springfield 58 cal

[bearbeater]

hey all
been a while since I have been here. I was looking at a springfield musket 58cal for sale locally can any one here tell me about this musket type reproduction ? are they any good? who made them?
Bearbeater

 

[mbw907]

I found one recently in a pawn shop and wondered the same thing. Except this one is not a musket. The barrel is rifled. It seems to be nicely built and affordable. I have a rifle that is the same style, but not as short. When I buy one like that I usually count on a ball being stuck in it without powder. That has been the situation more than twice. No problem because I usually tear them down and do a super cleaning and sometimes relap the barrels to be safe.

 

[gjkershul]

A reproduction? If so what Maker? An original? If so what marks on the lock and barrel if any?

 

[Rancocas]

Yes, a Springfield - what?
I have a repoduction model 1861 Springfield rifled musket. (The main battle weapon of the American War Between The States) Mine just says "Made in Italy". I bought it at a Gander Mountain store years ago.
I think the fit of the parts on mine is good. The trigger is horrible. And, mine hits 18 inches to the right at 100 yards, although the elevation is good.
I could probably fix the problems, but I've never given this gun much of my time.

 

[Zonie]

Assuming we are talking about a reproduction gun, Dixie Gunworks 1995 catalog shows a 1863 Springfield that was made in Japan.
Although this may be a well made gun, the catalog says the lock will not interchange with an original 1863 so if the lock needs parts there might be a problem.

Dixies 2003 catalog also shows the Japanese 1863 but in addition it shows an Italian (Euro Arms) version which may be easier to get parts for.

Dixie also shows a 1861 Springfield made by Euro Arms in many of their catalogs.

Generally speaking, the Italian guns are well made and should be a good addition to a persons collection.

Speaking of triggers, the Military guns originally had very "heavy" triggers and the reproductions didn't do this any favors by improving things.
Because this heavy trigger feel is part of the guns design, there is little one can do to improve it much.

To the best of my knowledge, all of the .58 caliber reproductions are recreations of the "Rifled Musket" so the barrels should be rifled.
Most of the smoothbores were in .69 or larger calibers.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

There should be a date on the lock. There was an 1855 rifle-musket, an 1861 rifle-musket and a first and second model 1863 rifle-musket. All were in .58 caliber. All the repros are serviceable if cared for properly and can be made to shoot accurately. The Japanese guns were well made and some shooters prefer them to the Italian versions because they are profiled more closely to the originals.
There is a rifled version of the 1842 Springfield musket available that has a .69 caliber bore. These are good reliable guns and fine shooters too.

 

[bearbeater]

Hey thanks all
I believe I will go back and do more checking
Bearbeater