Yeck Smith Carbine Questions

[Hasaf]

Today I was looking at a Michael Yeck Smith Carbine. It was $500 and looked good, not excellent.

• Is that a sane price?
• Anything else that I should be aware of?
• Is it possible to get the parts needed to load it?

I don't want it for reenactment. My main interest is as a shooter. To give a reference point, I also like the two band enfield. I don't like the full length octagonal barrel rifles. I also don't like the length of the standard civil war rifles. I like the carbines from that era a lot.

I have shot black powder before; but most of my Black Powder stuff got stolen about fifteen years ago.

I just finished doing some reading on this rifle and it still looks good. Should I pull the proverbial trigger?

 

[Crawdad1]

Impressive carbine, I saw a few reenactors with Smith carbines but I believe they were built by Pietta and both were very accurate.

"For a generation or two, these guns still saw service across the land as hunting rifles and personal defense guns. One surplus Smith was used to nearly destroy the James-Younger gang in Northfield Minnesota by a local citizen, Henry Wheeler, and is on display there."

http://www.southernminn.com/northfield_news/news/article_7350de7d-e3c2-55bb-b2f2-f9f0008cf10b.html

From The Worthington advance. (Worthington, Minn.), 28 Sept. 1876.

"The first glance told the fact that one of the men was Cole Younger, a large, powerful man with bald head and sandy whiskers and moustache, answering to the description given so many times of this man."

"This man has two wounds, one an old one, or rather of some days' standing, and supposed to be the result of Wheeler's carbine practice in Northfield."

"When the reporter spoke of his wound in the right arm and asked if it was not from the carbine of Wheeler, he stated that it was and his arm dropped on his leg as described then, which led to the belief that he was wounded in the leg."

 

[Ephraim Kibbey]

From a completed (March 27, 2015) GunAuction listing:

"NO RESERVE//Penny auction..!---You are bidding on a VERY Rare/Scarce Smith Carbine...This UNFIRED example is among the very 1st of Mike Yeck( a Master machinist/gun maker from Detroit,Mich. 1960's.) Mike made the 1st repro of the Smith Carbine...and a few others makes when he passed away the family sold the machining to Val Forget of Navy Arms whom in turn sold the machining to Pietta of Italy who are the ONLY makers of the Smith Carbine. This particular example is the rarest of the Yeck carbines in that it has the Yeck modern metals breech/action & innards which clone the Original Smith...Now, here is the unique part..this particular Carbine has an ORIGINAL Battle proven Civil War barrel with the original R. sight..the frt. sight is missing most likely from battle. The Bore of this Cwar barrel still has well defined rifling as the photos show..NO finish remains on the barrel. The wood is believed to be from the 1960's due to the pristine and nice figure in the Walnut. I own 2 other Yeck Smith carbines and compared them to an original and the parts do interchange..! I recommend the barrel be slugged to get the correct bullet for reloading. I also will include some cartridge hulls for reloading."

https://www.gunauction.com/buy/13315698

 

[expat_alaska]

EK, as always, good factual info from you. I don't have one, don't want one, but the stuff you find is of much interest.

Thank you!

Jim

 

[Panzerschwein]

The reproduction cartridges hold two amounts of powder: low and lower. The original cartridges held 50-52 grains of powder. The maximum charge you can fit in the rubber repro cartridges is about 35 grains. The metallic cases hold even less. This robs the cartridge of much of the power and range of the original load.

I gave up on the Smith carbine when I realized there was no practical way to duplicate the original service loads for it. To me, it is like taking an M1903 Springfield and converting it to .30-30 or something. You're robbing the gun of its historical performance.

So if you enjoy powder puff loads that won't give you the feel or power of what it was like to shoot a Smith Carbine during the Civil War, by all means.

 

[Mike OTDP]

That's a good price for a Yeck Smith. Go over to the North-South Skirmish Association BB, they can advise you on loads, bullet selection, etc. Smiths are popular for N-SSA carbine competition, you should have no trouble finding supplies.

 

[kBob]

Other than the "fireworks" at night, the reason I like going to the Olustee FL re enactment on cannon night is that sutlers row is open and there are few non re enactors wandering along it. I get to handle originals and replicas I otherwise would just read about. I had never actually seen a Spencer Rifle ( rather than carbine) before a guy handed me his. A Hall carbine on night. An original Smith that I was allowed to open and examine. Just be courteous and polite and folks will smile and handy very expensive chunks of history. Just don't break anything!

Had I been a trooper in the Late Great Hate I would likely have preferred a Smith over a Sharpes or any of the capping breechloades other than a Maynard (oddly there with the opening shots in the CSA and not until the last year with the Union), but like troopers everywhere and everytime would have had what the state gave me. Call me weird but I would rather have had a Spencer than a Henry despiter the fewer shots and lower rate of fire.

Might one "roll their own" foil and paper Smith Cartridges with a full charge?

-kBob

 

[dave951]

Saw your thread on the Yeck. I shoot North South Skirmish and YES that is a great price for a Yeck if it hasn't been trashed. One of the carbines I compete with is a Smith made by Navy Arms when Forgett was still kicking and it was one of the unfortunate ones with miscut rifling. There are lots of guys competing with them and they are pretty fast on the line.

kBob- in a word about "rolling your own" in a Smith- NO. The original gutta percha cart was designed to seal the gap in the receiver. Foil or paper will not seal that joint and you'll at best get a face full of black powder byproducts upon ignition. In North South Skirmish, we use a form of the original case made from either nylon or a urethane. There are some brass cart available and most come standard with a reduced chamber for target work. If you're handy in a machine shop, the case can be bored out to accept near a full service charge. But, as with other arms of the period, best accuracy is often not at full service charge levels. Many in the assoc already know that the best accuracy is usually at about 60% of service charge and we use both 3f and 2f. Charge weights will vary depending on which you use. In my Smith, I've had the barrel relined and I'm shooting a modified 50/70 boolit in a nylon case with 30gr 3f and a dash of COW for filler.

 

[D. Buck Stopshere]

Mike Yeck of Yeck Antique Arms out of Dundee, MI. He always had a full page ad on the inside of the N-SSA magazine, "The Skirmish Line". I was in the N-SSA from 1962 till 1966. Have to smile when I see those old issues. Back then in the '60's, Mike sold a 25 pound keg of black powder for $25.00 + freight (no hazmat), 1,000 musket caps were $6.00. Replica Remington "Zouave" rifles were $58.00, replica Remington revolvers were $55.00, and replica .36 caliber brass frame revolvers were $40.00. Just think what his cost was or better yet what the factory's cost was in Italy. Shining times, back then.

 

[dave951]

DBuck, why not get back in? We shoot regionals in Statesville with 3 skirmishes there prior to this year's Nationals.

 

[D. Buck Stopshere]

Dave951, Hard to shoot NMLRA round ball matches from Maryland to Georgia AND N-SSA. Since you go to Statesville, you might know friends of mine; Tom Wilkins from Garner, Bob & Dorcas Williams from Hubert, & Mike Willard from here in Fayetteville.