which is a better musket vendor for the Springfield 1861 and CS Richmond: Armi, Chiappa, Euro Arms, Traditions or Pederosi?

[Diver63csa]

My needs are just Reenacting, Color Guard for the SCV and some plinking

 

[towgunner11h]

I can only speak for what I have: Armi Sport/ Chiappa Richmond Rifle and Carbine. I find them both accurate and reliable.

 

[ord sgt]

For reenacting, any one will do. If it were for skirmishing, me choice, I have a Navy Arms Enfield. Very accurate for shooting minie ball.

 

[Gun Tramp]

Vendors; Blockade Runner gets my vote.

 

[dave951]

Check out the classifieds on a Civil War reenactor board.

 

[hawkeye2]

Euroarms is long gone, Armi Sport is now Chiappa. I have no experience with Traditions nor have I even seen one however they do claim to have N-SSA approval.

If you are a color guard or reenacting I suggest you check with your (future) unit as to what arms they carry before buying. Usually for most units, North or South, the '61 Springfield is acceptable but that isn't always the case.

As to who to buy it from there are sorts of sutlers and dealers and that can be a personal choice.

 

[RjSixgun]

Traditions is made Chiappa which was Armi-sport. and I also heard that it was Pedersoli that bought out Euro-Arms.
Navy Arms and Traditions didnt really make anything, they where Armi-sport, Euro-Arms, Mirokou and Zoli.
Navy Arms was like Taylor Firearms or Cimarron Firearms is today.

 

[FiremanBrad]

Pedersoli is my vote!

 

[Notchy Bob]

Euroarms is long gone, Armi Sport is now Chiappa. I have no experience with Traditions nor have I even seen one however they do claim to have N-SSA approval.

If you are a color guard or reenacting I suggest you check with your (future) unit as to what arms they carry before buying. Usually for most units, North or South, the '61 Springfield is acceptable but that isn't always the case.

As to who to buy it from there are sorts of sutlers and dealers and that can be a personal choice.

Hawkeye2 has given the best advice and most accurate information.

Euroarms closed up (I think) in 2012, or thereabouts. I bought a Euroarms C.S. Richmond rifle musket at about that time and it was nothing but trouble. The barrel has some sort of irregularity in the bore down at the breech that prevents properly seating a Minie ball. More knowledgeable rifle musket shooters have advised me that it is not safe for shooting live rounds with bullets. I had Dan Whitacre make a new barrel, which I have not shot yet. The wood around the tang stands proud of the metal on the Whitacre barrel, and I've been advised that Euroarms stocks tended to be much bulkier than the originals. Dan probably made the barrel to standard dimensions.

There were also problems with the lock. Trigger release from full cock was in mere ounces, and you could also pull the trigger gently and drop the hammer from half-cock. Unsafe! I fiddled with it and finally sent it to Lodgewood. Their gunsmith replaced the tumbler and a couple of other parts, and fixed it properly. However, I more than doubled my investment in this gun, just tying to get it safe and shootable. I can understand why Euroarms went out of business. You might see a used one out there, but I wouldn't buy one.

On the other hand, I bought an ArmiSport (now Chiappa) 1842 smoothbore through Blockade Runner, and had them send it to Todd Watt to be defarbed before shipping it to me. I could not be happier with this musket. It is one of my favorite guns... Authentic, reliable, and fun to shoot.

I have a Pedersoli Charleville, which is a flintlock. The lock needed some work due to poor sparking, but otherwise the lock was fine. There was also a little metal chip inside the touch hole that I easily removed with a drill bit rotated between my thumb and finger. Otherwise, this is a nice gun. I don't own any other Pedersoli long guns, so can't comment on their percussion muskets, but I would not hesitate to buy one, based on the quality of my Charleville and my Pedersoli pistol.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide to get.

Notchy Bob

 

[toot]

I like then all.

 

[Eras Gone]

On the used market the Euroarms paid better attention to historical details than the Armi-Sport (Chiappa). Both are reliable and will shoot straight, but the Euroarms is a notch up on authenticity. The current Pedersolis are excellent. Especially their P53 Enfield. It is the most authentic out-of-the-box repro rifle musket available.

Don't forget the Chiappa Model 1842 .69 caliber musket. It well made and very historically accurate also.

 

[hanshi]

I'm glad I got my US M1841 from Euroarms over 16 years ago; the quality and attention to detail is super.

 

[dave951]

Hawkeye2 has given the best advice and most accurate information.

Euroarms closed up (I think) in 2012, or thereabouts. I bought a Euroarms C.S. Richmond rifle musket at about that time and it was nothing but trouble. The barrel has some sort of irregularity in the bore down at the breech that prevents properly seating a Minie ball. More knowledgeable rifle musket shooters have advised me that it is not safe for shooting live rounds with bullets. I had Dan Whitacre make a new barrel, which I have not shot yet. The wood around the tang stands proud of the metal on the Whitacre barrel, and I've been advised that Euroarms stocks tended to be much bulkier than the originals. Dan probably made the barrel to standard dimensions.

There were also problems with the lock. Trigger release from full cock was in mere ounces, and you could also pull the trigger gently and drop the hammer from half-cock. Unsafe! I fiddled with it and finally sent it to Lodgewood. Their gunsmith replaced the tumbler and a couple of other parts, and fixed it properly. However, I more than doubled my investment in this gun, just tying to get it safe and shootable. I can understand why Euroarms went out of business. You might see a used one out there, but I wouldn't buy one.

On the other hand, I bought an ArmiSport (now Chiappa) 1842 smoothbore through Blockade Runner, and had them send it to Todd Watt to be defarbed before shipping it to me. I could not be happier with this musket. It is one of my favorite guns... Authentic, reliable, and fun to shoot.

I have a Pedersoli Charleville, which is a flintlock. The lock needed some work due to poor sparking, but otherwise the lock was fine. There was also a little metal chip inside the touch hole that I easily removed with a drill bit rotated between my thumb and finger. Otherwise, this is a nice gun. I don't own any other Pedersoli long guns, so can't comment on their percussion muskets, but I would not hesitate to buy one, based on the quality of my Charleville and my Pedersoli pistol.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide to get.

Notchy Bob

Yes, Dans barrels are profiled correctly. Even better, do a bit of load development and you’ll have a fine shooter.