Post by Hombre on Mar 30, 2018 12:47:48 GMT -7
Early dawn had the old warhorse ('86 Ford diesel) breaking through snow atop the Continental Divide, here in Montana.
This morning was my first outing in trying .56-50 Spencer (Starline brass) rounds in a Providence Tool Company military .50 rimfire carbine.
Among those familiar with the .50-60 Peabody rimfire carbines/rifles, changing the rimfire block with a centerfire block allows the use of centerfire ammunition.
I swapped out the .50 rimfire block and installed a .43 Spanish centerfire block. After doing this, if you prefer to use the existing rimfire hammer, you need to install a washer/spacer between the hammer and the lock plate, to offset the hammer, due to the differences between the rimfire and centerfire hammer noses. Instead, I swapped the .43 Spanish lock and hammer to the .50 rimfire stock - simpler, easier and works fine.
Having obtained some Bullshop 300 gr .512 FN bullets for the project, smokeless lube, loaded the Starline .56-50 brass with 20.0 gr of Accurate 5744. Not too pleased with the way 5744 leaves the unburned powder granules in the chamber/barrel. Requiring to blow into the barrels chamber to ensure no granules remained, impeding inserting a new round. Shall give Trail Boss and a couple of other powders a try later on. I'm generally pleased in using 5744 in .50-70 and .45-70.
Aligning the top of the front sight with the top of the open notched rear barrel sight, the first 2 shots were high. For the next 5 shots positioned the top of the front sight with the top of the bottom notch of the rear sight. Typical of military carbines/rifles of the era, shots tended to be high when using a normal sight picture, such it was with this carbine. The run of 5 shots went into 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" ! ! ! ! Most likely it's been over 100+ years since this Peabody carbine has fired a round...greatly pleased with the results of its first time with me out slinging lead. Due to the snow still on the ground, and not having an idea how the load would perform, shooting was at 35 yards. Nicer weather and no snow will see longer ranges being used. See pictures for results.
The original .50-60 Peabody cartridge case length is 1.475", whereas the Starline .56-50 cartridge case length is right at 1.145". I shall in the future trim back some older Dixie Gun Works .50-70 brass (1 3/4") to the correct .50-60 case length. Note: many of these original .50-60 Peabody rimfire carbines/rifles were used with .56-50 Spencer ammunition, especially in the Dominion of Canada in the late 1800's. Therefore a strong cleaning of the chamber is required to remove excess lead/burned powder deposits in the front part of the chamber. The same as using .38 Spcl ammunition in a .357 magnum chamber, eventually the lead/powder residue builds up in the front of the .357 magnum chamber and needs to be removed before firing .357 magnum ammunition again - so it is with most of the .50 rimfire Peabody's.
I'm pleased with the performance of this fine old carbine on its first outing in my hands. Awaiting the delivery of some 330/340 gr .50 caliber bullets from the Grand Master himself, Dan, of Bullshop fame. These will be .515 black powder lubed 330/340 gr FN Lyman 515139 bullets. Somewhere around 45 grs of black powder will be tried? There's just something 'bout the smell of black powder in the air!! Experimenting with bullet diameters and powders shall be ongoing. Shall also give Triple 7 powder an opportunity later on. Any suggestions or comments are welcome, k'...
, k'.
This morning was my first outing in trying .56-50 Spencer (Starline brass) rounds in a Providence Tool Company military .50 rimfire carbine.
Among those familiar with the .50-60 Peabody rimfire carbines/rifles, changing the rimfire block with a centerfire block allows the use of centerfire ammunition.
I swapped out the .50 rimfire block and installed a .43 Spanish centerfire block. After doing this, if you prefer to use the existing rimfire hammer, you need to install a washer/spacer between the hammer and the lock plate, to offset the hammer, due to the differences between the rimfire and centerfire hammer noses. Instead, I swapped the .43 Spanish lock and hammer to the .50 rimfire stock - simpler, easier and works fine.
Having obtained some Bullshop 300 gr .512 FN bullets for the project, smokeless lube, loaded the Starline .56-50 brass with 20.0 gr of Accurate 5744. Not too pleased with the way 5744 leaves the unburned powder granules in the chamber/barrel. Requiring to blow into the barrels chamber to ensure no granules remained, impeding inserting a new round. Shall give Trail Boss and a couple of other powders a try later on. I'm generally pleased in using 5744 in .50-70 and .45-70.
Aligning the top of the front sight with the top of the open notched rear barrel sight, the first 2 shots were high. For the next 5 shots positioned the top of the front sight with the top of the bottom notch of the rear sight. Typical of military carbines/rifles of the era, shots tended to be high when using a normal sight picture, such it was with this carbine. The run of 5 shots went into 1 1/4" x 1 1/2" ! ! ! ! Most likely it's been over 100+ years since this Peabody carbine has fired a round...greatly pleased with the results of its first time with me out slinging lead. Due to the snow still on the ground, and not having an idea how the load would perform, shooting was at 35 yards. Nicer weather and no snow will see longer ranges being used. See pictures for results.
The original .50-60 Peabody cartridge case length is 1.475", whereas the Starline .56-50 cartridge case length is right at 1.145". I shall in the future trim back some older Dixie Gun Works .50-70 brass (1 3/4") to the correct .50-60 case length. Note: many of these original .50-60 Peabody rimfire carbines/rifles were used with .56-50 Spencer ammunition, especially in the Dominion of Canada in the late 1800's. Therefore a strong cleaning of the chamber is required to remove excess lead/burned powder deposits in the front part of the chamber. The same as using .38 Spcl ammunition in a .357 magnum chamber, eventually the lead/powder residue builds up in the front of the .357 magnum chamber and needs to be removed before firing .357 magnum ammunition again - so it is with most of the .50 rimfire Peabody's.
I'm pleased with the performance of this fine old carbine on its first outing in my hands. Awaiting the delivery of some 330/340 gr .50 caliber bullets from the Grand Master himself, Dan, of Bullshop fame. These will be .515 black powder lubed 330/340 gr FN Lyman 515139 bullets. Somewhere around 45 grs of black powder will be tried? There's just something 'bout the smell of black powder in the air!! Experimenting with bullet diameters and powders shall be ongoing. Shall also give Triple 7 powder an opportunity later on. Any suggestions or comments are welcome, k'...
, k'.
