Ricochet
01-06-2008, 04:49 PM
As I was leaving the rifle range to go up the hill and shoot my Nagant revolver and .45, I saw the guy in the van next to mine pull out an OLD carbine that I just had to see! Jumped out (forgot to shut my door and take the key out), and went to see it. A lever action top break, very small and light. A .52 caliber Maynard of Civil War vintage. Beautiful condition. It has extremely shallow rifling with 3 grooves. The ammo he was using had turned brass cases with a smaller chamber inside, like a mortar chamber, to hold a reduced charge of 28 grains of BP, and he was using .52 caliber 350 grain cast boolits from a Rapine mould. It's got a percussion ignition system with a musket cap (later than the tape primers) and a tiny pinhole in the center of the case head. I got to shoot it twice. Hit the target I was aiming at at 100 yards first shot, and as it was near the bottom I think the second one was off the paper on the bottom. Little recoil with the small powder charge, about like my Tennessee Mountain Rifle. Made a nice dull boom, plenty of flash and sparks, and smoke. Very cool gun!