Springfield 1842

[homa1]

hi to all,
i have a question to any one who has shot or has experience with both the smooth-bore and rifled .69 cal Springfield muskets, which one gave the most recoil into your shoulder and which has the most impact devastation to the target, also its comparison to the .58 cal, its nothing morbid just curiosity, as Ive seen a lot of great videos on you-tube in regards to the .58 cal muskets comparing them to modern equivalents,

cheers D.P

 

[Bob E]

DP, Felt recoil has many variables, weight of the bullet, the powder charge, weight of the gun, your body weight, and probably most importantly, your shooting position. Offhand shooting will usually produce less felt recoil simply because your body isnt locked in one position and can better absorb recoil. Shooting from a bench or the prone positionwill usually produce the most felt recoil.

Back to your origional question....I prefer to shoot the .58 cal rifle muskets with a 500g minie ball. Pleasent shooting, little recoil, more accurate than I am. I have owned a rifled 1842 and it was a good shooter using the 500g Rapine bullet. Shooting the big Lyman 700+g bullet was unpleasant. It gave me an instant flinch. The smoothbore 1842 shooting a naked round ball is a lot of fun and accurate enough at 50yds to hit 6 inch ceramic tiles(offhand).

I feel that all of these fireams produce enough power to devestate your target. Be careful that you dont devestate your shoulder. Cheers, Bob E

 

[homa1]

thanks Bob E
that's where im at, i cant decide which way to go,
my background pushes me towards a rifled barrel but then the versatility of the smooth-bore,
i spoke to the only gun shop i can find in Aus that can supply with one and its limited to the rifled version,
they can special order for me but special order just means more $$$

 

[Matt85]

if its the armi sport springfield 1842 your looking at, i have a warning for you.

the barrel is oversized bigtime and all available minies for it will not work. it also doesnt seem to shoot roundballs for beans either.

mines been collecting dust for the last couple of months. i cant seem to get a projectile to work in it. ive been thinking about contacting some of the popular muzzleloading gunsmiths to put a lining in the barrel to bring it down to the proper size. but for now its useless...

-Matt

 

[Bob E]

DP, Which ever musket you eventually decide on please remember that you will need to find or make projectiles that will work in your specific gun. I have shot both the .69 and .58 cal rifled muskets. I wasnt satisfied with the accuracy of the .69 and went back to shooting .58 and.54 rifles. Others may disagree, but thats my experience. There is a much greater variety of bullet choices and molds for the smaller caliber.Let us know what you eventually decide and keep in touch! Cheers! Bob E

 

[nkbj]

My Armisport bore is 0.696" bore diameter.

 

[homa1]

is there much difference in the accuracy between the rifled and smooth-bore,
alot of the reviews i have read on the rifled 1842, they are getting good accurate groups out to 100 yrds,
which is what i would expect from the smooth-bore

 

[homa1]

is The Rifle Shoppe products any good?

 

[Trot]

Yes, there is a big difference in accuracy between the rifled and smoothbore. It would be very unrealistic to expect decent 100 yard groups out of the smoothbore version.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

is The Rifle Shoppe products any good?

Yes, exceptional but fairly expensive. Worth it in the end, though.

And keep in mind that the TRS parts are not a "slap it together, put some finish on it and go shoot" proposition. If you are an experienced gunmaker you will be fine with them, otherwise.....