![]() ![]() In the hands of American Indians who didnt want their West opened, it slowed it down. Cavalry, it speeded up the opening of the West. The Model 1873 rifle and carbine came into existence after a long series of experiments convinced the War Department that the proper caliber for small arms was. The first experimental cavalry carbine versions were produced in limited numbers in 1868. The original cartridge was a copper-cased rimfire holding a 480-grain lead bullet and 60 grains of blackpowder.īy 1866, extraction and ammunition problems that showed up during troop trials had been corrected, and the trapdoor became a. The block tipped upward and forward to open the breech for loading, was held in its closed position by a thumb latch at its rear, and housed the firing pin. Patent for his breech-loading system.Īllins conversion required milling out the top portion of the barrel to accept a breech block, then attaching the hinged portion of the block to the barrel with one screw and some soft solder. On September 19, 1865, and unbeknownst to the Chief of Ordnance, he was granted a U.S. As a result, in January 1865, the Ordnance Department had more than a million totally obsolete big-bore muskets in its inventory.Īccordingly, Erskine Allin, the master armorer at Springfield Armory, was directed to work out a way to convert all those muskets into breech-loaders accepting a metallic cartridge. The Spencer and the Henry were considered underpowered by comparison with the foot soldiers standard-issue. It also required a special cartridge, which wasnt waterproof or self-primed. The Sharps was expensive and frequently leaked gas at the breech. The infantry, on the other hand and with few exceptions, employed muzzleloaders. Before it ended, Sharps, Spencers and other breech-loaders prevailed with cavalry troops. Certainly as the percussion cap superseded flint and steel, the breech-loading gun will replace those that load from the muzzle. So predicted Secretary of War John Holt in 1860. ![]()
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