other reloading manual that outlines loading muzzleloaders.
Someone else jump in any time!

[Mistered]

I'm guessing there's a big difference.

Probably not as much as you might think.
The CCI's in the pic I posted are six wing style and will be fine. There are also musket caps with no wings - go figure.
I looked up the 3001s and it states they have a lighter charge and are intended for reenactment use which would mean powder & wad only for noise.
I suspect some have used them to actually shoot with and probably got weak or inconsistent ignition.