Peabody

[762x51]

A long shot but I need a breech block for my 1867/77 Swiss Peabody and thought I'd check with you guys to see if anyone has one laying around.
Any of the 1862 model blocks will work as well as any of the post Civil War versions that were made for France, Spain, Romania, Egypt, Turkey, and of course Switzerland.

Here are a some photos of my Peabody:

3014

3015

3016

PS: I was a member of the 2nd VA Calv. in the late 60's and early 70's so I'm not a "newbee" - :D

Thanks, Orin

[RaiderANV]

Yer best bet is to visit the Swiss Rifle Message Boards and do a search for the blocks. Dixie Blocks made it IIRC. Also I'm sure there are many folks there that can point you to the right place.

http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/directory#.VMXL-zc5BhE

[762x51]

Yer best bet is to visit the Swiss Rifle Message Boards and do a search for the blocks. Dixie Blocks made it IIRC. Also I'm sure there are many folks there that can point you to the right place.

Dixie has sold out and I have checked with several members of the Swiss Rifle forum. No luck so far then I remembered NSSA and thought maybe someone here might be able to help. My Peabody is rim fire and I want to convert it to center fire without modifying the original breech block.

Thanks for the reply,
Orin

[John Holland]

Have you ever considered making cartridges with the rim fire inserts?

[762x51]

Have you ever considered making cartridges with the rim fire inserts?

John, Not sure what you are referring to.
Are you referring to a cartridge that has had a offset primer pocket milled into the back to accept a small pistol primer?
If this is what you are referring to then no, I wouldn't want to use that method because of the primer/striker alignment issue.

[John Holland]

Orin, I am referring to the type Dixie has in their catalogue, with an off set counterbore for a .22 caliber primed case. Dixie says to use a .22 blank but I prefer a .22 CB Cap case with the bullet pulled and the powder dumped out. I have made my own for both a Joslyn and Ballard. I first braze the CF primer pocket then face it off flush. The next step is to set up an off set jig on a drill press and drill & counterbore the case. I made a special counterbore drill for this project whose initial drill diameter was slightly larger than the rim of a .22 case. When you drill & counterbore the case you only go deep enough for the head of the .22 case to be flush with the case head. They are very efficient, easily reloadable, and easy to index to the firing pin in a single shot arm such as your Peabody rifle.

[Tim Lyne]

If I had a lick of sense I would have bought a handful of the rim-fire blocks from Dixie when they had them. As it is, they do have lots of rim-fire strikers and various Peabody lock parts left if you need them.
I've converted several Peabody RF blocks to CF, in some cases using spare blocks and strikers so the original is kept so. If you find a spare rim-fire block, you'll have to take a few thousandths off the breech face; as you may have already found the Swiss threaded the barrel into the action a little deeper than what you'll find on other Peabodys.

Good luck in your quest!

Tim Lyne, Adj.
Knap's Batt.
#2952V

[762x51]

John -
I've seen that method of making cartridges for a rim fire and don't like it. I'll convert my breech block to center fire before using the method you suggested.
Some areas of concern are:
1) Cartridge cost or making them
2) Capping / de-capping tools
3) Cartridge must be carefully aligned for each shot
Not to say it isn't a good suggestion, just not my cup of tea.

Tim,
Yes, finding one has proven to be like looking for hen's teeth and it's surprising how scarce parts are considering the number built for different countries.
Somewhere north of 300,000.

Orin

[bobanderson]

I've met some crackerjack machinists in the N-SSA. I have a friend who made a breech block for an 1885 High Wall from scratch. I'll bet there is someone out there who could duplicate one in centerfire for you.

Bob Elka for certain, but his time is dear to him.

[762x51]

I've met some crackerjack machinists in the N-SSA. I have a friend who made a breech block for an 1885 High Wall from scratch. I'll bet there is someone out there who could duplicate one in centerfire for you.

Bob Elka for certain, but his time is dear to him.

That will be my last choice but I would make it myself as I have a nice lathe and milling machine here in my workshop.
Making one from scratch would take quite a bit of time reverse engineering my original, making some jigs, then machining it.

[RaiderANV]

Have you tried the British Militaria Forums? The thread below has some good info and There are other threads if you search the sight.


http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.com/topic/16519/Peabody-center-fire-block#.VMvIgopDt2M