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Euroarms 1863 Remington

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Joined
Jan 8, 2019
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Bought one at Dixon's on Monday. Got the rifle, bayonet, frog and scabbed for $325. She's literally new in box condition. The bore is very smooth and looks like a rolled up mirror. The lock is very smooth and the trigger pull is quite nice.
Overall the rifle is well made and finished.
I cast up some Lyman 575213OS, lubed them with SPG and poured in 60 grains of 2f Swiss.
50 yard groups, 3 shots, ran from 1 11/16 to 3 3/16. No swabbing between shots or groups. The minies fit rather looser than I like so I think these groups are a good start.
Also cast up some Ideal 575213s. Can't wait to try them.
Loading was no problem from first to last shot.
No leading and recoil was mild. She lit high ( 4 3/8) and right ( 7 1/4). I believe I will be needing a larger diameter minor. Maybe a 577 or larger. Have to slug her.
Euroarms says a 1-66 twist. But a patched jag makes half a turn in 24 inches so I'm thinking she may be a 1-48. If so HAPPY DAY!
This one will be a hunter for things with teeth and claws and other bigger critters needing shooting. I'll be making paper cartridges for quicker reloads.
She's heavy. 9 pounds at least. A .58 should pack some weight. Had an H&R Springfield Stalker .58 that was both inaccurate and brutal to shoot.
This one has manners.
Gonna be a HOOT once I get the sights worked out.
Anyone have a Euroarms Remington 1863? How's it treating you? Helpful suggestions welcome.
Thanks!
 
Here she is!
And she can SHOOT!
The I didn't swab between groups 1 and 2. Swabbed for the 3rd and almost fell off the bench!
The Lymans only need a little nudge on the rammer to hit powder. Things do start getting a little crunchy though. I guess that's why the 2nd group was larger. Next time out, I will swab after each group and see how she does.
Even with her horrible sights, for a second range trip with not the best minies ( still trying to remember how to cast really good ones), its hard to be disappointed with these results.
I almost forgot how much fun minies and rifle muskets can be!
 

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Minies are fun, I never swab anything until after I shoot 40 - 50 rounds. I shoot them like they were designed to be used. .575 , 60 gr of 2f or 3f and hot dipped/sized with SPG lube which is close enough to a "period" lube and convenient to use. I roll 1863 pattern cartridges for them.
 
Fun and VERY effective...
I have to slug her for bore diameter. Curious as to groove diameter too as the rifling looks awful shallow. My Euroarms P53 has deeper rifling. The ads say .005 which, if so, is dandy.
She's gonna be a hunter. To that end, I have a plan to use a sight a bud gave me.
It looks like it was originally on a shotgun and has a regular semi buckhorn sight dovetailed into it. If I mount it just behind the lower band, its lower than the original and I can trim the step elevator to specific ranges. Once I have her best load developed. Cut the notches for 50, 75 and 100 yards. Minies have a trajectory somewhere between a baseball and a mortar.
Its all good fun! My one bud was amazed at the bullet strike. A good healthy " Crack" on the plywood backer. I told him you ought to hear it when it hits flesh and bone. After I got my first deer with a minie out of my P53, I felt truly bad for every yank I pulled down on after that...
 
A fellow in my unit bought one. I asked him why as we were issued Enfields. He said " It spoke to me".
He opened the box. It spoke to me too! It said " Hit him over the head, grab it and RUN!"
It was GORGEOUS! The prettiest piece if fiddleback walnut I ever saw. From buttplate to nose cap. Both sides, nice and even and great contrast.
We affectionately referred to it as his " Shoulder mortar"
Lord, what a beautiful rifle!
 
It wouldn't surprise me one bit if your bore was actually about 580. Both my Euroarms are that way. For best accuracy, size minie to .001 under bore size, use a moderate powder charge about 60% of service level and enjoy.
 
Dude at the range was watching me shoot my CS Richmond and was completely dumbfounded that I wasn't wiping after every few shots......because the only muzzleloading experience most of my gun club members have is shooting round ball in hunting Flinters.

I'm like "that's the whole point of Minie balls, ain't no body stopping in combat to punch a bore "
 
I guess I'm now a well rounded muzzleloader. My primary shall not be mentioned, but I'm fiddling with a Renegade spark chucker and now I have rediscovered the joy of the minie.
Gonna go shootin'
 
Muddy, I also have one that I bought from a dear friend right here on this forum.

My observations are that they are solid and extremely well built! They are also very dependable, accurate, and of course beautiful rifles.

Here are several pictures of mine to share. Everyone here loves pictures when it comes with the topic at hand.

Respectfully, Cowboy 5A8309AD-6FBC-4F83-8F3F-2BEEF39C8E31.jpeg9FA2951E-FDF2-4A65-8A97-B5BE42F54E40.jpeg2B5B768E-8FC3-4EA3-B11A-6916FB22E1CF.jpegFFDFE54F-981A-448C-948C-9E2034034541.jpeg
 
I haven't shot minieball, but my understanding is they should be a looser fit going down. The hollow conical base expands when fired, engaging the rings in the rifling. Maybe you need a bigger powder charge to get the base to expand more?
 
You don't want a loose fit for a minie ball but a slip fit. The diameter of the minie should be 0.001" under the land to land bore diameter. You want the minie to just fit and the weight of the ramrod will push it to the breech. More powder can rupture the skirt and that's not good for accuracy.
 
"Maybe you need a bigger powder charge to get the base to expand more?"

60 grains was the service charge and any more than that is wasting powder and increasing the discomfort factor though with a Zouave or Mississippi's weight it isn't quite so bad. With a proper fitting mini (see above) and a good (beeswax based) lube one can get excellent groups with as low as 35 grains. I shoot 40 grains of 2f behind a 315 grain mini.
 
"Maybe you need a bigger powder charge to get the base to expand more?"

60 grains was the service charge and any more than that is wasting powder and increasing the discomfort factor though with a Zouave or Mississippi's weight it isn't quite so bad. With a proper fitting mini (see above) and a good (beeswax based) lube one can get excellent groups with as low as 35 grains. I shoot 40 grains of 2f behind a 315 grain mini.
I didn't know these details before. Thanks!
 
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