dating a Parker Hale musketoon

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Float Pilot

Float Pilot

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I recently obtained a Parker Hale made Musketoon (1861 Artillery carbine)
I understand that some were made in England and some on contract in Italy.

This one is serial number 147X.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
Hey,
Cut him some slack. Every new gun is like a love affair (til you say NAAAAAAA......) and you break up by selling it.
 
Do you expect us to believe that you didn't get to 3rd base with her?
Seriously? NO fondling?
The first thing I do with a new one is go straight for 3rd base.
In fact, I usually feel them up in the store, before I even buy them.

Kissing them is ok, if that's what you're into, but NO tongue. That would be nasty. And corrosive.
 
Float pilot,
I can only apologize for my own off subject comments. Thank you for having a sense of humor. Now what was the original question? Oh yeah, figuring out when your gun was made. I would assume the relatively low serial number would suggest it is an English gun. There should be visable proof marks on the barrel telling of the proof house used.

One posting says: "My PH P.53 is S/N 5455 and I bought it brand new in 1978"
Another: "I am not sure of the date range but I know my 1853 PH is early 70's with a SN of 38xx"
And another: "Sounds like you have a really good early one (#35XX). As to a more specific date, I can't pin it down. But, I have a P-H Naval rifle that was purchased in 1978 according to the previous owner. That model became available 1st in the US in 1975 (in UK in 1976) as I recall. Its serial number is 86xx three years later than the year of introduction.
Hope this little bit helps.

And more info: Commencing in 1972 with the Pattern 1861 Artillery Carbine, Parker-Hale introduced their family of muzzle-loading rifles. The final list of rifles in their catalogue was:

Pattern 1853 Rifle Musket (Three band Enfield)
Pattern 1858 Naval Rifle (Two Band Enfield)
Pattern 1861 Artillery Carbine (Musketoon)
Volunteer .451 cal Percussion Target Rifle
'Whitworth' .451 Military Target Rifle
The following notes are an initial attempt and pulling a history of the rifle production together. There are as yet many gaps in the information available. The brief chronology below summarises when the Parker-Hale muzzle loading rifles were introduced.

P/61 Artillery Carbine was introduced 1972
P/53 Enfield Rifle Musket was introduced 1974
P/58 Enfield Rifle was available in the US in 1975 and the UK in 1976
.451 Volunteer rifle (Rigby rifling) was introduced c1976
By 1983 the Volunteer had been changed to Henry rifling and the Whitworth was available
Besides the 'basic' list of rifles outlined at the top of this page there are some know variants;

The Pattern 1853 Rifle Musket was produced with both the original 1:78" twist three groove rifling and as a variant with 1:48" twist three groove rifling. The latter appears to have been primarily an 'export' model for the American skirmishing market and is a not a reproduction of a British service rifle.

The Volunteer .451 cal Percussion Target Rifle was originally sold with Rigby style rifling. This was later changed to Henry rifling. Both 33" and 36" barrel length versions were made.
 
The underside of my barrel on the proof firing area says.

.577 cal 535 gr bullet with 3 1/2 drams black powder.

the crossed swords or scepters have an R or possibly a B on the right side and a 3 or 8 on the bottom. The left side is very hard to read but might be a 7 or a 1.

I had it all apart to deal with some surface rust issues. (been sitting for a couple decades.)

The nipple is really stick and parker hale made the squared wrench contact area with a weird taper that lets my nipple wrench slip.

When I received it,,,, it had a load in the barrel. Found out by blowing through the nipple ,. so I guess that counts as some sort of fun.... I used a musket cap and after a couple tries she blew the offending load into the lawn.

The butt plate was all green as was the trigger guard and fore-end brass. That has been fixed....

I am on my way to the range and will post photos later.
 
When I received it,,,, it had a load in the barrel. Found out by blowing through the nipple ,. so I guess that counts as some sort of fun.... I used a musket cap and after a couple tries she blew the offending load into the lawn.
Click to expand...

You're awesome! Thanks for understanding my initial attempt at pointing out the humor in your subject title and then completely running with it. This thread has cracked me up multiple times now.

Initially I was even going to ask, "How did you get her to go out with you? Wooed her with a dinner and a movie to break the ice did ya??" :D
 
Not to mention that I had to use a considerable amount of Wonder Lube during the initial ramrod session. Her bore having been neglected for an extended period of time.
I tried some wonder lube on part of her butt stock to cover some varnish freckles, but she did not seem to like that much... You would have though that all that time spent buffing that brass butt-plate with Never-Dull would have broadened her horizons.


I just ran her out to the range using some old Minie bullets I cast a long time ago.
55 grains of Goex 2f, was printing 6 inches to the left at 50 yards but was correct for elevation while using a 6 o'clock hold. But it was only a 2.5 inch group.

Then I went up to 60 grains and the group moved over towards the center of the target by 3 inches.
When I went to 65 grains the impact was OK windage wise but was now high from the increased recoil.

That is when I ran out of Minie bullets.....

So I shot patched round ball at the 100 yard gong and hit it about 50% of the time.

Just before I left, I tried twelve 32 caliber balls on top of 60 grains of 2f. With a lubed patch both bottom and top.

At 15 yards the pattern was about 16 to 18 inches wide. The patches were laying on the ground burning just behind the target stand.
 
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And it just keeps getting better: "and after a couple tries she blew the offending load into the lawn."
 
As I type this I am waiting for the tea kettle to boil so I can get back into the shower with her bore and try the old hot water routine.

I am trying Goop Hand Cleaner for the minty fresh smooth muzzle look....
 
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