Armi-Sport Springfield 1842 rifled musket

[PGTMG]

Hello All,

I have a new to me Armi-Sport 1842 .69 rifled musket. Thought when I bought it that it was a smoothbore but nope rifled. Any advice is appreciated. Want to try a NSSA shoot. It really is in great condition.

 

[Zonie]

Track of the Wolf sells some .672, .675. and some .678 diameter roundballs that should work in your gun if they are loaded with a cloth patch. They are pretty pricey though.

Here's a link to their catalog. It's shown in this link:

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/3
Track of the Wolf also offers a .685 diameter Minie' bullet that should work in your gun. Follow this link:

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/129/1
I recommend measuring the bore if you can to see if it is really .690 diameter.
If you don't have a digital or dial caliper to do precision measurements of things, you might try inserting a new dime (10 ¢ ) into the bore.
A new dime is close to .705 in diameter so it should "almost" go in but not quite.

 

[oldwood]

w/ the correct mini ball that fits the bore , you have a very accurate rifle. I bought a rifled one new , Figured the Lyman mini was too small ,and was correct. Saw an ad in a magazine where a gunsmith from Va. had drop-in barrels for the 42. Using the Lyman .69 mini and 65 gr. ffg. , it is very accurate. I'm old and can only shoot it from the bench. It's just too heavy for me to tote to the deer woods. Now , I can't see the barley corn front sight too well , so have plan to replace the front barrel band w/ a thick blade sight , I can see better.
It's fun to hear these big projectiles whistle down range .Also , there is a guy making the proper size mini ball mold for your original bore... oldwood

 

[Notchy Bob]

PGTMG, congratulations on your new acquisition! I have an ArmiSport M1842 smoothbore, which was defarbed by Todd Watts. Some guns come and go, but this is one of my "keepers."

Unfortunately, I don't think the N-SSA allows patches, paper wrapping, or wadding in their competition. I think some of the roundball smoothbore shooters may wrap their musket balls with a layer of aluminum foil, but as far as I know the rifle musket shooters are limited to conical bullets with no wrapping. I was a N-SSA member some years ago, and I believe their rules and regulations are readily available online. I would check there before investing much into it, if you want to shoot with them.

However, that should not stop you from enjoying your rifle musket with PRBs in recreational shooting, hunting, or non-NSSA competition. I understand a .69 caliber Minie bullet can pack a wallop at both ends of the gun, and that flat steel butt plate won't do much to mitigate the effect against your shoulder. The patched round ball will have less mass, and hopefully a little less recoil. My smoothbore is fun to shoot with round balls.

Good luck with it!

Notchy Bob

 

[Cattman]

you know im glad someone said you can hear the bullets go down the range. i shoot 425 paperpatched bullets in my 45/70 and i can hear them sometimes also., someone told me i was doing something wrong if you could hear the bullets. they are accurate but i can hear them sometimes. glad you replyed that as i think their is nothing wrong with my bullets, i just hear them.

 

[PGTMG]

I will look at Track of Wolf and try out a few things

 

[PGTMG]

PGTMG, congratulations on your new acquisition! I have an ArmiSport M1842 smoothbore, which was defarbed by Todd Watts. Some guns come and go, but this is one of my "keepers."

Unfortunately, I don't think the N-SSA allows patches, paper wrapping, or wadding in their competition. I think some of the roundball smoothbore shooters may wrap their musket balls with a layer of aluminum foil, but as far as I know the rifle musket shooters are limited to conical bullets with no wrapping. I was a N-SSA member some years ago, and I believe their rules and regulations are readily available online. I would check there before investing much into it, if you want to shoot with them.

However, that should not stop you from enjoying your rifle musket with PRBs in recreational shooting, hunting, or non-NSSA competition. I understand a .69 caliber Minie bullet can pack a wallop at both ends of the gun, and that flat steel butt plate won't do much to mitigate the effect against your shoulder. The patched round ball will have less mass, and hopefully a little less recoil. My smoothbore is fun to shoot with round balls.

Good luck with it!

Notchy Bob

I have bought a 100 .69 caliber Minie bullets to help me develop a solid flinch. My guess is it will kill on one end and maim on the other I will look up the rules of the match but thank you for the heads up.

 

[gemmer]

Take your barrel to a machinist who has a set of pin gauges and have him measure your bore diameter. Go to Moose Moulds and order a semi wadcutter mould that will be give you a bullet .001-.002 under bore size. Go to North East Trade Company and order a push through sizing die that size the minie .001-.002 under bore size. Cast using pure lead. You're probably wasting money buying precast minies for an Armi. They're probably going to be too small and, at over 700 grains will punish you.
www.northeasttradeco.com. www.moosemoulds.wixsite.com

 

[dave951]

I shoot N-SSA and patch round ball are not allowed in competition. That said, you really do need to find out what the actual bore size is using pin gauges. Most machine shops have them and can check for you.

Gemmer's advice is the same I'd give. Avoid most commercially cast minies.