1862 C.S. Richmond (Armi)

[Burt]

I have ran a bunch of searches here and can't find any info on the C.S. Richmond. Any of you folks have one or perhaps had one that you would like to comment on? I made a trade for one but have not got the rifle yet. All I know is it will be a replica by Armi-Sports and the basic facts I can find on the web. Do you know the bore/rifling size (maybe someone here has slugged one of the barrels)? Do they like conicals or patched balls? Any info would be great, Thank You!

 

[HardBall]

You could also ask these guys.
[url] http://n-ssa.org/phpbb[/url]/

 

[Burt]

I'll give it a try over there but, I think I may be tossed out quickly.

 

[mbw907]

That's okay. You can always come back home where your real friends are. :thumbsup:

 

[Big John]

A little info:They were made at Harpers Ferry until the Union Army burnt it down, machinery was dis persed, some went to Springfield Armory in Mass. there the 55 Rifled Musket was made along the same lines as the C.S. Richmond. Both have the high hump lock (for the Maynard tape primmer), which was later done away with. Shoot minnie balls with it, approx. .578, but size will depend on each barrel measured, standard load is 60gr. of 2f black powder.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

I have ran a bunch of searches here and can't find any info on the C.S. Richmond. Any of you folks have one or perhaps had one that you would like to comment on? I made a trade for one but have not got the rifle yet. All I know is it will be a replica by Armi-Sports and the basic facts I can find on the web. Do you know the bore/rifling size (maybe someone here has slugged one of the barrels)? Do they like conicals or patched balls? Any info would be great, Thank You!

The Richmond Musket was made on the Harpers Ferry machinery taken from the arsenal when Virginia Militia under Ashby and Imboden took it over in 1861 at the begining of hostilities. Moving the equipment is an epic that should be read by all students of history. The rifle musket machinery was sent as property of the Commonwealth of Virginia to Richmond and the rifle machinery, also Commonwealth property, was loaned to North Carolina and sent to Fayettville, N.C. where the 2 band rifle's production would continue until 1865, it also remained property of Virginia but was on loan to N.C.

After a short run in 1861 by Virginia, the equipment was loaned to the Confederate governmet and production continued until the evacuation of Richmond in 1865.

The current repro is considered a fairly accurate reproduction of the original Richmond and it shoots well with a properly sized minnie ball, the round ball is usually not considered but to each his own, others will say different. Each barrel will vary in bore size due to wear on rifling equipment while in use, this is pretty standard in rifle production whether custom or factory, modern cartridge gun or breechloading or muzzleloading BP, so you will need to slug the barrel yourself to find out which minnie (or patch and ball) fits best.

 

[flintlockmdj]

Burt, I owned one when I was doing WBTS reenacting and found it to be a good reliable musket. Shot of sandbags it would shoot 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

 

[Burt]

Thanks to all of you for the great information...and background of the original musket. I should have my hands on it in about an hour when I make the trade.

 

[dlocke]

Burt, you're gonna love that rifle. I have the Armi 1861 and it is a great rifle with very high quality, oil-finished wood. That being said, you will want to carefullt measure your bore diameter and buy (or mold and size your own) minies to fit. For example, I have a bunch of minies sized down for my 1861. I also have a Zoli "Zouave" rifle that has a bore diameter ever so slightly larger than the Springfield. The Springfield minies drop right down the bore of the Zouave and give poor accuracy. If your bore measures very close to or exactly .580", the minies wil be perfect sized as they drop from the mold.
DJL

 

[Burt]

I may have a problem here and perhaps the reason the man traded the musket off. The hammer is not centered over the nipple. In fact, the hammer just touches the right side of the nipple. I put a small cardboard strip over the nipple and pulled the trigger and there is a complete circle of the nipple put into the cardbard...just about punched a hole in it. I took the lock assembly out and I can't see where anything is wrong. Maybe it was dropped and bent the hammer? The only way I can figure to correct the problem would be to space the lock assembly out from the stock about 1/16" inch. Any ideas on if this will be a problem?

 

[paulvallandigham]

A couple of questions. Is there enough clearance that the face and skirt of the hammer will fit over a cap placed on the nipple? Is the skirt thick enough that you can grind a little off the inside of the skirt to give you clearance?

If the answer to either question is " Yes ", then I would not be moving that hammer away from the lockplate any with spacers. It is really not that hard to heat the nose of the hammer up and bend it a little. You do want to make a template of the before and the intended after location so you can campare what you have done with the template while the hammer is still hot. A gunsmith should be able to bend the hammer for you, but if you have access to a machine shop, a hammer, and anvil, or something similar, you should be able to do it yourself. When you do heat the hammer up, and bend it, do not quench it in water or oil. Let it cool down slowly so it remains soft. It does not have to be hardened to do its job. Het to a cherry red to bend it. Some use a good wrench or vise-grips pliers to do this kind of bending, instead of a hammer, and anvil. The bend is going to be so slight, that either works. You will have to grind metal off the face of the hammer so that you get an even contact between the hammerface and the top of the nipple. Use napkins, or paper towel to test the contact, and not cardboard. Its too thick and you cannot see the subtle differences in height. Use a small grinding bit in a dremel tool to grind off the high spots on the face of the hammer.

 

[Burt]

There is not enough metal on the hammer skirt to to give enough clearance. I will need to heat and bend. One more question..how the heck do I get the hammer off? I removed the screw but the hammer won't come off with simple tapping and prying. I'm trying to be easy with it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

First remove the lock from the gun. Then open the jaws of a vise, or find two similar pieces of metal bar stock thick enough to give you clearance off a table top or bench top. Lay the lockplate down so that the hammer is floating in the airspace in between. Then use a small hammer and drift pin( A piece of round or square stock- brass - will do) and slowly tap the hammer. You might get help by using something like Liquid Wrench, BreakFree, or Kroil oil, all of which are penetrating oils, on that square pin on the end of the tumbler to help loosen the hammer. Let the oils sit there overnight before trying to remove the hammer. I do not attempt to use pry bars to wedge the hammer off. This will almost always result in dents, and dinks to some surface or edge of the lock that you don't want damaged, and the hammer stays on. However, once the hammer begins to back off, I use a screwdriver to wedge and lift the hammer off the rest of the way. What you are trying to do is move that hammer, without bending the lock plate. So, keep the barstock, or the gap between the vise jaws as close to the hammer as possible. Hammers are fitted tight for a reason. A loose hammer is a disaster. Its a good way to break parts of the hammer, or lock or both. So don't get busy with a file once you get this off the tumbler. Leave it tight. It taps back on much easier than it comes off.

 

[Burt]

Thank You! I will see what I can here. My tanks are empty so heating may be a problem unless propane will work...I shall see. Thanks again for the help on all of this. Hammer seems pretty tight on the 'tumbler', if my breakdown from Armi is correct.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you want to " rock " the hammer on that tumbler, support the end of the hammer so that your blows near the lock plate transfer energy to the underside or bottom of the hammer, rather than on the topside where the neck and spur of the hammer are located. Leave the lockplate free to bounce slightly on impact of the light hammer and drift pin to the backside of the hammer. You can always pad the vise jaws, or barstock with cloth to prevent any damage to the finish of the lockplate.

 

[Burt]

I have the hammer "adjusted" and it is close to center on the nipple. Thanks for your help Paulvalandigham.

 

[bub524]

The rifle that you have is essentially the same as the 1861 Springfield by Armi Sports they are almost identical except for the lock. Look up the Armi Sports site and look at the Springfiel. The same info appies to the CS Richmond, rifling twist etc. I have one of each and they will hit a 12" gong all day long without missing a beat anywhere from 25 to 125 yards. I use 40, yes 40 grains of 3f or 2f and a 500-600 gr. minnie and they are both very accurate.
They aren't cosistant X ring rifles but then they were never meant to be. But you can keep all your shots on a paper plate out to 125 to 150 yards offhand. I think thats pretty accurate.