celem
Member
I have an original Spencer carbine that I purchased back in the early 1970s for the then princely sum of $95. I recently became interested in shooting it with a centerfire conversion breechblock and have done some research on what would be the correct ammunition.
I slugged the bore and was surprised at the groove measurement - .5343. The lands measure .515. I measured the groove with both a micrometer and a digital caliper. I measured the lands with a digital caliper. The barrel has 6-grove rifling. After seeing other people reporting .512 or .513 I searched around on the web and found some others reporting that their Spencers also slugged .535. However, they seem to be in the minority and most slug around .512-515.
A. M. Beck wrote in "Spencer's Repeaters, Some History and Shooting Tips" "Due to the very deep rifling popular in the 1860's, groove diameter of model 1863 Spencers can be as large as .540" although .535" is more common. To insure that the soft lead bullets would fill any bore in which they might possibly be fired, even if damaged in transport, the average bullet diameter of original rounds is about .55". The post war models usually slug out at .515", although .518" is not especially rare."
In the Gun Digest Book of Classic American Combat Rifles, by Terry Wieland, he wrote:
Spencer models are difficult to classify, as L D Satterlee noted in his 2—part article in The American Rifleman for May 1 and 15, 1926. The list that follows leans heavily on that invaluable study, as well as on the same authors A Catalog of Firearms for the Collector (Detroit, 1927).
Rifles of 30” bbl length and carbines with 22" bbls, both cal 52 (bore 519"-20", grooves 537”- 38" taking the 56-56 Spencer cartridge of 885" length, using 42-grs of powder (black) and a 362-gr bullet of 540" diameter These were all 6-grooved barrels, and all were made at Boston in the Chickering Piano Works at Tremont and Camden Streets. Early specimens had no serial numbers.
My carbine, with its .535 bore and with not having a serial number would appear to have been an early delivery and thus likely to have seen use during the War Between the States.
It appears to me that all of the Spencer cartridge cases currently available are for the 56-50 and what I probably need is 56-56. I have been unable to find 56-56 brass. I may give up on this as the thought of finding and chopping 50/70 cases is starting to exceed my interest level.
I slugged the bore and was surprised at the groove measurement - .5343. The lands measure .515. I measured the groove with both a micrometer and a digital caliper. I measured the lands with a digital caliper. The barrel has 6-grove rifling. After seeing other people reporting .512 or .513 I searched around on the web and found some others reporting that their Spencers also slugged .535. However, they seem to be in the minority and most slug around .512-515.
A. M. Beck wrote in "Spencer's Repeaters, Some History and Shooting Tips" "Due to the very deep rifling popular in the 1860's, groove diameter of model 1863 Spencers can be as large as .540" although .535" is more common. To insure that the soft lead bullets would fill any bore in which they might possibly be fired, even if damaged in transport, the average bullet diameter of original rounds is about .55". The post war models usually slug out at .515", although .518" is not especially rare."
In the Gun Digest Book of Classic American Combat Rifles, by Terry Wieland, he wrote:
Spencer models are difficult to classify, as L D Satterlee noted in his 2—part article in The American Rifleman for May 1 and 15, 1926. The list that follows leans heavily on that invaluable study, as well as on the same authors A Catalog of Firearms for the Collector (Detroit, 1927).
Rifles of 30” bbl length and carbines with 22" bbls, both cal 52 (bore 519"-20", grooves 537”- 38" taking the 56-56 Spencer cartridge of 885" length, using 42-grs of powder (black) and a 362-gr bullet of 540" diameter These were all 6-grooved barrels, and all were made at Boston in the Chickering Piano Works at Tremont and Camden Streets. Early specimens had no serial numbers.
My carbine, with its .535 bore and with not having a serial number would appear to have been an early delivery and thus likely to have seen use during the War Between the States.
It appears to me that all of the Spencer cartridge cases currently available are for the 56-50 and what I probably need is 56-56. I have been unable to find 56-56 brass. I may give up on this as the thought of finding and chopping 50/70 cases is starting to exceed my interest level.
