New Barrel for Altered Springfield Shorty?

[R.J.Bruce]

I have my eyes on several extensively modified Springfield, percussion, Civil War era .58 caliber rifles that at some point in their working lives have had the original barrel shortened to roughly 24" long. Forestock also shortened so as to provide only a forearm, with most of the fore-barrel left unadorned. And, the steel ramrod simply sticking out of the remnant of the ramrod hole in the forearm.

My first question is for the name(s) of a competent gunsmith(s) who can, & will, work on this type of weapon to bring it back into regular shooting condition.

If this means a new breech plug, the barrel to be relined by Bobby Hoyt, or an entire new barrel/breech plug, so be it.

What I am looking for, at the lowest cost possible, is an original, musket cap, percussion, Civil War era, carbine length, short, handy, compact, relatively light weight, minimum of .58 caliber, patched ball, hunting rifle. Preferably, with sling swivels. Most of my shots will be under 50 yards, because I can't see any better than that without a scope.

The ones I am looking at as possible candidates for conversion, are priced at approximately $500.00.

Second question is what is the maximum bore diameter for a rifle that the Springfield barrel can be lined to? Is it possible to go larger than .58 caliber? .62 caliber, perhaps?

If having a new, drop-in (so to speak) barrel fabricated, would a .66 caliber rifled bore be possible utilizing the Springfield barrel's exterior dimensions?

Thanks for all of your help, and suggestions.

Bruce

 

[hawkeye2]

Bobby Hoyt can reline your existing barrel and lengthen it to anything you wish at the same time. The cost is very reasonable without needing a new breech plug. It may be possible to slightly enlarge the bore but only with shallow minie rifling, no way you could go to .66. The barrels are fairly thin specially at the original 40" length. I don't believe you would gain a thing by going larger than .58. Both Hoyt and Dan Whitacre can provide you with a new barrel to original specs. Hoyt may be able to do it with round ball rifling but Whitacre's are only with minie rifling which is an exact duplicate of the original.

Replacement forearm wood, barrel bands, sights, etc. are all available. Having a smith do the work for you would probably be $$ probative. I shoot in the N-SSA and if I were to restore one it would be to a condition that would allow N-SSA approval. There are different 2 band (32", 33" barrel lengths) configurations that make very handy and accurate rifle muskets that would be ideal for hunting. They would also have sling swivels. I have an 1863 Springfield that had been shortened and smoothbored and is now a project gun. Hoyt has lengthened the barrel and lined it. I have the forearm wood, rammer, bands and sights, just don't seem to have the time.

Dan Whitacre
(540) 877-1468

Bobby Hoyt
(717) 642-6696

 

[necchi]

I'm glad hawkeye2 came along,
I was going to mention the N-SSA perhaps being a better source of information for you. Their forum is called the "Bulletin Board";
http://www.n-ssa.org/
Thousands of those surplus rifles where sold to the civilian market in the late 19th and early 20th century.
They where cut up like that by the dealers as "Sporterized" for hunting.
They can still be found and used, with the biggest issue being the guns ability to hold position in the "half-cock safety" position under pressure. They have to pass a certain "foot-pounds" of tension applied to the hammer to be allowed to participate in events.
I have a Potsdam 1839/42 conversion smoothy that was "sportsterized".

 

[R.J.Bruce]

I appreciate both of your answers. I am not looking to restore such a cut-down musket, but instead just spend what it takes to make a safe, dependable, everyday shooter out of one.

Probably, just send Bobby Hoyt the shortened barrel, and have him put a .58 caliber liner in it with 0.012" deep square bottom grooves, and a 1:48" rate of twist for shooting patched balls. While he's at it, have him try and remove the so-called clean-out screw from the breech plug so that a replacement screw without a buggered up screwdriver slot could be properly installed using anti-seize compound.

Then, see if Brad Emig will work on the percussion lock. Then see if he would also be willing to bybed the tang/breech plug/barrel into the stock with Accraglas Gel after Bobby Hoyt is finished with the barrel.

 

[Stantheman86]

I'd see if Lodgewood can do anything with them, they can probably turn them into Artillery carbines if there's enough wood left.

Is there usable rifling in the bores?