Do original 1842 locks "drop in" to Armi Sport 1842 muskets?

[Maillemaker]

Do original 1842 locks "drop in" to Armi Sport 1842 muskets?

Steve

[Curt]

Hallo!

In brief .. no.

While my sampling is not universal, I have done three. The lock mortise varies AS M1842 to AS M1842 over time, but it is marginal to the point that the deviation is enough to either drop in into the existing mortising, or I had to scrape-relive some wood to allow it to drop in. No big deal.


The problem is that the Italians have enlarged the breech section too much. As a result the mainspring bolster at the top of the lock plate does not match, or sit under the cone (nipple) bolster as it should. The "remedy" would be to try to reshape the Italian breech section's bolster to match the original lock plate.

Or, as I did, mill the top the edge of the original lock plate to match the "not to original specs" configuration of the Italian breech section. Of course, this alters (aka ruins) the original lock.

If you are interested in one, I have an extra minty original Springfield lock dated 1845 with original internals (guts) and lock screws I paid $500 for back in 2001. It has been milled to fit an Armi Sport. When I sold my (so-called) "defarbed" and reworked personal M1842 I was not going to let that lock go on a $600 gun and put the Italian lock back in.
Email or PM me if interested, and I can let it go for a decent price...

Curt

[Maillemaker]

Hi Curt,

Good info. I had to grind the bolster on my Whitacre barrel to more closely match the profile of my lock and wood on my Euroarms Enfield. It's not hard to do with patience and a good vice and a file.

I think I would do my grinding on the bolster rather than on the lock.

I don't actually own a smoothbore yet, but I got a Chrismas bonus so I am probably going to buy one soon. I'm debating what to do.

A buddy of mine has a Tom Nixon 1842 with Whitacre barrel, original lock and barrel bands. He wants $2000, and I think that's a good price for it. It shoots dead, on, too. I new Armisport 1842 will cost $825 or so, and a Whitacre barrel will be $360, getting me up to about $1200. If I have any defarbing work done on it it will be up to $1400. I was wondering if I decided to put an original lock into it at a later date if it would drop in.

Steve

[MR. GADGET]

Got to say no they will not and you will neex to do a lot of fitting and fill in some places to make them work. Have tried several and can not even get the screws to match up or the lock inset.

on another note if you get a AS lock it will not fit also.
no 2 are the same and everyonr needs fitting and work to function
and on a side track the stock guns need work on the lock to make them function correctly.

[Maillemaker]

and on a side track the stock guns need work on the lock to make them function correctly.

Hello Mr. Gadget,

What kind of work do they need?

Thanks,

Steve

[bobanderson]

For the money you're talking about, you can pick up an H&P in the spring. Most I've seen have Hoyt barrels and will shoot dead on with the right
recipe. That rear sight makes a huge difference, especially at 50 yards.

[MR. GADGET]

Hello Mr. Gadget,

What kind of work do they need?

Thanks,

Steve

A lot of the sear spring slots in the lock were cut wrong and do not hold the sear spring.
so on the last two I had to rework the slots and fit the spring.
short of that there was a lot of extra casting on the tumbler abd the lock was not flat on the back.

[MR. GADGET]

Will also add that the hammer does not hit the nipple like it should.
It is not flat and at rest offset from the nipple.
There are a few ways to fix it that are common and this has been seen for several years on the 42's
you will get a lot of blow back as it will not hold the cap on and tight as it should. Also common in this the hammer screw will break or keep working loose because the tumbler is stopping the hammer and flex and over travel will let it hit the cap.

[Maillemaker]

Thanks for the tips. I remember hearing about the sear spring slot.

I'm buying a used one from a buddy. It's a couple of years old. I don't know if it will have the sear spring slot problem or not.

I'm going to have a Whitacre barrel made for it.

Steve