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Old June 4, 2010, 06:41 PM   #1
buymore
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Join Date: February 3, 2007
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Armi Sport ML rifle info (added photos)

My wife and I are 4-H Shooting Sports advisors in NE Ohio. I recently picked up a sidelock percussion rifle made by Armi Sports in Italy. I was trying to find some info on it, but it appears to be an older model no longer made. It looks similar to a Hawken, but only one trigger with half cock safety. Has brass fancy trigger guard, case colored side plate on right side, brass rod holders under the barrel and high gloss bluing. The sights are very nice....rear sight is a very nice buckhorn style and front is beaded blade that fits perfectly into the buckhorn. It has a very nice piece of walnut and the butt has a rounded right hand cheek weld on it. Buttplate is more of a modern style, dosn't look like the traditional more like a TC Renegade style buttplate. I only paid $80 for it and it is in very good condition, fairly decent bore, some very minor corrosion, may shoot out fine. Need to know if anyone knows what nipple size it takes? I need to have a spare and I need to pick up some essentials I know longer have since I switched over to inlines for hunting YEARS ago!!! I'm going to have to scour the fleamarkets.....nipple wrench, patch puller, bullet puller, etc.....! Why did I give all that stuff away?

I have a minor concern though........after purchased and home forty miles away from purchase at fleamarket, I found I had purchased a loaded rifle!!!! I went to inspect the barrel for a detailed cleaning and found it loaded with a granular powder substitute and a patched round ball. It had been loaded clean and left. Not shot an reloaded. The powder was dry and loose so I got stupidly brave and capped it and shot it out! It wasn't a heavy charge and didn't have hardly any smoke? I'm thinking maybe Pioneer powder? I did a thorough cleaning and I cannot see any signs of corrosion in the breech end and my patches run freely over that area, no snagging at all. Absolutely no sulphur smell while cleaning either. He said it was just used this January. Is there anyway to check this barrel for corrosion other than dropping a light down in? If no snagging on tight patches and no visual sign of corrosion, is it safe to try it?
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File Type: jpg ml3.jpg (241.8 KB, 36 views)
File Type: jpg ml2.jpg (244.2 KB, 31 views)

Last edited by buymore; June 5, 2010 at 03:02 PM. Reason: photos added
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Old June 4, 2010, 07:00 PM   #2
Hawg
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If you don't feel any tightness or roughness it's in shootable condition. Shoot it and see how it shoots. I've seen some badly pitted barrels shoot just fine
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Old June 4, 2010, 07:14 PM   #3
buymore
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I don't see or feel any pitting at all. I lubed it up with bore butter and I'll go shoot some round balls through it and see how it looks afterwards. It actually looks like it was fairly well seasoned before it was stored. I got just a little light brown out of the bore on clean white patches berfore I learned it was loaded!~! The guy sold my brother a fairly nice T/C Renegade in .50 for $140 and it had accesories with it (about $15-$20 worth of stuff) He got the better buy, but this Armi Sport looks decent and is a little fancier than the Renegade. I don't see many good sidelocks round here in NE Ohio for under $100 these days. The wood on the Armi is much nicer than the T/C and the cheekweld really fits nicely.

posted some pics of the rifle to see if anyone has any ideas on what size nipple it may use and the model for I.D. Now out to find accesories for a sidelock again.......I gave all my stuff away years ago when I switched over to inlines for hunting.....dumb move huh!

Last edited by buymore; June 5, 2010 at 03:04 PM.
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Old June 7, 2010, 11:11 PM   #4
arcticap
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That's a nice looking rifle.

The 2009 Armi Chiappa catalog lists the nipple size for their #11 percussion cap rifles and pistols as being an M6. (Your specific model isn't listed and I'm providing the catalog link only as a reference - http://www.armisport.com/manuali/blackpowder.pdf).

I don't know whether their M6 nipple is a 6X1 metric (like the Spanish guns) or a 6X.75 metric (like the Italian Investarms) or another thread altogether.

You can try to contact the company in Ohio to ask:

Chiappa Firearms, Ltd.
530 N. Union Road
Dayton, OH 45427 USA
Tel. 937-954-1040
www.chiappafirearms.com
email: [email protected]

Or you can try to telephone or email Marstar in Canada which is an Armi Sport stocking dealer who unfortunately doesn't have an online ordering system.

http://www.marstar.ca/main/contact-info.shtm

http://www.marstar.ca/gf-armisport/index.shtm

http://www.marstar.ca/gf-armisport/index.shtm

Or just try asking Track of the Wolf or Dixie Gun Works who both stock a lot of parts and have knowledgable staff.

BTW, it seems like your nipple is in excellent condition.

FWIW, here's the Armi Chiappa owner's manual:

http://www.armisport.com/manuali/blackpowder.pdf
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Old June 8, 2010, 07:28 PM   #5
buymore
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thanks much. I'll see if Chiappa can give me any info at all. I guess I can just take the nipple with me to a local gunshop and match a nipple up if I have to.

I figure I didn't get hurt too bad on the price. It appears better built than most of the CVA sidelocks I've seen.
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