Colt 1861 contract musket

[cranky]

I purchased a Colt "signature series" 1861 special contract 3-band musket this past weekend. I first saw it at a local dealers shop a few weeks ago. It was in excellent condition with a bright shiney bore and perfect wood. Supposedly it was unfied but who knows...I liked the looks of it but at $625. I figured I would look to see what info I could find on it on the internet. I found mixed reviews....some liked it, some didn't. some say they had trouble getting good accuracy from it...some say it was a tack driver.
I always regretted selling my original parker hale and always wanted to find another. I pretty much was going to pass on it. Then I went back to the shop to pick up some ammo. I asked to look at it again and the owner came over to me and said I was the only guy he saw even look at the musket since he put it up for sale...he asked me what was I willing to pay for it. I thought a minute and said $500 cash out the door. He also thought a minute and said "ok". well, a quick trip to the nearest atm and it was mine. It came with the original box and paperwork.

I took it to my cousins place the next day to try shooting it. I was going to try shooting .570 rounds balls from it but could not find any in my area. I figured prb because I was under the impression it had a slow twist but I only had a few dozen minie balls I made in a 575213PH (I think that was the number) mould some 5 years ago. well anyway I took these minie balls and some 3F powder my cousin has a 10, 25 and 50 yard target range set up on his property. using bench rest I loaded 45 grs of 3f (the same load I used in my old Parker Hale). It struck the 50yrd target about 2" inches high from where I aimed. I tried different amounts of powder but settled on the 45grs of 3f.

I am very pleased with my musket. It appears to shoot as well as my old parker hale and looks kinda neat with its metal in the white.

Questions Please:
1)Is the rate of twist in this rifle 1:48 ? (I think so).
2)is this rifle a good a close representation of an original?
3)How much and what would I need to do to defarb this musket?
4) Does lyman still sell the 575213 (correct number?) mould?

Regards,
Cranky
P.S. I used some deer tallow and beeswax I mixed years ago as lube and as always it worked great.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Unfortunately I don't know too much about the newer reproduction muskets since I haven't fooled with them much for a while.

(1) But, if this one follows the original specs as far as the barrel goes, it should be rifled with 3 grooves and 1 in 6 feet twist. (1 in 72"). I know that often this may not be the case in reproduction muskets. The specifications for the original Springfield pattern rifle-musket was 3 grooves of decreasing depth (from breech to muzzle), 1 turn in 6 feet. Colt's muskets conformed to these specs. The differences on his muskets were confined to the outside, (hammer, bolster, bands, etc). I don't know how close to the original Colt's dimensions these repros conform.

(2) I haven't seen one of these except in a picture, so I don't know how close it is, but it's a pretty nice looking piece. I've noticed that most of the repros I have seen made by ArmiSport and EuroArms are rather thick in the stock. I'm not including James River Armory here as they appear to be very close to the original. Who makes the Colt Signature musket?

(3) You'll have to have someone who has seen this gun to tell you what you need to do. All I can say is, you'll have to remove any modern proofmarks, maker's marks, serial numbers, possibly slim the stock down (see above). And then you would need to put the proper barrel proof marks on the barrel (i.e. V over P, eaglehead), inspector's cartouch on the stock, etc.

(4) Yes, I've seen it on several websites. I use the 575213OS mold for my Richmond and it works quite well. For target shooting, look at a semi wadcutter mold too. These work very well in some muskets for targets and they leave a very clean hole which is easier to measure. I don't have one at this time and I can't remember the number.

And regarding your PS, Your lube is nearly the same as the original Ordnance Dept. lube which was beef tallow and beeswax. I use beeswax and Crisco and it works great too. I'd definitely stick with what you're using.

Sorry if I couldn't help much. I reckon I should get out there and look at these repro guns more again. The quality of some has greatly improved over the early ones.
:thumbsup:

 

[mloader40]

Dreadnought,
I would like to congratulate you on finding one heck of a deal. I purchased one of the Colt 1861 muskets years age. The Colt musket has the original 1 in 72 progressive rifling, and is extremely accurate with the rapine .580 minie, .575 is a bit small. The sights were set, as the originals for 100 yards. The charge can be reduced for a lower inpact at 50 yards. This Colt musket looks exactly like the original including the markings save for the Sam Colt siginature on the trigger bow. If you will send my your email address I will scan in the Colt catalog page with all of the information on the Colt 1861 Musket. Wayne ([email protected])

 

[Jac Spring]

Dreadn0ught, congrats on a great buy!

I've been looking into 58 cal stuff myself.

If you want to shoot round balls, then go to midsouth - they have wads available - only place I could find. I got some good hornady balls .570" from cabelas along with some .020" prelubed patches - I didn't have any thicker than .015 on-hand and I keep reading that people are using thicker patches for the 58's.

I've also got a Lee modern target mini mould on the way - I bet they'll be very accurate in my 58 - which by the way is getting a 1:72 twist rate.

 

[jdstrang]

IMHO, shooting roundball from a musket designed for the minie is akin to drinking iced tea from a Jack Daniel's bottle: fine stuff, no doubt, but it falls far short of delivering the advertised impact! :rotf:

If you want to make sure of the twist, run a tight patch down the bore. When you reach the breech plug, mark the rod in line with the front sight. Withdraw it slowly, allowing the rod to turn with the rifling. When the mark is on the bottom, opposite the front sight, measure the exposed rod between mark and muzzle, and multiply by 2. :hmm: