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Jon, I think you are on to something. I have only shot the 45-70 Lees, but their action feels like stirring a bucket of bolts next to a Krag. Keep in mind, the ordnance folks were all denizens of the...

An 8-24 tap would be about .006" oversize and slightly coarser thread. MSC Industrial Supply has them, but they aren't cheap! They also have a 4mmX0.8

One other comment, many of the M-1863s with clamping barrel bands were broken down for parts after the war, since the stocks were easy to cut down for M-1868 and M-1870 Trapdoor conversions. The...

Production of the various models overlapped a good bit. Contractors made mostly M-1861s throughout the war, but a few did switch to later models, such as Remington and Norris & Clements. Also, even...

A couple thoughts. If you have a state university nearby, you can get microfilms from the National Archives on inter-library loan. Start with the muster rolls of the 10th NY. These will have a month...

From your pictures here's what parts it appears to have. Condemned (or non-Springfield) 45-70 lock plate. If these failed an inspection they would be scrapped out partially finished, which yours...

Great info! Thanks.

Actually the '98 bolt came on it. I suspect this one has seen a few campaigns and rebuilds. Looks like I can take 0.010 off the locking lug and it would still miss closing on an 0.070" gauge, and the...

I found the problem, and it's an odd one. Checked a new 30-40 case, still tight, reformed 303 cases, tight too. Painted a case with ****m blue and chambered it. No hits on the case body. Tried a case...

The cases are R-P. They have been fired a dozen times or so in a Win 95, and the problem is just ahead of the web. I have a new bag of brass, which I think is Winchester. It's been laying around the...

Now that I've shot the 96, a small problem has shown up. It has the early tight chamber. My RCBS dies don't reduce the area just ahead of the rim quite enough for easy chambering. They work fine for...

I saw your post about that and pulled a couple slugs out of the backstop to check. They showed bore contact all the way around, just like an M-1. I think I got lucky. I'll keep checking as the rest...

The "new" '96 rifle is finally cleaned up and made it out to the range. The whole thing was packed in very old grease. I had high hopes, however, when I got the grease out of the barrel, it had lots...

Two things to look for on your friend's '61. Very early ones used '55 tape cutter hammers and rear sights with no side ears. This '61 isn't as nice as yours, but it has both features. Note the sharp...

David, if you are still watching this post, how long is the barrel? The reason I ask is that early in the war Sam Colt's agent contracted for P-53s to be 24 gauge with 40" barrels, with the intention...

13Echo has the right IDs. The parting line on the center 500 grain govt. bullet is actually a rifling groove mark. Should be 5 more spaced evenly around the bullet (three land and groove will give...

My best load in a while.

178 gr. Hornady A-Max bullet, 40 gr. AA2495, 2396 fps, 21.65 sd, ~1.5" at 100 yards.

I developed this load in a Winchester 95, which is strong as a house compared to...

On Enfield, James Burton went over to England in the 1850s from Harpers Ferry to set up their Armory on the US system of interchangeable parts. Before that, English arms were made by a bunch of...

Nope, they are English, but oddball sizes, and they use a non-standard thread profile similar to a Whitworth. Remember, there was no SAE, ISO or any other standards organization around in the 1870s,...

The old socket bayonets make great candle holders too.

The '59 is too early for '76, but if you are doing late 1860s, it could be right. Get a Sharps 50-70 conversion and it would make a good display. One thing a lot of troopers did in the southwest was...

The other problem with finding correct early Trapdoors is that all of them below SN 50K were called in and broken down for parts after the low arch breechblocks and wider receivers came out. The...

If you are using the standard Lee 45 mold, I'm surprised it shoots well at all. Trapdoors generally have large groove diameters, .460" and more, so they tend to keyhole a lot with .458" bullets....

Interesting. I just picked up a '96 rifle that's probably 95%, really nice with very old grease in the barrel and on the action. The only thing changed is a 1901 sight (My FAVORITE!), which was...

M-1868s and '70s are the same as a Springfield Civil War musket. They are cheap and plentiful. Might be worth picking one up to try.