Spencer Cener fire overall cartridge length

[mike davenport]

Hello
I am helping a team mate get a spencer working.
We have replaced the magazine spring as it was not advancing the cartridge into the cahmber when levered.
Now that works but it is mis feeding at 2 rounds each time the lever is worked. I suspect his overall round length is too short.
Can you share your overall case and cartridge lentth?
thanks
Mike
DSR

[Eggman]

Overall length for shooting mhy original is 1.62". When feeding the nose of the following round will protrude into the feeding channel. With the original pointed bullets the loading block would just glance off the sharp angled nose of the following round. Our bullets now are blunt and the loading block will very often dig into the soft lead of the nose. To correct this some have filed down the sharp leading edge of the the loading block. Some have put in a lighter spring. I found that my gun will load consistently when I point the muzzle up when chambering the next round. Good luck.

[Kevin Tinny]

Hello:
Ctg OAL can vary between 1.56" and Eggman's 1.62". My experience is to start a bit longer and sneak up on the ideal feeding length by shortening. Original Spencers are best "levered" using as close to a CONTINUOUS MOTION with NO discernable pause at the end of the forward stroke. Larry Romano once told me NOT to look at the action while cycling because some shooters create a pause while doing that. Also, inspect the EDGE of your chamber to be sure that there is not a leftover rimfire dryfiring striker dent that impedes feeding.

[Ibgreen]

1.62-1.65" is what my original 1868NM rifle likes. This is using a 450 gr Lee .515 mold cut down to throw a 360gr bullet.

[Kevin Tinny]

One other aspect is that optimum loaded ctg OAL depends, everything else being correct, upon the SHAPE of the nose of the bullet, that then determines where contact occurs during cycling. So different nose shapes matter. I believe thus is why we see slightly different OAL's working well.

[Guenther C Brandes]

I have found that loading the "Spencer" Spencer with the muzzle up often causes the bullet to seat before the extractor and the cartridge cannot be extracted with out a rod pushed down the barrel. Muzzle down to load muzzle up to eject works consistently best for me and I have no trouble with following rounds. I do find that a firm hand when loading helps.


Overall length for shooting mhy original is 1.62". When feeding the nose of the following round will protrude into the feeding channel. With the original pointed bullets the loading block would just glance off the sharp angled nose of the following round. Our bullets now are blunt and the loading block will very often dig into the soft lead of the nose. To correct this some have filed down the sharp leading edge of the the loading block. Some have put in a lighter spring. I found that my gun will load consistently when I point the muzzle up when chambering the next round. Good luck.

[wormey]

I think you will find that hard lead bullets will feed better than soft lead due to what has been described earlier about the nose digging in. Rounding and polishing the leading top edge of the block is also usually necessary. As also stated by others spencers should be cycled sharply not gently. Good luck.

[Eggman]

Have only had the extractor bar bypass the new Starlines which have too small a head for the original guns.



I have found that loading the "Spencer" Spencer with the muzzle up often causes the bullet to seat before the extractor and the cartridge cannot be extracted with out a rod pushed down the barrel. Muzzle down to load muzzle up to eject works consistently best for me and I have no trouble with following rounds. I do find that a firm hand when loading helps.

[Kevin Tinny]

Rocky Mountain Ctg makes superb cases for the 56-50! One important detail they impart is a slight bevel on both edges of the rim, that aids feeding. Their brass is also annealed. A couple other tips:
Beware of high primers, even with flat nosed bullets. Test EVERY ONE!
Also, the expander plug should be .002" smaller than the sized bullet so that case neck tension is achieved.
Expand the case mouth ONLY enough to start the bullet. This minimizes mouth metal work hardening.
Crimp only enough to roll the outer case mouth edge.
Annealing matters, but is difficult to do correctly with a torch because judging color is an art. All cartridge brass work hardens and must be annealed at 1,000 degrees. Salt bath method via Ballistic Recreations, is good. There is NO need to quench brass.
A bullet hardness of 14Bhn seems optimal. WW's are usually 12Bhn. The Lyman alloy #2 composed of 95% lead and 10% , each of tin and antimony IS 14Bhn, or at least amply close.
Kevin

[Ibgreen]

I have started putting a very small dollop of silicone over the primer on my 56-50 rounds. This provides a bumper for each round and does not interfere with operation in any way.