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Thread: 1861 Springfield Vs 1861 Special vs P53 Enfield?

  1. #1
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    1861 Springfield Vs 1861 Special vs P53 Enfield?

    Howdy Skirmishers,

    Today I bought a nice 1862 dated LG&Y lock for quite a deal. I know little of the 1861 special muskets other than compatibility problems, but it was a good enough deal I knew I could make money selling or trading it. I was looking to build it up to a functional piece, but am having trouble finding much past barrel bands and Dunlap stocks, and even then there is some confusion. Some list parts as being 1855-64 Springfield compatible with 61 special, a few list 61 special and enfield compatible. I?m confused here, and there doesn?t seem to be a resource that just tells you these things. I really need major components, as original special parts are still available via S&S or Lodgewiod. Looking for Barrel and stock mainly. Whitacre doesn?t list anything but colt repro barrels on his site, so I?m assuming that there has some sort of compatibility with something else. But I?m not sure.

    Any guidance is appreciated
    John Westenberger
    Co. B. 1st PA Cav.

  2. #2
    Carolina Reb is offline
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    John, the Colt Special Models are an interesting development. There are several twists and turns to the story. First, in the early 1850s, Robbins & Lawrence landed a contract with England for parts interchangeable P-53 Enfields. When the Crimean War ended quickly, the contract was cancelled, which caused R&L to go bust. Colt had also bid on English P-53 contracts and knew to the fraction of a cent what it cost to build an Enfield 3 bander. In addition, he had built up a foothold in English arms making circles through his pre-war London operation. Unfortunately, even though he was the low bidder on the P-53 contract, by a lot, he was stopped out by the political pull of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade. However, his English connections later supplied a lot of Special Model parts, such as barrels and lock components.

    When the war broke out, Colt knew how to make Enfields. So, he proposed to build what was essentially a P-53 disguised as a Springfield. The government really wanted M-1861s, but took Colt?s muskets. The need was too great not to.
    So, here are the differences,

    Lock: Behind the plate, it is basically an Enfield. Although there are slight differences, parts from a #1 parts interchangeable Enfield will usually fit. They can be Parker-Hale, London Armoury Co (the real one, not Euroarms), or RSAF Enfield, as well as Amoskeg and LG&Y Specials.

    Barrel: Unique to Special Models. The bolster is higher on the breech than a Springfield M-1863/4. You might check with Dan Whitacre to see if one of his Colt barrels will fit the lock plate. Chances are you will need to do some fitting, but since you will be using a rough cut stock, changes in barrel profile can be handled.

    Stock: Unique to Special Models

    Rear Sight: Same as M-1861 Type 2 (with the side wings)

    Trigger Assy, Buttplate, Stock Tip: Same as M-1861,3,4

    Ramrod: M-1863 Springfield style.

    Bands: There are very subtle differences in the bands between Springfield M-1863 split and M-1864 solid bands (Colt used both types too), however the only person I know who can spot them off the bat is Bruce Cobb.

    Hope that helps with your project.
    Last edited by Carolina Reb; 07-24-2022 at 12:05 PM.

  3. #3
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    John, sell your lock to Mailmaker, he needs it. jh

  4. #4
    John Holland is offline Moderator
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    As I recall it, the original 1861 Special Model lock isn't readily interchangeable with the Italian reproduction lock.

  5. #5
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    Over the years I have had several different special models. I did a rebuild (by Tom Nixon) a number of years ago. Purchased a chopped Amoskeag, located a full length original relined barrel, and waited until Dunlap made a special model stock. I do not know what luck you might have locating a barrel or stock. I understand the Colt and Chattahoochie reproductions don?t interchange barrels and stocks with originals.

    if you locate an original barrel without the eagle stamp on the bolster, it may be a Colt 2nd class barrel, as per the Colt firearms book. They did not stamp the eagle on their 2nd class barrel bolsters.

    the Claude Fuller book had a table of interchangeable parts among the rifle muskets, but I gave my copy to another skirmisher. Perhaps someone would post it for you.

    good luck on you quest, but it may be more difficult than building a Springfield or contract.

    if you need any pics or descriptions, sent me a text. Bob
    Bob Propst
    6721V
    York Rangers
    Tidewater Region

  6. #6
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    As I recall it, the original 1861 Special Model lock isn't readily interchangeable with the Italian reproduction lock.
    They don't, but it's close. I just purchased an original Colt Special lock to put into a Colt Signature Series 2-band. It appears that the mortise will need to be expanded just a hair, mostly to the rear of the lock, to get it to fit.

    I'm still debating if I want to do it or not. The old lock cleaned up pretty good, but still won't be as nice as the rest of the parts of the gun. Mostly I want quality internals.

    I need to test to see if the internals will swap over to the reproduction lock plate.

    Steve Sheldon
    Commander
    4th Louisiana Delta Rifles
    NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor

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