I love the Enfield Musketoons

[Stantheman86]

Just got a set of new leather gear for one of my Parker-Hale Musketoons. I'll need to put my caps in a little poke bag in the cap pouch so they don't fall out when I'm pulling one out. Otherwise I like having the pouch on the cartridge box strap.

40 1863 Pattern cartridges with a .575 sized Minie lubed with SPG, and 60 grains of Old Eynsford 1.5f. Making 1855 pattern cartridges with the extra paper for the powder cylinder isn't really necessary for range shooting.

I don't always need to go long to have fun, I fired from 10 yards and kinda snuck back to 50 at the wood line to pop off about 10 from a kneeling position.

Using cartridges is lots of fun, and way better than bringing loose components

These Musketoons are perfect all arounders, I pulled a few at 50 because that short sight radius is less forgiving. But these are such nice handling and pointing rifles.

I'm confident this load combo would perform at 100 and 200 from a sandbag rest

 

[morehops52]

I've always thought that was one of the nicest looking military style rifles made.

 

[Whitworth]

Once you handle one of those handy little carbines you're spoiled forever as everything else feels like a club

 

[Stantheman86]

Once you handle one of those handy little carbines you're spoiled forever as everything else feels like a club

They come to the shoulder and just point so nicely.

For the realistic ranges most of us shoot at, these are more than capable out to 300 yards.

They are so much easier to load, easier to clean, and easier to just carry around and handle.

I even slung it to take a coffee break, sitting on a picnic table when 2 guys came into my range pit looking for brass to pick up......I'm like, no brass from me , sorry, only paper .

 

[frankie]

I really like these also and would like to have one. Are these accurate at long ranges?

 

[morehops52]

I look at that rifle and think ... there's no graceful lines, a straight stock, no embellishment. It even looks slightly out of proportion ...sort of. Then I keep asking myself "Why does this darn rifle have so much darn eye appeal ?????"
I wish I would have bought one in the 70's.

 

[frankie]

I look at that rifle and think ... there's no graceful lines, a straight stock, no embellishment. It even looks slightly out of proportion ...sort of. Then I keep asking myself "Why does this darn rifle have so much darn eye appeal ?????"
I wish I would have bought one in the 70's.

I agree totally and I really want one. I just want to find out the accuracy before I get one.

 

[Stantheman86]

I really like these also and would like to have one. Are these accurate at long ranges?

I've never fired it past 300 but I'm sure some guys on the forum have taken them to 1000 or more.

I have no problem hitting a 12"×12" steel swinger at 300 once I walked a few in to get the sights down.

We need to keep in mind that the long barrel of the 3-bander 39" Rifle-Musket was for firing in ranks, bayonet fighting and long range volley fire. At point target ranges out to 300 I would think the Musketoon is as accurate as a 3-bander for usable , practical accuracy.

I would think the longer rifles could throw a Minie farther but for 99% of us this is purely academic because not many of us are going to have access to 1000 yard rifle ranges or have any need to shoot that far.

 

[Stantheman86]

I look at that rifle and think ... there's no graceful lines, a straight stock, no embellishment. It even looks slightly out of proportion ...sort of. Then I keep asking myself "Why does this darn rifle have so much darn eye appeal ?????"
I wish I would have bought one in the 70's.

Most of the other "Artillery Musketoons" look like they were proportioned to be Musketoons like the J.P. Murray

The P61 is just a sawed off P53 that was made for British Artillerymen as personal defense weapons.

Honestly I think the Cook & Brother musketoon looks a little better, even though it's basically an Enfield copy, because the rounded wrist , brass barrel bands and rear block sight just look better to me.

I wish I could find one of the Parker-Hale smoothbore .58's , that would be lots of economical fun with .530 round balls in paper cartridges and a #11 cap nipple.

 

[DuncNZ]

Very nice kit , your leather should be shiny well polished black and the cap box on your belt, not the strap , also black . If you don't dye and polish your leather it will, inevitably, end up stained and dirty , as it already is on the cap box flap , and any powder residue and lube will make it unlikely to take the dye.
The Musketoon was the first Enfield produced by PH , the first of these have original 19th centaury hammers PH found in the basement .

 

[BlazingIron]

I've never fired it past 300 but I'm sure some guys on the forum have taken them to 1000 or more.

I have no problem hitting a 12"×12" steel swinger at 300 once I walked a few in to get the sights down.

We need to keep in mind that the long barrel of the 3-bander 39" Rifle-Musket was for firing in ranks, bayonet fighting and long range volley fire. At point target ranges out to 300 I would think the Musketoon is as accurate as a 3-bander for usable , practical accuracy.

I would think the longer rifles could throw a Minie farther but for 99% of us this is purely academic because not many of us are going to have access to 1000 yard rifle ranges or have any need to shoot that far.

I agree totally and I really want one. I just want to find out the accuracy before I get one.

So; I found David Minshall's is a champion shooter. Author too? A google found he posts over here:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/p53-p58-enfield-target-shooters-here.104189/
Here is more discussion on the Parker Hale, repros:

The quality is second to none on the English made Parker Hales. They prefer certain loads over others to get optimal accuracy and the minie ball sizing is critical.
and

Best quality, progressive depth rifling like the originals. Get onto David Minshalls' Research Press and managing the enfield, that will pretty much sort you out. PH is my first choice for the Enfield reproductions.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/parker-hale-musketoon-quality.117322/

 

[ResearchPress]

So; I found David Minshall's is a champion shooter. Author too? A google found he posts over here:
. . .
Get onto David Minshalls' Research Press and managing the enfield, that will pretty much sort you out. . .

Yes I have posted here and for many years and shoot Enfield and match rifle at long range. I won the MLAGB National 500 yard Rifle Championship for Enfield a couple of weeks ago, at the same time setting a new record score for the event. See footer for link to my site.

I’ve seldom seen the Carbine used in competition, and don’t recall its use beyond 100m. Most long range shooting with the Enfield is done with the Short Rifle (original and repro. Eg. P.58 Naval Rifle, or P.60/61 type rifles.), and occasionally the P.53. Furthest the MLAGB shoot the Enfield is 600 yards and that match is coming up in a couple of weeks or so. The same was the practice in the 19thC with the NRA(UK) and Rifle Volunteer Corps. A club I am in does have an Enfield aggregate match at 600 and 800 yards, but that is pushing the range for target shooting.

David

 

[Dave Fox]

Back from Vietnam in late 1968, I hied myself down to the (now-old) Griffith, Indiana gun shop. There a new PH Artillery musketoon was racked. Somehow they'd lost the rammer and box with its contents. The price reflected that. I loved that little piece. Had the late Louis Sanchez of Fayetteville, N.C. add a tall foresight and it proved about as accurate a muzzleloader as I owned. Going to owning and shooting just originals, I traded it off and replaced it with a Liege 1861 contract piece (see photos). The Parker Hale shot better....

 

[dave951]

The Enfield style cartridge box is much more user friendly. It's what I use in competition shooting where speed counts. Put it on your belt with a cap pouch and have at it.

https://www.ccsutlery.com/store/cartridge-box-enfield.html

 

[Stantheman86]

Very nice kit , your leather should be shiny well polished black and the cap box on your belt, not the strap , also black . If you don't dye and polish your leather it will, inevitably, end up stained and dirty , as it already is on the cap box flap , and any powder residue and lube will make it unlikely to take the dye.
The Musketoon was the first Enfield produced by PH , the first of these have original 19th centaury hammers PH found in the basement .

I was just going to condition it really well to darken it up a little, then let it get dirty and get some character on it .

I also have a couple Enfield style boxes that I use occasionally, because the Pritchett cartridges don't fit in the 40-round "American " type box

 

[Stantheman86]

So; I found David Minshall's is a champion shooter. Author too? A google found he posts over here:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/p53-p58-enfield-target-shooters-here.104189/
Here is more discussion on the Parker Hale, repros:

The quality is second to none on the English made Parker Hales. They prefer certain loads over others to get optimal accuracy and the minie ball sizing is critical.
and

Best quality, progressive depth rifling like the originals. Get onto David Minshalls' Research Press and managing the enfield, that will pretty much sort you out. PH is my first choice for the Enfield reproductions.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/parker-hale-musketoon-quality.117322/

I had purchased a bunch of Pritchett cartridges from Brett, at Paper Cartridges.

My two P-H Musketoons don't like them, at all, they spray them all over the target. However, my P-H P53 loves them.

The Musketoons are extremely accurate with .575 Minies and although I only tried them once, they shot really well with .570 round ball. I just feel like using loose powder and a patched round ball in a quick handling and loading carbine is kind of a step backwards but it can be done

 

[brazosland]

I’ve had really good luck with the Williams bullet from Brett. It has shot well in every rifle I’ve tried it in.

 

[Stantheman86]

It may not matter to some but I also like how it's easy to reload these from a kneeling position

 

[Pukka Sahib]

Since we are on the blissful subject of Enfield Musketoons, what do I have here ? Who made it, and where’s it from ? It’s been “de-farbed”, so I can’t tell much. The P-H on the lock part, may be a red-herring, though “perhaps”, it’s an Italian Parker-Hale. To add to the confusion, the barrel bands are brass !

 

[Dave Fox]

It may not matter to some but I also like how it's easy to reload these from a kneeling position

Nothing's easy kneeling at my age....