Spencer rifle

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snidervolley

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western washington where cowboys still ride
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my spencer rifle , carefully converted center fire !
IMO the prettiest lines on a gun ever .
Not given it’s deserved place in history mostly due to fifties and sixties westerns not having blanks available for it to be used in shows and movies so the Winchester garnered all the attention .
When shortly after the civil war it was surplused and 100 k where put out on the market and army switched single shot .
In which there is a lesson as before the switch there was a battle with comparable odds to little big horn at bleachers island, where fifty troopers held off thousand Indians for days .
 
Notice the sling swivel on the buttstock of the Rifle? That same sling swivel was used on the buttstock of the Spencer Carbine, even though the Carbine had a sling bar on the left side, and no forend swivel. That has been a mystery to me, why the Spencer Carbines were supplied with "orphan" butt swivels.
 
Given a choice between a Spencer and a Henry, I'll take the Spencer and the Blakeslee box. Almost as fast firing as the Henry but faster reloading and wood forearm that doesn't get too hot.
 
Notice the sling swivel on the buttstock of the Rifle? That same sling swivel was used on the buttstock of the Spencer Carbine, even though the Carbine had a sling bar on the left side, and no forend swivel. That has been a mystery to me, why the Spencer Carbines were supplied with "orphan" butt swivels.
Beats me, but they were doing that from the start of Carbine production. Hmm.

Possibly when the stocks were made , they didn't identify which went to carbine and which to rifle, and attached the swivel to all of them? ? ?
 
I saw a TV show on the history channel last week about Abraham Lincoln doing a test at the White House grounds on which rifle to buy for the Union troops between the Spencer and Henry rifle . They said he fired both of them at 40 yards at a wood board with a line painted across the middle as the point of aim . He choose the Spencer because he was more accurate with it . The shows host did the same test with the same results .
 
If you listened, ol Abe shot the two rifles months apart, it was not a side by side comparison. I don't know what really governed. I think the Spencer was the better military weapon, stouter construction than the Henry.

Wilder's Lightning Brigade carried Spencer rifles after a look at Henrys and Colt revolving rifles.
Carbines were not yet in production and they were considered mounted infantry, not cavalry, anyhow.

But remember the Henry advertising: "A resolute man, well mounted and armed with our rifle, cannot be taken!"
 
That has been a mystery to me, why the Spencer Carbines were supplied with "orphan" butt swivels.
Pure speculation: Used more like a pistol lanyard, secured to the saddle with enough length to allow free movement but able to be retrieved w/o dismounting if needed?
 
Sling swivel and honest Abe aside, that's a beautiful rifle. I would prefer having the rifle over the carbine for sure. Wow...I'd take that thing hunting! Then I'd just sit under a cedar tree and admire it. The bears, cougars, deer and elk would walk by un-noticed :)
 
Given a choice between a Spencer and a Henry, I'll take the Spencer and the Blakeslee box. Almost as fast firing as the Henry but faster reloading and wood forearm that doesn't get too hot.
Also, comparing both fully loaded, the Spencer has much better balance than the Henry. The Henry is muzzle-heavy with 16 rounds beneath the barrel. Not to mention that you have to shift your support hand as the magazine gets emptied.
 
Pure speculation: Used more like a pistol lanyard, secured to the saddle with enough length to allow free movement but able to be retrieved w/o dismounting if needed?
I have a repro Spencer Carbine. The "orphan" butt swivel bothered me enough that I picked up a Spencer Rifle front swivel and band, switched bands, and installed a regular sling. Works OK, but is obviously not authentic.

The normal way to carry a carbine would be with a wide shoulder sling having a snap hook, which would be attached to the bar on the left side. When on horseback, the barrel would be inserted into a leather ring on the saddle, to keep the carbine from flopping around.
 
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The Mexican Horse bandit Outlaw Joacim Murrietta , of Central California near where I lived 45 years , carried a Spencer Carbine and a couple Colt Dragoons 2nd model . I know the man who bought his serape, , one Colt 2nd model Dragoon and his worn Spencer Carbine from his direct descendant with letters ect. 56-56 caliber and I have handled the Spencer , not allowed to handle the worn fragile Dragoon. he paid north of $50k cash 45 years ago .
 
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When I was a co-op student back in the 1960s, my landlady's brother showed me his guns.
Including a Spencer carbine he had bought for $10 around 1950 from the farmer whose woods he hunted. No use to the farmer, he couldn't buy ammo for it any more.
 
Thanks. The fellow I know has so much stuff that despite all the times I visit I always see something new. Last time I saw a Tansel made horn that I never noticed.
 
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