View Full Version : Better photos of my 1866 Springfield.
I just took a set of photos outside of my 1866 rifle that was assembled at Springfield Armory in 1870 specifically for sale and export to France for their war with Prussia. From what I've learned, this 1866 never made it out of a government warehouse in France and so it, like all of the others in that warehouse, wasn't ever used.
Sometime around 1897 or so, Hartley and Graham or somebody else purchased the entire lot of the unissued 1866's and shipped them back to the U.S. for surplus sales.
Except for the wonderful patina on the stock and a few handling marks, this rifle is in essentially the same condition as it had been upon its initial assembly at Springfield Armory in 1870.
The stock still has its Whiskers and has never been sanded, cleaned or worn. I've personally never even oiled the stock. All I've done is wiped it down with a clean and dry cotton cloth. I've never removed the trigger guard and I see no reason to.
The bore is absolutely Mint and all of the original tooling marks in the rifling can be seen to be unworn and sharp.
There is absolutely no wear to the rifling at the muzzle from cleaning rod wear.
This 1866 Springfield is in really nice condition.
Enjoy the photos!
That is some more fine example! Thank you for sharing your collection with us.
TKacook
JohnMOhio
08-02-2017, 08:33
Thanks for sharing Fred. Over the years I have been on this forum, you seem to find some real gems. I believe this is another one. Good for you. I am glad someone is finding them before they get lost to who knows where, never to be seen again.
That is some more fine example! Thank you for sharing your collection with us.
TKacook
It's my pleasure to do so TKacook! :)
Thanks for sharing Fred. Over the years I have been on this forum, you seem to find some real gems. I believe this is another one. Good for you. I am glad someone is finding them before they get lost to who knows where, never to be seen again.
I'm happy that you like the photos John! I'm going to be using these same photos along with others to show it when I put it up for sale on Gunbroker tomorrow or maybe the next day. If it doesn't sell, then I'll just keep this one a while longer.
I've decided to use the money I get for it, if any, towards getting a second old Single Action Army Colt.
Im still having trouble getting all my photos to focus well. The iPhone camera I use is really sensitive to the slightest movement. However it seems to take OK photos if I can just brace my hand and camera against something steady.
The bore appears to be unused and there is no muzzle wear from the cleaning rod. All I've ever done is to run a piece of cloth down the bore to clear any dust out of it for a photograph.
I'll bet that this rifle would be quite accurate in the hands of an experienced shooter.
41604
Hell, now I think I'm going to Keep this rifle. I hadn't looked at it for months. It's a neat one I think! I'll shoot it soon and see how it feels against my 63 year old shoulder.
41622
Hell, now I think I'm going to Keep this rifle. I hadn't looked at it for months. It's a neat one I think! I'll shoot it soon and see how it feels against my 63 year old shoulder.
41622
Geez, Fred . . . .
It's been my experience, that the cartridges seem to ignite better with primers installed!! --Jim
Oh, I'll be loading them up Jim with my cast Lee 450 grain flat nosed bullet backed with ffg. Winchester large rifle primers of course!
I've noticed that the ejector on this rifle really kicks the empty shells out with force. The ejection system was no doubt rough on the early copper case ballon head ammunition. I can see why, during the entire Wagon Box Fight of 1867, two soldiers with cleaning rods were assigned to immediately clear any rifle whose extractor had torn through a soft copper rim.
Fouled and over heated chambers could no doubt make extraction difficult.
Anyway, this old rifle is well designed.
If you have a properly fitting flat tip screwdriver, the back of the firing pin can be depressed All Of The Way In with it, then you can use the screw driver to unscrew the threaded retaining collar or nut, thus freeing up the firing pin to be removed.
When assembling it again, you need to make sure that the retaining nut or collar is turned All Of The Way In again. The nut is designed to bottom out or stop when it is in just far enough.
I believe it's probable that a special two pronged tool on the combination screwdriver was Never meant to be used to turn the retaining nut out. I think they intended a flat tip blade for that. I think that the two pronged blade on the combination tool was meant for the rear sight screw, which it fits like bark on a tree.
That leaves the Breech Block Hinge Pin Retaining Nut. I don't think that the army wanted anyone messing around with those outside of a company arms room.
The armorer no doubt had an excellent tool at hand just for that job.
Just something I was thinking about.
41654
41747
41659
The patina on the wood is wonderful
Dick Hosmer
08-10-2017, 01:16
That's a NICE '66, Fred!!
Better than mine (which is good enough that I never actively sought an improvement)
Thanks Dick. I noticed it when a new poster referenced it as being for sale on Gunbroker by a friend of his. I liked it then and figured that I might buy it and flip it later for a tad more than the asking price to put towards another Single Action Army Colt.
I'm thinking of still doing that very soon before I change my mind again.
I've still got the three early 1868's to keep and study though and that's good enough for me.
I will never be able to collect one of everything like you have been able to, so I'm not even going to try. I've pretty much got my itch scratched with the 1868's now.
Just gotta get that Colt I've got my eye on though. It's an early attic conditioned U.S. Marked cavalry specimen in the 15,000 range with the original un chipped or excessively worn walnut grips. Gotta have it. Just gotta.
Fred, that is one fine example. Wish I had the funds to take it off your hands!
I'll bet you Do! Here's a link to it on Gunbroker where it's up for sale.
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/680940526
I'm such a shameless Capitalist.
Just in case anyone would be interested in knowing, the rifle has been put up for sale on Gunbroker.
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/680940526
If it doesn't sell, I'll trade it off for something else neat.
psteinmayer
08-15-2017, 03:54
There's quite a lot of buzz about the rifle on FB. While I think it's amazing, and the price is great, there several who say it's way overpriced. Of course, these are most likely people who want a bar of gold for the price of a turd! Then... there are a few who agree that the price is great (and I stated so).
Dick Hosmer
08-15-2017, 07:04
I'm quite surprised that uber-liberal FB even allows the posting of anything gun-related, and having said that it is one of the last places whose collective opinion I would trust. While it may not be a "steal", it is NOT "way overpriced" for the condition it is in. In fact, I'm surprised that Fred would have set the price that low - he may just lose it.
Thanks you guys!
Well, I figure that there'll be somebody bidding the minimum, then maybe one more, then, if there's somebody who is really interested in it, they'll just take the Buy It Now option.
I figured to price it low enough to move so I'd for certain have the cash for putting towards a pre 1899 Colt SAA.
I didn't want to him haw around with squeezing every possible penny I could get out of it. Oiy Vay. LOL
psteinmayer
08-15-2017, 03:18
If I had the money... I'd just Buy it Now, and leave every one else wondering!
I wish you could buy it. It needs a good home.
One guy asked me what caliber it was, wondering why it isn't 58 caliber like he thought all the other 1866's are.
So much misinformation out there.
Kragrifle
08-17-2017, 05:17
Hi Fred. Late to the party, but would like to know why this rifle doesn't have the script N behind the trigger guard. All of my second Allins have this N.
Hi Fred. Late to the party, but would like to know why this rifle doesn't have the script N behind the trigger guard. All of my second Allins have this N.
Dick Hosmer say's that the script "N" indicated that the weapon had been issued with a new stock, rather than the one it had originally come with.
http://www.jouster2.com/forums/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Edatbeach http://www.jouster2.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://www.jouster2.com/forums/showthread.php?p=481442#post481442) No one has pointed out that your M1866 has a single cartouche-- that means it was one of those assembled for sale at the time of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1871. It never saw issue in the U.S. Dealers Hartley & Graham bought and brought back several hundred in the late 1890s, and sold them to Sears Roebuck and other retailers. They had been in storage in Europe for over two decades.
The complete story of the M1866 & M1868 rifles that the SA assembled in 1871 is in the April 2001 issue of The Gun Report.
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