Star Carbine "New Model" rifiling

[archresearcher]

I posted a request for information on Star Carbine "New Model" (chambered for the Spencer 56-52 metallic cartridge) rifling on the Military Historian forum back in Dec. 2010 and they were kind enough to post the query here. However to date I've received no information on the rifling question. So, I thought I would ressurect the topic once more.

I would greatly appreciate any documented information on the rifiling history and, more important, the characteristics (number and dimensions of land and grooves) of the rifiling in these carbines. Please include document references with the information. Knowledgeable contacts would be helpful also.

I'm a researcher by nature and as a result keep searching until I'm satisfied with my results. Judging from this forum I'd say I'm in good company. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[John Holland]

1 - What resources have you used so far, so efforts aren't duplicated?

2 - What information do you have already?

3 - To what end is your research being done?

Thank you.

Sincerely,
John Holland
Chairman, Small Arms Committee

[archresearcher]

John;
Thanks for your reply/Inquiry.
1) I have consulted Thomas (Round Ball to Rimfire Vol.2), McAuley (Carbines of the Civil War), Garavaglia & Worman (Firearms of the American West, both volumes), Pittman (Breechloading Carbines), amoung various other websites and forums.

2)The only information I have been able to garner, relative to the rifling, is the number of weapons produced (and I have come across contradictions to the published amount, 5001) and that they may have had 5 lands and grooves, but some may have been produced with 8 lands and grooves. None of the sources I have checked mention any details of the rifling such as land and groove dimensions or even rifling twist.

3)Personal and professional gratification.

I hope this information is adequate for you and can aide you to locate the data I seek. Thanks for your help.

[Kenneth L. Walters]

Larry Romano has built a prototype cartridge Star. He might be able to help you.


http://www.romanorifle.com/

[R. McAuley 3014V]

For any readers unfamiliar with the 1865 Starr "metallic cartridge" carbine, below are some pics available

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... 098568#PIC (http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=213098568#PIC)

[Boyd Miles]

Why would they have changed the rifling from the paper cartridge version, I thought they were near bankruptcy at the time they made the copper cartridge version?

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

I'll bring mine to the Nationals

[John Holland]

Well there you go Archresearcher! A chance to examine an original and come to your own conclusions. It doesn't get much better than that. All you have to do is get to Winchester, VA, sometime between May 18th and the 22nd. You will find Bruce to be a very congenial person who, I'm sure, will let you examine his Starr cartridge carbine to your hearts content.

JDH

[archresearcher]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I meant to post this reply earlier but haven't had the chance (where is a secretary when you need one?).

Kenneth; Thanks for the Larry Romano reference. I emailed him right away but have yet to receive a response. I suppose he's busy also. I would suppose he should have the information I'm searching for with references. I've seen photos of his work and they appear extremely accurate. So he must work from, at least copies, of original plans, I would suspect. Hopefully he can turn me on to a source for those plans.
Richard; Thanks for the link to the Star carbine for sale. A friend of mine sent me that link and I looked very closely at it to try to determine the rifling. But the angle of the photo doesn’t allow me to determine even the number of lands & grooves, let alone any of their dimensions. In fact the more I look at it, the more it looks like it may have 4 L&Gs, That would only confuse things further, since the information I have gathered so far refers to either 5 or 8 L&Gs. The search continues.
Boyd; I'm not sure they did change the rifling; in fact that is one of the things I'm trying to determine for sure. I've been able to find out that throughout the life of the Star Company they were constantly making changes to their long arms to come up with a pattern they could sell to the Army and Navy, as all of the arms manufacturers did. As a result, it seems they may have changed the rifling to improve the accuracy, which has been reported as above average. Also, as with most of the arms manufacturers of the time, Star went thru financial problems and principal personnel changes with attendant company direction changes. Before they ceased production of their carbine it seems they had produced a number of weapons for the civilian and foreign military markets. How or even if they modified the weapon is another of the things I'm trying to find out to determine if the rifling was one of these potential modifications.
John: AHH wouldn't I like to go to Virginia, if not for the Nationals then just for the research opportunities. But alas, that trip isn't in the cards at this time, unfortunately.

So, even with all of your help I'm still on the hunt for the rifling details. Again any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jim

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

One, if not the most interesting things about this late Civil War production model is it has an AUTOMATIC cartridge ejector designed into it. A big plus over the Ballards. I guess you are not coming to the Nationals. Anyone else want to see it, or should it stay home?