FiremarshalBill
11-23-2016, 09:15 AM
This may not be the right thread to ask this question, but I have an original ACW Lorenz musket (the right lock plate is stamped 860), but I am unsure of the caliber. According to the man I got it from, he dug it up many years ago along side an old wagon trail near an abandoned Butterfield stage station outside Tuscon, Arizona. He said it appeared that a sand bank had collapsed on top of the rifle many, many years ago leaving it in an almost vertical position with the tip of the barrel about 5 or 6 inches under the surface of the sand. It was cocked and loaded when he found it and the copper percussion cap was still in place. Both the metal and the wood stock are in remarkably good condition with only some minor pitting here and there, and the trigger, lock and spring still function okay.
The problem is that the top few of inches of the bore at the muzzle is pretty rusted and pitted where I assume infrequent Arizona rain water dribbled through the sand and into the end of the barrel over the years. The breech plug unscrews okay and most of the barrel is clean. BTW, the charge, paper wad, and the ball were removed before I got it. I know most of the original Lorenz rifles were bored to .54 caliber, but sometimes re-bored to .577 or .58 caliber. To the naked eye there's not much difference between a .54 caliber and a .58 caliber, especially with the bore corrosion, so I cannot verify the caliber. I'm asking is there another way to establish the actual inside diameter of the barrel bore? Could I push a slug of something (a lead ball? a slug of soft plastic? clay? soft wood?) through the barrel from the breech end, and then mic the slug to tell me if it is .54 caliber or larger? This is the same model and type of rifle my G-G-Grandfather was issued when he and his brothers first enlisted in the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment in May of 1861, and although it is only a wall-hanger and I would never fire it, it would be great if I could establish what caliber it actually is. Any suggestions you could give me (either posted here or by email to firemarshalbill49@gmail.com) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
The problem is that the top few of inches of the bore at the muzzle is pretty rusted and pitted where I assume infrequent Arizona rain water dribbled through the sand and into the end of the barrel over the years. The breech plug unscrews okay and most of the barrel is clean. BTW, the charge, paper wad, and the ball were removed before I got it. I know most of the original Lorenz rifles were bored to .54 caliber, but sometimes re-bored to .577 or .58 caliber. To the naked eye there's not much difference between a .54 caliber and a .58 caliber, especially with the bore corrosion, so I cannot verify the caliber. I'm asking is there another way to establish the actual inside diameter of the barrel bore? Could I push a slug of something (a lead ball? a slug of soft plastic? clay? soft wood?) through the barrel from the breech end, and then mic the slug to tell me if it is .54 caliber or larger? This is the same model and type of rifle my G-G-Grandfather was issued when he and his brothers first enlisted in the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment in May of 1861, and although it is only a wall-hanger and I would never fire it, it would be great if I could establish what caliber it actually is. Any suggestions you could give me (either posted here or by email to firemarshalbill49@gmail.com) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.