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sewerman · February 10, 2011, 02:18 PM

i had the itch to own one of these rifles which, is my favorite repeater of the late war.

i saw an ad locally for one selling for $600.00 used cal .44 russian.

met the owner, an older gentleman at the range. the owner first told me the rifle needed breaking in...this was a tip-off to me that something in the mechanism was possibly wrong. i watched as the owner loaded the magazine tube and then began to rack rounds into the chamber...one malfunction after another!! with the magazine loaded to full capacity, nine, severe binding occured and diminished as the pressure on the compressed feed spring in the magazine follower became less & less.
the rifle very rarely chambered a round correctly. when doing so i observed a gouge on the top of the lead bullet made from the cartridge keeper pushing downward with too much force as well the keeper fingers being too long and gouging the bullet instead of striking the brass casing of the cartridge.

after disassembly, study..reassembly & study of function of this rifle i noticed many needs that were unaddressed by the italians when they back enginerred this rifle from the 56/50 cartridge to the shorter smaller cased
45LC, 44schofield & 44russian.
i wrote the comapny Armi-sport an very detailed letter about this and i'm sure some flunky in Italy used it as a coaster for his latte.

if your are still drooling for this rifle i would try to flush out a 56/50.
maybe a 45lc may work with shortened keeper fingers & a relaxed spring.
though the oversized magazine tube and large opening in the lower receiver meant for the 56/50 would still allow the cartridge to cant , pitch left or right as it is presented onto the loading tray causing binding.

this may have been a monday or friday rifle or one assembled with parts from all four calibers who knows.....? a parts diagram can be found on-line.

after this fiasco the ower in remorse related a horror story how this rifle had been a nightmare from day one & after several unsuccesful attempts by Taylor & Co to repair it he had taken it to smiths locally who probably didn't want to tackle a cobbed job design. so he was left with a $1500.00 misfit single shot rifle with few aspects for resale unless the buyer a talented machinist.

hope this helps.

s.m.

February 10, 2011, 02:18 PM	#9
sewerman Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2005 Location: hurricane alley, florida Posts: 304	i had the itch to own one of these rifles which, is my favorite repeater of the late war. i saw an ad locally for one selling for $600.00 used cal .44 russian. met the owner, an older gentleman at the range. the owner first told me the rifle needed breaking in...this was a tip-off to me that something in the mechanism was possibly wrong. i watched as the owner loaded the magazine tube and then began to rack rounds into the chamber...one malfunction after another!! with the magazine loaded to full capacity, nine, severe binding occured and diminished as the pressure on the compressed feed spring in the magazine follower became less & less. the rifle very rarely chambered a round correctly. when doing so i observed a gouge on the top of the lead bullet made from the cartridge keeper pushing downward with too much force as well the keeper fingers being too long and gouging the bullet instead of striking the brass casing of the cartridge. after disassembly, study..reassembly & study of function of this rifle i noticed many needs that were unaddressed by the italians when they back enginerred this rifle from the 56/50 cartridge to the shorter smaller cased 45LC, 44schofield & 44russian. i wrote the comapny Armi-sport an very detailed letter about this and i'm sure some flunky in Italy used it as a coaster for his latte. if your are still drooling for this rifle i would try to flush out a 56/50. maybe a 45lc may work with shortened keeper fingers & a relaxed spring. though the oversized magazine tube and large opening in the lower receiver meant for the 56/50 would still allow the cartridge to cant , pitch left or right as it is presented onto the loading tray causing binding. this may have been a monday or friday rifle or one assembled with parts from all four calibers who knows.....? a parts diagram can be found on-line. after this fiasco the ower in remorse related a horror story how this rifle had been a nightmare from day one & after several unsuccesful attempts by Taylor & Co to repair it he had taken it to smiths locally who probably didn't want to tackle a cobbed job design. so he was left with a $1500.00 misfit single shot rifle with few aspects for resale unless the buyer a talented machinist. hope this helps. s.m. __________________ "When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny!" Thomas Jefferson "They that can give up an essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety!" Benjamin franklin The Armed Citizen PREVENTS tyranny! Last edited by sewerman; February 10, 2011 at 08:58 PM.