I am really loving the history and accuracy of my Navy Arms .451 "Volunteer Rifle" -- even when shooting with low-power round ball loads.
And -- as it uses musket caps -- I don't have to hunt for #11 caps any longer!
For some brief history, we know that only 1 of 6 ships blocked by the Union blockade were actually stopped, so the other 5 took cotton and other goods over to England during the Civil War -- and many of those came back with firearms for the South. I've read that a popular toast of sea captains of the time was: "Here’s to the Confederates that grow the cotton, the Yanks that keep the price up by the blockade, the Limeys that pay the high prices for it – to all three and a long war.” Articles I've read report that in November 1861, a single ship brought in 7,500 Enfield rifles (3-band .58 caliber) along with 17,000 pounds of cannon powder. And in 1863, some 80,000 Enfield rifles made it through the blockade, with even more in the following years. Some of the 2-band Volunteer Rifles also made it ashore here; while they were they were originally made and sold to British civilian “volunteers” serving in the militia, or to be used for target shooting or as a sporting rifle. Or, over on this side of the pond, put into the hands of the Rebels as .45-cal sniping rifles.
The Volunteer Rifle, aka the "Pattern Model 1856 Sergeant’s 2-band short rifle", which I have was made by Pedersoli for Navy Arms and is a beauty to behold and shoot. It has a fast twist of 1 in 20 inches, but in lieu of heavy bullets, I'll be working up a low-power round ball load for use in Primitive Biathlons where the steel targets range from 30 to 45 yards out and patch round balls are required. I'll wear my Union blue Sergeant's uniform for those events and will carry my replica D-Guard Bowie Knife and my late father's original 1862 Mansfield & Lamb cavalry sword (the kids at the events love to look at and handle that piece of history).
So far, I'm really pleased with the upgraded targets sights I've added to it "for sniping", a Mortimer rear tang sight and a windage-adjustable front sight. With 50 gr FFF and a 0.0.15" Ox Yoke patch and a 0.433" round ball, the first 3 shots fired off the bench today were all touching. Then later after some other groups from the bench, I put 5 more rounds down range, all offhand at 25 yards, and except for 1 called flyer -- when another shooter slammed open the range door just as I was about to fire -- the rifle & load (and me too!) did really well.
I'll add some other images below, including the modified Range Box which I just posted about in the Shooting Accessories forum.
Tight groups.
Old No7
And -- as it uses musket caps -- I don't have to hunt for #11 caps any longer!
For some brief history, we know that only 1 of 6 ships blocked by the Union blockade were actually stopped, so the other 5 took cotton and other goods over to England during the Civil War -- and many of those came back with firearms for the South. I've read that a popular toast of sea captains of the time was: "Here’s to the Confederates that grow the cotton, the Yanks that keep the price up by the blockade, the Limeys that pay the high prices for it – to all three and a long war.” Articles I've read report that in November 1861, a single ship brought in 7,500 Enfield rifles (3-band .58 caliber) along with 17,000 pounds of cannon powder. And in 1863, some 80,000 Enfield rifles made it through the blockade, with even more in the following years. Some of the 2-band Volunteer Rifles also made it ashore here; while they were they were originally made and sold to British civilian “volunteers” serving in the militia, or to be used for target shooting or as a sporting rifle. Or, over on this side of the pond, put into the hands of the Rebels as .45-cal sniping rifles.
The Volunteer Rifle, aka the "Pattern Model 1856 Sergeant’s 2-band short rifle", which I have was made by Pedersoli for Navy Arms and is a beauty to behold and shoot. It has a fast twist of 1 in 20 inches, but in lieu of heavy bullets, I'll be working up a low-power round ball load for use in Primitive Biathlons where the steel targets range from 30 to 45 yards out and patch round balls are required. I'll wear my Union blue Sergeant's uniform for those events and will carry my replica D-Guard Bowie Knife and my late father's original 1862 Mansfield & Lamb cavalry sword (the kids at the events love to look at and handle that piece of history).
So far, I'm really pleased with the upgraded targets sights I've added to it "for sniping", a Mortimer rear tang sight and a windage-adjustable front sight. With 50 gr FFF and a 0.0.15" Ox Yoke patch and a 0.433" round ball, the first 3 shots fired off the bench today were all touching. Then later after some other groups from the bench, I put 5 more rounds down range, all offhand at 25 yards, and except for 1 called flyer -- when another shooter slammed open the range door just as I was about to fire -- the rifle & load (and me too!) did really well.
I'll add some other images below, including the modified Range Box which I just posted about in the Shooting Accessories forum.
Tight groups.
Old No7
