"Henry .451 Volunteer" Rifle Arrives!

[Cornbread]

Box was waiting as I got to the door. Maybe those who've helped me on my first post can make sense of:
- Do the barrel stamps indicate a real Parker Hale item? I don't think it falls in the range...or does it?
- How old is this rifle? The original box was a bit old but still in good condition.
- Is this really pretty accurate up to 800 yards?
- Any other details I might be overlooking???

I'm eager to get this thing dialed in as a Confed rifle and even make a rifle box with compartments lined in green flannel (or whatever period correct material) and all the minutiae. Baby steps though...

Thank you for any help, tips and wisdom!

Most humbly,
James

 

[hawkeye2]

BM = 1999

 

[LawrenceA]

Hi
Looks to me like an Italian made item.
I think the first 6000 were English.
Box also says made in Italy.
Yep they are comparatively accurate to 800 yards but you will probably need to do some fine tuning.
You certainly do with the other PH Enfields.
Check this out.
https://www.mlagb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Managing-the-Enfield.pdfhttp://www.researchpress.co.uk/inde...ilitary-longarms/enfield/managing-the-enfield
Tell you more than I can. Please note not all will be relevant but the bits about bedding and bearing points may be.
Bloody good read either way.

Lyman may still make the PH mold for the volunteer rifle. I am not sure.

Anyway love to see how it goes.
POST MORE PICS!
Please

 

[Doc Ivory]

Love to hear how you like it!
A few more pics when you het a chance please.

 

[ResearchPress]

....
Please note not all will be relevant but the bits about bedding and bearing points may be. Bloody good read either way.

The full article on Managing the Enfield, by my friend Bill Curtis, is on my web site.

The .451 Volunteer can be competitive at ranges out to 600 yards, although to get the most out of it aperture sights really need to be fitted. Beyond 600 it tends to be out performed by later designs of match rifle such as Metford or Rigby. It’s styled as a ‘generic’ military match rifle, of which there were many makers in the UK a in the early 1860s.

David

 

[Cornbread]

Got to more of the guts this afternoon once the torrential downpour here in Washington state subsided. For a while I was wondering if the stock could be used as a flotation device. Speaking of flotation device - DAMN this thing is heavy!

More pics of the stock w/comments by pic #...
3339 - Made In Italy is definitely gonna have to go!
3351 - After removing the trigger guard, there were some brass shavings left (hard to see)
3353 - The wood between first band and trigger guard is straight instead of that "belly" typically seen from repo's (I don't know about you, but I have a pet peeve about that "belly" on repro stocks in that section of the wood.
3354 - "410" clearly visible and that ramrod retaining device (???)

 

[Cornbread]

Now lock and pics attached.
I do like how sharp and precise the half cock and full cock are. They feel strong and confident.

Images labeled same as above:
3340 - Lock fits well into mortised area. What gives with the small screw below the nipple? Is it for cleaning or fouling removal?
3341 - Strong mainspring and all functions well with NO slop
3343 - What looks like a "PH" visible on the bridle
3350 - "SP" clearly visible on the trigger
3352 - 2 more stamps not seen yesterday on the tang. "N" and another cartouche

That's all the pictures for now. Once I complete the MASSIVE face lift on my Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle, I'm tackling this rifle next.

James

 

[Cornbread]

Last post for the night...

After researching, I got some images of a Confederate used Kerr rifle. Down the road (if not before) I want to add a long range tang sight. That Kerr had a sight similar to the ladder style on the barrel. It didn't have a peep hole, only a sliding dovetail on the rails. Is there a repro of this style? Maybe my friends across the pond know what I'm referencing? Its not a Goodwin, Creedmore or anything else like I've seen.
In the meantime, the stock is HUGE and bulky. There's a TON of wood on it. I plan on reshaping it around the checkering (which looks nice from quick glance) because the barrel bands cut into the wood when they're taken off/put on.
After all the shaping and contouring is done, I'll lightly age the stock, possibly add an English silvered patch box since I'll most likely be removing the Parker Hale stamp when re-contouring, stain the American walnut a slight red more like English walnut, then coat the whole thing with multiple layers of linseed oil. I may remove all the blueing and age the bare metal with browning/blueing and/or light bleach. A good tang sight will be the last addition.

Thank you for all the comments. Keep em coming and I'll do my best to document my progress on "Alexander Henry: 2-Band Enfield Redux" once I start. After that...a rifle box and its accoutrements.

Cheers,
James

 

[Cornbread]

Last post for the night...

After researching, I got some images of a Confederate used Kerr rifle. Down the road (if not before) I want to add a long range tang sight. That Kerr had a sight similar to the ladder style on the barrel. It didn't have a peep hole, only a sliding dovetail on the rails. Is there a repro of this style? Maybe my friends across the pond know what I'm referencing? Its not a Goodwin, Creedmore or anything else like I've seen.
In the meantime, the stock is HUGE and bulky. There's a TON of wood on it. I plan on reshaping it around the checkering (which looks nice from quick glance) because the barrel bands cut into the wood when they're taken off/put on.
After all the shaping and contouring is done, I'll lightly age the stock, possibly add an English silvered patch box since I'll most likely be removing the Parker Hale stamp when re-contouring, stain the American walnut a slight red more like English walnut, then coat the whole thing with multiple layers of linseed oil. I may remove all the blueing and age the bare metal with browning/blueing and/or light bleach. A good tang sight will be the last addition.

Thank you for all the comments. Keep em coming and I'll do my best to document my progress on "Alexander Henry: 2-Band Enfield Redux" once I start. After that...a rifle box and its accoutrements.

Cheers,
James

 

[52Bore]

Made in Italy on the box would put it in production from Euroarms, I believe.
Also, excess wood compared to English PH would substantiate Euroarms as I compared one to my PH years ago.

 

[TFoley]

Why do you want to fit a patch-box to this rifle? No Enfield or even a Kerr had such a thing - the bullet goes down the bore without any kind of patch, and caps were carried in the leather cap box on the belt. BTW, the Parker-Hale logo on the stock appears to have been put there by a laser - the real deal P-H logo was a deeply-impressed stamp. The screw in the nipple bolster is meant to act as a clean-out device, and the real P-H barrels ran out at about 14000 or so. Also clearly visible is the abbreviation PN in a cartouche - Polvere nero = black powder - the use of a cartouche around the letters is indicative of an arm made for export.

I have never seen such a high number barrel marked with the Parker-Hale stamp.

 

[rickpa]

I have one also but haven't shot it much. I did find out however that pure lead should be used for bullets and sized to .449. I tried WW bullets and accuracy was horrible. I have a Lyman mold but I'm not at home for the next several days so can't tell you the number. I THINK it's 451114 but don't quote me. I load powder then a greased felt patch, then the bullet, THEN clean the bore. At first I cleaned after the shot and before loading but that just pushed fouling into the chamber and blocked the flash channel. Others here have more experience than I and can give you better advice. This is just what I learned from my limited experience.

 

[Cornbread]

Why do you want to fit a patch-box to this rifle? No Enfield or even a Kerr had such a thing - the bullet goes down the bore without any kind of patch, and caps were carried in the leather cap box on the belt. BTW, the Parker-Hale logo on the stock appears to have been put there by a laser - the real deal P-H logo was a deeply-impressed stamp. The screw in the nipple bolster is meant to act as a clean-out device, and the real P-H barrels ran out at about 14000 or so. Also clearly visible is the abbreviation PN in a cartouche - Polvere nero = black powder - the use of a cartouche around the letters is indicative of an arm made for export.

I have never seen such a high number barrel marked with the Parker-Hale stamp.

Good evening,
I have seen an original 2 band rifle associated with match shoots in England set up on a stand and a round patch box is visible. That’s the style I’d get. If anything it would hide that laser etched stamp.
Speaking of stamp, the “PN” you reference is on the lock bridle correct?
And what is the barrel length on typical 2 band Kerr rifle? With the muzzle cropped close to the stock, are they shorter?

Thank you very much for the replies!
Most humbly,
James

 

[TFoley]

The PN is clearly stamped, in accordance with the law, on the left hand side of the barrel at the breech - see below -

I don't go to match shoots in England, and while I have no doubt that you have seen a patchbox on what may or may not have been an original rifle, there is no need for such a thing on a rifle that shoots an elongated cylindro-conoidal bullet with grease grooves. Maybe the shooter keeps Lifesavers in it.

However, it is your rifle to do as you choose with it. Please shoot it in good health.

BTW, I made a mistookment - the cartouche is around the date letters and not the PN, however, the same rule applies.

As an aside, this is what a cylindrical Lyman bullet looks like after being fired through a Whitworth rifle - recovered from the backstop during a de-leading session...

Hey all! I suddenly find that I can post my own images - what happened?

 

[Grenadier1758]

...
Hey all! I suddenly find that I can post my own images - what happened?

Too soon old and too late smart. Congratulations for learning how to post images!

 

[TFoley]

Too soon old and too late smart. Congratulations for learning how to post images!

Thanks, but all I did was copy an image out of my file and place it here in the reply. Beforetimes, I needed a degree in computer science to even begin to think about it, so I never bothered.

Here's another one.... Dyson-built Baker rifle. Underneath is a chamois leather-wrapped .62cal ball...an original, and shrunk over time, like most of us, I
guess.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Copy and paste is all you need to do. You do need to be aware of the number of pixels in the picture to keep from being too big for the forum to resize.

 

[RAEDWALD]

Thanks, but all I did was copy an image out of my file and place it here in the reply. Beforetimes, I needed a degree in computer science to even begin to think about it, so I never bothered.

Here's another one.... Dyson-built Baker rifle. Underneath is a chamois leather-wrapped .62cal ball...an original, and shrunk over time, like most of us, I
guess.

View attachment 46606
View attachment 46607

Nice Dyson. Shame about the kidney one has to sell to afford it. The ball. Is it Baker (i.e. carbine bore) size? All the balls like this I have ever seen are from the Percy Tenantry who used other rifles than Bakers and in a smaller bore. My poor old €850 original Henry Nock Volunteer Baker Rifle looks very dowdy, battered and forlorn compared to this Dyson replica.

 

[TFoley]

Ah, Raedwald, my old, yours is real, the Dyson is not.

 

[LawrenceA]

My poor old €850 original Henry Nock Volunteer Baker Rifle looks very dowdy, battered and forlorn compared to this Dyson replica.

Ask nice.
He might swap!