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Ok, I am going to brag a bit even though it was all Luck and no skill. The antique store musket I bought for $250, well, we know now that it is, in fact, a Pattern 1851 Minié rifle. Only 34k were made between 1852-1854 or 55. They used the early English version of the Minié bullet. All were sent and used in the Crimean War. The P51 was the first rifled musket in British service at .702 caliber. The one I bought does have the original barrel and length, but does appear it was bored smooth. The P51 was rendered obsolete before the end of the Crimean War with the arrival of the P53. Around 16k of the P51s made it back to England at wars end. The were all marked out of service and stored outside in the open until 1861. We all know what happened then. All 16k were purchased and resold to the CSA and were shipped out on blockade runners throughout early 1862. Two of the blockade runners were taken/sunk at a loss of around 3,400 of the P51s. All the remaining saw CSA service until sufficient P53s could be smuggled in.
We, my Son and I, have verified that there are less than 12 (either 10 or 11) intact P51’s in existence. And have found it stated that finding one in any condition is an extremely rare occurrence. While typing this my Son sent a text saying that while lightly cleaning the bore the remains of the rifling are clearly seen. The original rifling was very shallow anyway, so it appears that it’s mainly wear and tear from two wars that led someone to think it had been bored smooth. My Son removed the lock and it’s just dirty, no corrosion. He has other originals so there will be no over cleaning done. Also all the marks on the lock, barrel, and stock verify that the rifle was in service in Crimea, removed from service, sold to Barnett’s of London and then C&H for export to the Confederacy. So all it’s really missing is about 18”s of stock, a nose cap, and ram rod. Also neat about the P51 is that it used barrel wedges and ram rod pipes. So 2 of the tenons and the pipes are gone too. But, it’s still a very, very rare rifle. I’m just lucky to have stumbled on it.
We, my Son and I, have verified that there are less than 12 (either 10 or 11) intact P51’s in existence. And have found it stated that finding one in any condition is an extremely rare occurrence. While typing this my Son sent a text saying that while lightly cleaning the bore the remains of the rifling are clearly seen. The original rifling was very shallow anyway, so it appears that it’s mainly wear and tear from two wars that led someone to think it had been bored smooth. My Son removed the lock and it’s just dirty, no corrosion. He has other originals so there will be no over cleaning done. Also all the marks on the lock, barrel, and stock verify that the rifle was in service in Crimea, removed from service, sold to Barnett’s of London and then C&H for export to the Confederacy. So all it’s really missing is about 18”s of stock, a nose cap, and ram rod. Also neat about the P51 is that it used barrel wedges and ram rod pipes. So 2 of the tenons and the pipes are gone too. But, it’s still a very, very rare rifle. I’m just lucky to have stumbled on it.
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. It was built by someone who looked to have skills, has carving, wire inlays, engraving, and such. I had asked a lot of questions about it, maker, lock brand, etc. but seller said it was an estate sale item and they weren’t authorized to disassemble. I did find out it’s a straight barrel, 31.5”, 56 caliber. Has a sling and looks Jaeger-esque, but not as ornate. The rub is I’ve been searching around using “56 cal RB” and not finding much except smoothbore info. I did find a couple of places that had .550 balls, which I believe are what I need. When I started looking into the muzzleloader sport I read that 45, 50 were most popular and suppliers were dropping some of the other calibers. I couldn’t find any Lee or Lyman molds for .550 balls.
(not laughin' at you Eric!)
