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Shooting Original Rifle-Muskets?

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A man locally is selling an original 1861 in complete but "well used " condition. The bore looks ok.

People seem really hot on getting originals relined , but does anyone shoot them in their original form?
 
The only reason to reline an original is if the bore is too bad to be accurate or unsafe. If the bore is OK they shoot as well as any reline. I skirmished with an original Trenton '61 for years and did quite well with it. Everything including the nipple was original and the bore was somewhat pitted but never gave any problems. I did have my '61 Bridseburg relined but the bore was pitted, I had no molds or sizers to match the bore and it had been cut into a 2 band so it was far from original and it had been a skirmish gun for many many years before it came into my hands. Actually the real reason that I had it lined was that the barrel had been crowned probably several times and it was 1/4" under the legal minimum length under N-SSA rules so I had Hoyt lengthen and line it. If you match the mini and lube to the gun it should be a fine shooter.
 
Sure, I've got an 1861 and an 1863 that I shoot. The '61 doesn't have much rifling left, but the '63 has sharp deep rifling and does well.
 
Most of mine are relined by Hoyt due to bore condition, but my '63 Springfield has an excellent original bore and shoots with the best of them.
 
There are quite a few folks in the NSSA who shoot originals, no reason not to. The only originals I would hesitate to shoot would be "museum quality" or ones with historic provenance.
 
I went ahead and put it on layaway, it's nowhere near Mint and I figure with proper care it will last forever. I'm not going to shoot it a lot but I will shoot it somewhat regularly.
 
Oh my auto correct must have edited out Springfield. 1861 Springfield.

I figured it was time to stop screwing around and get the real deal since the '61 Springfield is one of my favorite weapons ever.

I grew up collecting and shooting original old rifles so I had been looking for a "shooter grade " 1861 Springfield.
 
My original Colt 1861 Special Musket, 1862 mfg., is my go-to hunting rifle for 20+ years. Shoots more accurately than I can, with 510 gr. traditional style mine, sized to .580, and standard 60 gr. charge. Was out today with it, saw a nice buck, but didn't feel like a half mile drag up and down gullies.
 
My original Colt 1861 Special Musket, 1862 mfg., is my go-to hunting rifle for 20+ years. Shoots more accurately than I can, with 510 gr. traditional style mine, sized to .580, and standard 60 gr. charge. Was out today with it, saw a nice buck, but didn't feel like a half mile drag up and down gullies.
I only hunted one season with my original '63 Springfield. I believe I used a 50 gr charge of Swiss with a Rapine minie. I had around a 70 yard shot and I thought I missed because the buck started to walk away. Three or four steps and he dropped. I've taken deer with an original flint 1816 smoothbore, 1841 Mississippi rifle and 1842 rifled musket. I retired each of them from hunting after taking a deer. I moved to western North Carolina 2 years ago and I know what you mean about the drag. The 11 hour drive back to NJ was not a great idea either, so this year I realized that I don't have the passion I once had to warrant killing another deer. It was a good run but I'm done. My other passion remains intact. Making the old guns shoot like they were intended to.
 
I only hunted one season with my original '63 Springfield. I believe I used a 50 gr charge of Swiss with a Rapine minie. I had around a 70 yard shot and I thought I missed because the buck started to walk away. Three or four steps and he dropped. I've taken deer with an original flint 1816 smoothbore, 1841 Mississippi rifle and 1842 rifled musket. I retired each of them from hunting after taking a deer. I moved to western North Carolina 2 years ago and I know what you mean about the drag. The 11 hour drive back to NJ was not a great idea either, so this year I realized that I don't have the passion I once had to warrant killing another deer. It was a good run but I'm done. My other passion remains intact. Making the old guns shoot like they were intended to.
Thanks for stating the”I’m done” part. I’m 76 now and don’t want to kill anything anymore. I still love the woods and taking along rifle for a walk. Glad I’m not the only one.
 
Many times I've been hunting I gave deer a pass for various reasons. I'm not after horns per se, but I do greatly enjoy just sitting quietly for a while and watching nature without a phone ringing or somebody wanting something.
 
:thumb::thumb:
An original Springfield will outshoot and outlast any Italian gun on the market.

True. I hunt with an original 1842 musket (1847 mfg.) and an original Colt 1861 Special Musket (1862 mfg.). I have shot many thousands of rounds through both, without any mechanical failure of any kind. I use the smoothbore for bird and small game loaded with shot, and patched balls for close range deer, just for fun factor. My Colt musket is my main big game rifle, mostly just deer anymore, and I just load it up with 60 grains of Goex FFFg (1040 fps) and a traditional 510 grain minie. My Italian guns, mostly Pedersoli, just won't last long without work, broken springs being a major problem. Strange to see 160-170 year old metallurgy superior to modern Italian stuff, but I can assure you it is true.
 
I've been collecting and shooting original military rifles for my entire adult life, and nothing beats the real thing.

I'm trying to work out a deal for the 1861 on the N-SSA board too.....I may end up with 2 1861 Springfields but like I always say, you can never go wrong buying complete original US military weapons in honest, as issued condition. You'll never lose money on them if you pay a halfway sane price for them. Plus you get the satisfaction of shooting the bona fide, piece of history original.

I've owned many 45-70 and 50-70 original Trapdoors and shooting them, if even just occasionally, brought me so much joy .
 
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