Burnside Carbine

whughett said:

the gentleman on Cap and Ball used a 14.1mm ball (?). I’ve noticed he simply places the ball on the mouth and closes the breech on it.

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14.1 mm is .555"
You can find .550 available at Track of the Wolf. --->>> https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/1/BALL-550-X

Their next larger size is .562": --->>> https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/1/BALL-562-X

For the best advice on loading these, go to the N-SSA website. Those fellows shoot these for speed AND accuracy and have developed loads that are proven.

Kevin

with Ray Rapine being out of business, see Tom at Acccurate Moulds
http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=25
56-390 A/B and 56-450B series (three moulds)

Here are 5 empty Burnside cases.



Here is how they were frequently found on battlefields.



And you can see how they fit together.



A soldier would fire the carbine and work the lever. If the round did not pop clear of the chamber, he would take another round and push it into the empty. A 1/4 turn twist and the empty comes out. There have been long strings of these found.

I have used the same technique. It works well but if the chamber is smooth, picking the empty out with fingers is faster.

Kevin

Here is an original cartridge.



Growing up I probably shot 100 of these. Now, I use the brass case and reload them. Here is one of my reloads next to an original.



My bullet is less pointed and I have forgotten what mold I used. I have maybe 150 cast up, more than enough to outlast me.

Kevin

4v50 Gary said:

Interesting carbine by a most unloved man. Failed miserably at a job he didn't want (Commander of the Army of the Potomac and fiasco at Fredericksburg) but redeemed himself at Knoxville (which he held against Longstreet) and post-war founding president of the NRA.

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Yes, perhaps some insubordination by other officers played a role in his lackluster performance as CotA. But that is best debated by those more learned than I.

He was also the Governor of Rhode Island.

He designed the carbine as an improvement over the Hall rifle. It sealed the gap between the breech and the barrel to prevent the leaking of gases mere inches in front of one’s face. It worked well!

Kevin

We only had a few Burnside shooters on our N-SSA team back -- going on -- 40 years ago (how time flies )
Most carbines were Maynards and Sharps at that time.

This might help:

I find it interesting that he's using 50-50 (rather than the usual Crisco/Beeswax) to effectively hold the bullet in the case,
but any slightly stiff lube mix would work/

You're looking foe something gtat "looks" like this:
https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index...uct_name/BA0207+Cast+Odd+Bullets+Burnside+.54

Looks "an awful lot like" the ACC 56-390B

I watched but did not listen to the video. A couple of things I would recommend. If you are going to load for this cartridge, a proper loading block in necessary. You can see the cases in the video leaning and almost falling from the plastic box. Take a 2x4 and bore as many holes as you need for you cartridges. I use 10. The holes do not have to be tapered but should be at least 1/2”. This allows the cartridges to stand upright but still leave enough to grab.

I made a scoop from an old case, might have been 45 long Colt or maybe 45-70, (I don’t have my reloading stuff unpacked yet from the move.). I dip my charges and funnel them into the case. A felt wad holds the powder in place.

I bell the case mouth just enough to let the bullet start and thumb press it home.

I have used a “dot” of tissue paper over the flash hole but have also forgotten it and not noticed a difference.

Best of luck, it is a fun cartridge and rifle to use.

Kevin

Here's a bit of trivia that I bet most don't know about Ambrose Burnside

He was noted for his unusual facial hair joining strips of hair from the sides of his head to his mustache with a clean-shaven chin

This style became known as the "burnsides" at the time but later the two parts of the word were reversed to give us the well-known term used today for side hair. That's right it was the origin of the word "sideburns".

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/t...est/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20190625162425

StrawHat said:

For the best advice on loading these, go to the N-SSA website. Those fellows shoot these for speed AND accuracy and have developed loads that are proven.

Kevin

Click to expand...

And, in my experience, they are very willing to share their knowledge and give you any other help you ask for. An NSSA member provided me with a dummy round to gift an elderly friend who has a very nice original Burnside Carbine. I had gone to the site to get info and ended up with all the information and help I could ask for. And it turns out the guy who helped me used to roadrace motorcycles at the same place and time that I did... we exchanged a lot of e-mails and shared a lot of fun memories.