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rickystl · 14th May 2016, 04:17 PM

Thanks Richard for the extra information. Yes, I know what they mean on conversion 2 with the one-piece breech assembly. An earlier variation of what they did with the latter P1853 Enfield muskets converting them to .577 Snider.

THE PISTOL BARREL: No, there is no ball or load in the barrel. I checked it with a good drop light. I can see there is a breech plug. And I can see that the gun has been fired in the distant past. The bore is in good shape. No real corrosion, etc. Just some dirt.
I sent photos of the barrel to a knowledgeable black powder gunsmith (while my regular gunsmith is having medical issues) to get his opinion. He is very familiar with original barrel construction. He says these barrels were made very robust. And it appears so. He says that one way or another he is convinced that it has a threaded breach plug. But an X-Ray will tell for sure. Possibly, the barrel and tang are one piece (?) with a seperate plug. He mentioned to me that he has worked on a couple original barrels that he would have almost bet his first born that there was no breech plug. But after applying the correct heat...the evidence of the plug appeared, and out it came. He said that in both cases, after the breech plug was installed, it was heated and smoothed over with a file till all the round/circular evidence of a plug had disappeared. Sounds like a lot of extra work (?). Anyway, he had already surmised that I wanted to shoot this gun, using the original barrel if possible. But I will not shoot any barrel that does not have a threaded breech plug. He said if the X-Ray shows it is a threaded plug, and everything else checks out (bore condition, bolster threads, etc) there is no reason not to shoot it with normal loads of black powder, with a new nipple. He also agreed the bolster is forge welded to the barrel and looks to be ok. But I'll have my gunsmith double check the threads in the bolster. If he thinks they are a bit weak, we can drill out the old threads (and install a coil if necessary) and re-tap and install a new nipple.
Thanks again guys for the conversation and analysis. I'll re-post with the X-Ray results.
Rick

14th May 2016, 04:17 PM	#25
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,621	Thanks Richard for the extra information. Yes, I know what they mean on conversion 2 with the one-piece breech assembly. An earlier variation of what they did with the latter P1853 Enfield muskets converting them to .577 Snider. THE PISTOL BARREL: No, there is no ball or load in the barrel. I checked it with a good drop light. I can see there is a breech plug. And I can see that the gun has been fired in the distant past. The bore is in good shape. No real corrosion, etc. Just some dirt. I sent photos of the barrel to a knowledgeable black powder gunsmith (while my regular gunsmith is having medical issues) to get his opinion. He is very familiar with original barrel construction. He says these barrels were made very robust. And it appears so. He says that one way or another he is convinced that it has a threaded breach plug. But an X-Ray will tell for sure. Possibly, the barrel and tang are one piece (?) with a seperate plug. He mentioned to me that he has worked on a couple original barrels that he would have almost bet his first born that there was no breech plug. But after applying the correct heat...the evidence of the plug appeared, and out it came. He said that in both cases, after the breech plug was installed, it was heated and smoothed over with a file till all the round/circular evidence of a plug had disappeared. Sounds like a lot of extra work (?). Anyway, he had already surmised that I wanted to shoot this gun, using the original barrel if possible. But I will not shoot any barrel that does not have a threaded breech plug. He said if the X-Ray shows it is a threaded plug, and everything else checks out (bore condition, bolster threads, etc) there is no reason not to shoot it with normal loads of black powder, with a new nipple. He also agreed the bolster is forge welded to the barrel and looks to be ok. But I'll have my gunsmith double check the threads in the bolster. If he thinks they are a bit weak, we can drill out the old threads (and install a coil if necessary) and re-tap and install a new nipple. Thanks again guys for the conversation and analysis. I'll re-post with the X-Ray results. Rick