Put the finishing touches to the 3-bander.

[Heatseeker64]

Hello all, been a while since I've been in this fine forum.

A while back I wrote a lengthy tome about a neglected old 3-band Enfield that found me and followed me home:

Post here

I took it to the range to blow some cobwebs out, which was a momentous occasion considering the condition it was in, but I recently put the finishing touches to the project when I found an original swivel in a jink box and fitted a fine repro sling (apologies for posting a pic of a bolt gun in here, but these are my oldest and newest Enfields):

It also looks pretty dame fine hanging on the wall of my entrance hall:

Being of bastard Irish stock, I'm no fan of the English and have kitted the Enfield out with ACW accessories:

It remains a mystery to me how this rifle remained an intact 3-band Enfield and how it came to Australia in that condition.

The lock was made in 1858, according to the tang marking it was issued to the Cornwall Regiment (32nd Regiment of Foot) and it has sold out of service marks on the stock and barrel ... is it possible it was sold out of British stocks to one of the belligerents fighting in the US Civil War?

I would have thought that if it stayed in British Army hands it would have been coverted to a breech loader as a matter of course.

Anyway, just a thought ....

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Very nice job and it looks good. The surplus gun market was always world-wide so your gun was surplussed by the British government (as you stated as indicated by the SOS markings) and was probably brought to Australia for sale to a farmer on a budget. Did the 32nd Regiment of Foot ever see service in Australia? If so, it is possible that it served there and the gun was sold off afterwards when the Cornwalls were re-equipped with Snyders or Martinis. It is also possible that Australian forces may have been equipped with former British Government P53 Enfields when the regulars were updated. Check Ian Skinnerton's work on the arms of Australia (I'm away from my books so can't remember the title) for more background, there may be some useful information there. It is highly doubtful that your rifle saw use in the American Civil War, but not impossible.

 

[Tumblernotch]

I also doubt that it saw ACW service. From all the records I can find, no P-53/3's that had been made for British service at that time were sold as surplus to the American belligerents. Both sides made contracts with the London and Birmingham makers and bought new P-53's. However, old P-51's and other surplus arms were bought. They didn't buy any new arms from the government works at Enfield, though I'm sure they would have loved to. If this gun has the Broad Arrow marking anywhere on it, that's a good sign it wasn't sold to the Americans. Also, new guns sold to the States shouldn't have V+R under the crown (on the lock), although I've seen some with it listed as having seen CW use. And a musket with an 1858 date plus British regimental markings wouldn't have been surplused to be sold to speculators or agents in time to see use here. But, like you said, it may not be impossible, though I seriously doubt it.

 

[Trkdriver99]

"American belligerents" We were not the agressor in the "War of Northern Agression". All we wanted to do was be left alone. We were invaded from the North.
Save your Confederate Money boys the South gonna rise again.
Ronnie

 

[Tumblernotch]

"American belligerents" We were not the agressor in the "War of Northern Agression". All we wanted to do was be left alone. We were invaded from the North.
Save your Confederate Money boys the South gonna rise again.
Ronnie

I know that. I'm a Southerner and my ancestors were in the Confederate Army. No matter who attacked who...oh never mind.

 

[Parzifal]

Thats a very nice looking gun Sir, You did a fine job on it.
And yes It does look good in the entrance of the homestead there

 

[chance]

Very nice!!!

 

[Heatseeker64]

Thats a very nice looking gun Sir, You did a fine job on it.
And yes It does look good in the entrance of the homestead there

Thank you, sir!

It's actually hanging up there on principle because under Australian laws all firearms need to be locked up out of sight, yet a musket that's more than a century old and doesn't fire a mettalic cartridge is considered an antique, and doesn't even need to be registered.

However, my circa 1980s Parker Hale 2-band Enfield is a "firearm" under the law ... go figure.

So, as a tribute to nosensical gun laws, the old warhorse hangs in my entrance hall with a quote from George Orwell underneath it: "That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or laborer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there."

And that cartridge box and cap pouch are ready to go out the door, so the most accessable weapon in my house isn't even considered a firearm under the law ... as I said, go figure!

Of course, I would never shoot this "antique", because it is not a weapon, under the law ... :blah: