Armsport Inc. Miami, Fla MOD

[John D. Dennison]

Flintlock rifle with the barrel marked as follows:

Armsport Inc. Miami, Fla. MOD.
"Black Powder Only" EX A 128215 CAL. 50
Made in Spain #36
9 1
€ O
12.7 [x] OO. 700 Kp/cm2 A2

Proof marks shown above are the best can do with this font. Imagine the € over the box with the x and the O stacked on top of the OO.

I got it for free and plan make a project out of it.

Any info on where you find proof mark data, origin of rifle, ect. would be helpful. Will include pictures soon as I figure out how.

 

[54ball]

Why do you need proof data for a 10 or so year old Armisport?
Is it the Kentuckian?
Spain huh?
I wonder if there is a difference between Armsport and Armisport?
Either way value is minimal.

 

[John D. Dennison]

New to the sport. Still trying to figure out what I have. It was free so do not expect much.
Curious as to such things as is it safe to fire etc. What do the proof marks mean? Where does on look up such information?

 

[Zonie]

Your rifle was made in Spain.
The proof marks you show is the standard mark for passing their black powder proof test.

About the only company in Spain producing muzzleloading rifles/pistols is Ardesa.

These same guns at one time were imported into the US by CVA. CVA no longer is importing sidelock guns but Traditions is currently importing the same guns.
Armsport was a company which imported black powder guns. I believe they are out of business now.

You didn't mention the caliber but if you take the time to read thru the posts here you will be able to learn a lot about loading and shooting these rifles.

 

[54ball]

I re reread my post and I may have sounded negative. That was not my intent.

As Zonie said Armsport imported Spanish made rifles like Traditions and CVA.

A look on the net tells me that they appear a little fancier than CVA.

Hopefully the quality is a little better in their flintlocks.

Since Armsport is defunct you can find basic info from Traditions and CVA. Just click on sidelock flint lock.
Link Traditions owners manuals
Link CVA discontinued models sidelock

Please if you have any questions about the care and feeding of these please ask. Also as Zonie said look through past posts.

I have a Traditions lock that has served me well. Hopefully that Armsport is as good or better.
Now there is a learning curve to these so please post if you have trouble.

On a personal note, I noticed the miner in your avatar. There is coal country down here too, you know that. Also Roll Tide.

 

[John D. Dennison]

:stir: West Virginia in the blood. The reason I am here is that I came upon a "free gift". Three muzzle loaders. A CVA double percussion 12 gage, never fired, a 50 cal. Navy Arms percussion rifle engraved "tribute to the American Pioneer" Montgomery Wards, Chicago, Ill, never fired, and this 50 cal. flintlock.

Have reloaded forever, own to many guns (wife), enjoy shooting rifle and pistols, really like 500 and 1,000 yard target shooting. USMC, Private Pilot, Electrical Engineer.

Apparently have become addicted to muzzle loading. Have researched the internet some, bought and read a bunch of books from Dixie Gun Works incuding, Lyman's Black Powder Hand Book and the Gunsmith of Grenville County.

Having a lot of reloading experience, along with a strong survival instinct, says to proceed carefully. I have a complete wood working shop, a small metal lathe, and lots of tools.

I have cleaned this gun with hot water ramrod plunger and oiled it carefully. The rifle and lock look good with little or no rust. The barrel by bore light looks good without any bulges or pitting. Have measured the external dimensions of the barrel with good results. It is a Hawken style with a 28 inch barrel with what appears visually to be a very slow twist. Plan to measure the twist soon.

The proof marks 700 Kiloponds/cm2 indicate it was proofed at 9,954 lb/in2. This indicates that light loads are called for which is not a problem with me. Putting them all into the some hole at 50 yards has more challenge than some 500 yard shots with the right equipment.

Now the question?? Never have shot this rifle. Should I proof test it?? If so, which of the many suggested approaches would be reasonable to proceed on knowing one would never knowingly exceed 10,000 psi using round ball and patch. Have ordered Lyman .490 and .495 molds. Will measure the exact bore/groove on both rifles and the shootgun before attempting to work up ball / patch / lube / powder combinations.

This forum is the only real source of expertise available to me. When the weather breaks plan to see if I can schedule a black powder shoot some where and continue the learning process.

Thanks for your responses.

 

[desi23]

Since the gun passed proof in spain and you describe it as being clean with little, if any, rust in the bore I probably wouldn't worry about reproving it. The pressures indicated are standard for Black Powder Proof which is a much lower pressure than smokeless. If you really worried about it I would recommend you test the barrel off the stock. I have seen a stock crack from a home proof test on a complete gun.

 

[Zonie]

I wouldn't consider re-proofing the barrel.

Proof loads are overloads so they always stress the metal when they are done.

Re-proofing the barrel can take a good safe barrel and turn it into a unsafe barrel. That's why there are always non-destructive tests following a proof test to make sure the barrel didn't develop a crack.

 

[John D. Dennison]

Thanks for the good advice. I have just discovered the Gunsmithing forum and plan to post progress on the precussion rifle I am fixing up there. Also plan to tinker with the lock on this one when the weather is more favorable to shooting.

The first picture on Gunsmithing forum post shows the flintlock with the barrel removed in same picture.