1863 Yeck Springfield

[S.Sullivan]

I noticed that there is an 1863 Springfield made by Mike Yeck back in the old days for sale on Gunbroker (NOT by me).
It looks very nice, well written description as well.
How do (did?) they shoot?
S.Sullivan

[DaveCVG]

Dear SS,
I had one that shot "OK" ... close groups, but not one-hole. It was my first Skirmish Rifle circa 1974, so being new to the sport I may have lacked the skills to properly tune the rifle. I traded it back to Mr. Yeck at Spring National 1975 for a first-shipment Parker-Hale M1858 2-band Naval Rifle. That rifle gave me one-hole groups right from the start. However, the Yeck M1863 was often converted to a 2-band "Artillery Model", being shot by some of the top teams in the late 1970s (the era of transition from the Navy Arms Zouave and originals to quality new-made arms). On that basis, it certainly appears that the Yeck M1863 was a good rifle.
Best, DaveCVG

[Southron Sr.]

Keep in mind that some of the early Yeck M1863's had a nasty habit of blowing out the wood behind the boslter. IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, the breech sections were soldered on to the rear of the barrel. Gas could cut away this solder and blow out at the rear of the barrel.

My friend, the late Guy Owen had this happen to him when he was practicing with his Yeck repro in the early 1970's-fortunately he was wearing shooting glasses so his eyesight was not damaged although he received some minor burns on his face.

Does anyone else recall what this problem was with the early Yeck M1863's?

[R. McAuley 3014V]

Dave,
How much credit did Mike give you on the M1863 against the Parker Frail, sorry, Parker-Hale? As I recall, in 1975, the P-H rifles retailed at $250 (though jobber was about $200), and when I traded in my Navy Arms M1863 with Mike for a brand-new Euroarms 3-band, the EOA Enfield was $175 (carbines were $165) and I got $150 in trade on the M1863. Of course, a year or so earlier (1976), I could have gotten a new EOA 3-band for $99 on a 99-year lease, right Brannen? And when I say early Euroarms, we're talking very low serial numbers. I think Brook's musket was what, 001 or 002? Who would have thought prices would be like they are today? We might still catch up with the Reichmarc yet!

[DaveCVG]

Dear SS, S-Sr., and RM,
There is a lot to answer in the three posts, so I shall give it my best. First, I have nothing definitive to add to Southron's experience on blowouts ... I saw no evidence of leakage with mine, but it was not shot with the intensity of skirmishing. Second, to RM, I wrote a check to Mr. Yeck on 7/5/74 for $231.00 to mail-order an M1863 ... $225 for the rifle and $6 for postage. At Spring National 1975 he traded me Parker-Hale (definitely not Frail) M1858 #2112 "even money" for the M1863 ... he was pricing the P-H in his booth for $225.00. He made such a trade because the M1863 had been tuned by Mr. Eldon Cady of the CVG, and Mr. Yeck said that he would have no trouble getting full money for the used M1863. Thank you Mr. Yeck. And third to SS and RM, the GUNBROKER M1863 sold last Sunday, several days ahead of the end of the auction ... the "Buy It Now" was $800, so it is logical to assume that it sold for that price ... auction bids were up to $580 on Saturday. Finally, a quick CPI calculation says that $225 in 1975 is about $900 today, pretty close to the GUNBROKER price.
Respectfully, Dave
P.S. I wonder if P-H M1858 #2112 is still on the Line?