An Old BP Question

[Beekeeper]

As most here know I restored a 1842 Springfield Musket that had seen better days in a barn loft.
The Stock has been pinned and repaired. The lock is almost as new on the inside and very slight pitting on the outside.
The Barrel is complete toast and therefore it hangs on the wall of my office.
I am told I can buy a new barrel for it from one of the reinactor supply companies.

My question isn't wheather I should spend the money but rather should I take a little piece of history and change it?
With the maddness going on now I am wondering if I shouldn't just buy a barrel and a bunch of caps "just in case"

Need someone with better knowledge than me to maybe wade in and give me a little help!


beekeeper

[bob208]

you could have robert hoyt fairfeld pa. reline it and retrun it to shooting condition. that way it would have to orignal barrel and be safe to shoot.

[montana_charlie]

With the maddness going on now I am wondering if I shouldn't just buy a barrel and a bunch of caps "just in case"
Forgive me, but I just have to ask ...

... hold off a truckload of looters from the city after the great collapse of society ...
... a 'cold dead fingers' rifle when the feds show up to confiscate ...

[Should you put it in operable condition] 'just in case' ... of what?

CM

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Charlie,

the answer is "Yes!"

[Beekeeper]

Sorry I asked Charlie!
Didn't know I would pXXs anyone off by asking a (what I thought was) a legimate question.
Will not ask any more here so as not to offend you!!



beekeeper

[oldred]

With the maddness going on now I am wondering if I shouldn't just buy a barrel and a bunch of caps "just in case" beekeeper


I took this to mean in case ammo and modern firearms become impossible to obtain you could still enjoy shooting and hunting?

Personally I have a couple of percussion rifles (modern T/C Hawkins) that I would not even consider parting with for that reason, ammo will always be available as long as I am willing to improvise. I have some homemade powder that I made several years ago and while it is not quite as powerful as commercial powder and it fouls more it does go bang when I need it to and I can easily make more if need be.

Now back to your original topic, IMHO if it were me I would try to keep that rifle as original as practical so exploring the possibility of having that old barrel restored to serviceable condition would seem like a good option. But then that's just me so I guess it boils down to having to balance collector value with how much you would enjoy shooting this rifle, would it be worth more to you as a non-shooting wall hanger or a serviceable classic firearm? In the end that's a question only you would know the answer to but from how you described what you have I sure wish I was faced with such a decision!

[montana_charlie]

Sorry I asked Charlie!
Didn't know I would pXXs anyone off by asking a (what I thought was) a legimate question.
Will not ask any more here so as not to offend you!!
WHAT ON EARTH makes you think you offended me?

I am simply curious about what 'just in case' might include.

Do I need to include a basketful of 'smileys' to clue you in to the fact that I am merely asking a question?

CM

[Horace]

I would restore it.
Horace

[RMulhern]

Sorry I asked Charlie!
Didn't know I would pXXs anyone off by asking a (what I thought was) a legimate question.
Will not ask any more here so as not to offend you!!



beekeeper

beekeeper

What ya need to consider here is that oft times you're dealing with some crusty ole curmudgeons aka like onto myself that are somewhat 'salty' with their responses but actually we're totally harmless by the injection of some humor which....IMO....some of these postings sadly need...just to keep the rest of us somewhat sane!! In the final analysis, one thing I've learned over many years is that if we take ourselves too seriously we don't have room for any humor within our lives and we then start to carry our feelings upon our sleeves! Just think about it....if you hang around here long enough....you'll be a 'crusty ole curmudgeon' yourself!!:):-D[smilie=1:

[Wayne Smith]

Bottom line, always. How much to reline and restore, how much to rebarrel? If you do the latter you can always keep the oringinal hung on your wall, at some point have it relined, and restore it to original. Refreshing, reboring, and relining are old technologies wholly appropriate to that arm.

[bigted]

restore the rifle! it is a RIFLE not a painting... was meant to shoot and by bringing it back to a shootable condition you will ensure it to have a much longer life and your brain will thankyou for providing so much history in your hands when you use this WEAPON as it was intended to be used when it were built.

im having an old marlin barrel re-lined for just this reasson...history instead of a new barrel...when i look at the origanal markings and petina on my rifle it will be a thing of beuty to me and that is why i bought it to begin with...to enjoy and shoot.

re-lining aint cheap but then you will have the origanal barrel brought back to servicable use without changing the character of the rifle....GO FOR IT!!!

as for the other...just grow some thick skin and know that this will NOT be the last time yer jaw mussels will bunch at somebodys comment on something you said...just like it irratates you when you hear certain things said to you but just ignore it and keep trudging on with a smile on yer mug. dosnt mean spit in yer mungy mouth what anybody else thinks does it?? only 1 person needs to be happy...thats you...or in my case...ME

[dualsport]

I understand your thinking, I have a similar last ditch plan with muzzle loaders, but a modern TC Hawken type. Do what you like with the old girl, but I'd consider that gun more for it's entertainment value and get a modern replica for 'just in case', maybe same caliber? Just my 2 cents.

[oldred]

Personally I would love to have an old original gun like that in working order, just think about the history that girl has lived through!

[Buzzard II]

It's your gun, do what you want to it! I would have Bobby Hoyt reline the barrel if it were my gun. If it needs any internals, moulds, main spring, etc., contact Phil at S&S Firearms, Queens, N.Y. Both guys do a lot of work/sales with the North-South Skirmish Association, Winchester Va. I purchase my powder and caps from Jackie at Back Creek Gun Shop, Winchester, Va. when I'm shooting down there. Good luck and have fun with that old gun! Bob

[MikeS]

If the external parts of the barrel are in good shape, then I would reline it to preserve the look of the rifle as a whole.

When it comes to a rifle for SHTF then there's nothing better than a flintlock, as after a while even percussion caps will disappear. That's the reason for using a muzzleloader as a SHTF gun, with a mould for it, and some lead, and black powder (which can be made if needed) you're all set. Actually it would be my second SHTF rifle, the first being either my Ruger Mini-30 and as many magazines and rounds for it as I can find, or my Winchester 30-30, it can't fire as fast as my Ruger, but there's a better chance of finding 30-30 ammo, and I can load it with black powder if needed, don't think the Ruger will cycle with black! I would use either of those first, and keep the flintlock for when supplies to reload the others have dried up.

[Texantothecore]

I would get the work done and keep the old barrel and any original parts at hand, safely packed. Getting it shooting again might add a 100 years to its life. It was meant to throw lead and the best thing you can do for it is make it do what it was designed to do. A lot of our early rifles that are in museums are made up of several different rifles as the shooters needed to keep them running.

There is a very long history of taking old rifles and redoing them. It was the rule of thumb in the our early history and you would be doing the historically correct thing if you did just that. Very few people retired a rifle that could be restored to shooting condition. They are that valuable.

[cajun shooter]

What several people fail to think about when they start making plans for the many so called SHTF scenarios is that with PRIOR PROPER TRAINING PREVENTS PI__ POOR PERFORMANCE.
I say this because just as we did during WW11 by dropping 45ACP single shot pistols that were nothing but cheap stampings with about a 2 inch barrel. They held about 5 rounds in the grip.
These guns were intended for sneaking up on a enemy soldier and putting one in his head. You then took his weapon and ammo.
This tactic will work today also. You don't need one million rounds and fifty guns. Battlefield pick up has been used since the first major fight between groups of men. Be trained and cunning and you will see the end. Later David

[fouronesix]

Given your choice, I'd try to restore it to shooting status. M42s are fairly common and unless it has important historical connections, it is simply a relic- so has limited value- except for the individual parts. It may depend on your budget. I was looking around the other day for old musket parts and saw a site that quoted about $350 for new M42 smoothbore musket barrels. Given the nature of your M42 barrel, I don't think I would try to have it re-lined. Your very best option would be to find an original barrel- even if it had a little roughness in the bore. I'd think they'd be less than $350. They can be manually smoothed out using a shotgun bore hone, hand drill and long cleaning rod. Not a very hard job. But the kicker is finding a decent enough, used M42 original barrel.

[Chicken Thief]

Beekeeper let me ask you this:

You are given a beat up Ford T.
Can you replace the motor without the car loosing it's authentisity?
Can you replace a fender, can you repaint?

If you want the car 100% original then the answer is no, but does it loose value or add it, if you restore the car and make it nice and drivable?

[leeggen]

Beekeeper,
Just a thought get another barrel and keep the old barrel. Then if you want to shoot drop in the new one and have at it. Put the old one back on and have a great conversation piece of history. Good luck