1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

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Retired PO
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1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Retired PO » Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:07 am

New to the site today,.. have a 1862 Springfield .58 cal. was my dads,... dont remember him shooting it,
but know that he did cast some .58 cal bullets, so he may have. Want to go thru the process of bringing it
back to life if possible,.. one question is type and size of precussion cap. And what process would you go thru
to check the gun out. Thanks in advance. :salute:
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Niner
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Re: 1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Niner » Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:56 am

Welcome to the site. Always good to see some new blood.

What you need are Musket Caps. They are a bit larger than what you are going to find for pistols and run of the mill other BP long arms. You will have to get them from a place that supplies them, which usually means ordering them from some place like Dixie Gun Works, although they aren't the only supplier. They usually come in cans of 250 and generally last a pretty good while as bp shooting is a lot slower process and most of us don't deplete our possibles as quickly as we do with smokeless powder guns.

Here is a link to one possible source and one possible brand.....although it is a good one, RWS the brand.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_in ... ts_id=3723

Old muskets are pretty simple in the parts structure. I got an old Nepal copy of an 1853 Enfield that was pretty far gone working, more or less, not long ago. There is a post string some place. Most parts for these old guns can be found today because of the Civil War reenacting craze.

Is your rifle an "original" or a reproduction?
Attachments
The musket cap is larger
The musket cap is larger
caps.jpg
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Niner
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Re: 1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Niner » Sat Dec 18, 2010 11:03 am

Here is a link to my string about the Nepal Enfield.

http://www.milsurpafterhours.com/bb/vie ... eld#p30232
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Re: 1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Retired PO » Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:00 am

Excellant info, thank you very much... The gun in an original,... I also have a 1884 trapdoor, that was his, and I have started shooting that
and reloading for it,... What a connection to the past.... In Iowa, with so many deer, (does only)(dont have a good way to cook antlers)
I have taken to Muzzleloader hunting,... gives me the accuracy I like, and the flexability to hunt many seasons....
My hope is that I can get the 1862 up to speed, and then use that for my hunting,.. I just think that would be a hoot. I can hunt with the trapdoor, but it is only late January season, and in the lower two tiers of counties in Iowa, and doe only... and by then they are already 2-3 months pregnant.
Thanks again...
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Niner
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Re: 1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Niner » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:54 am

I'd imagine a .58 cal chunk of lead would bring down any deer in the woods and the shot placement need only be about as precise as in horse shoots. The mass and the shock makes up for the velocity I'm told.

Found this posting of some "rules" about loading a rifle of the type we are talking about. It comes from a merchant to Civil War reenactors. I bought a lock spring from them during the Nepal reconstruction. I thought the list interesting because their rules show the kind of safety I sometimes ignore....like being careful how you place the bullet in the barrel so that if there is some explosion you won't shoot your hand ...or worse.

http://winchestersutler.com/ShotLoad.html#LS
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Re: 1862 Sprinfield precussion cap question

Post by Retired PO » Sun Dec 26, 2010 8:06 pm

Thank you again, that was very helpful. I did get the caps, and they worked great,. I reordered more stuff from dixie,
the only thing they didnt have was the prelubed .58 cal bullets, ... so i got some w/o lube, plan on using borebutter,
and I also raise bees so I have access to lots of bees wax. may come up with my own combo... I have a late muzzleloader tag,
and Im hopin to get this up and runnin in time.... your project was encouraging.
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