Black powder rifles

oldknotty · June 16, 2014, 03:04 PM

I have been shopping again and found two rifles i am interested in , both are Enfields from the civil war era ,One is an Italian made Parker hale , the other is the Armisport The Parker Hale is less expensive than the Armisport i was wondering if that is kosher .The Parker Hale is a two band whereas the Armisport is a three band .

maillemaker · June 16, 2014, 03:24 PM

The Parker Hale Enfields always seem to be well lauded.

I'd be leery of the Armisport if it is newer. Several months ago, Todd Watts, a renown "defarber" of reproduction firearms, tried to work with Armisport to correctly contour their stocks. They royally screwed them up. Who knows how many are now in the pipeline or in inventories.

2-banders could be either a P58 or a Musketoon, though I do not know if Parker Hale made both or not.

The current cadillac of Enfield reproductions is Pedersoli.

All of the modern reproductions were modeled after the Parker Hale, and the Parker Hale was derived from Royal Armouries tooling for a Type IV Enfield. The Type IV never saw Civil War service, and there are notable differences between the Type IV and the Type III.

Pedersoli corrected many of the deficiencies and now makes a very good Type III reproduction.

Steve

oldknotty · June 16, 2014, 05:01 PM

The one I am looking at Is a two band Rifled Musket 1855 Enfield and the asking price is $650 it is and italian repro

chaz12 · June 16, 2014, 06:53 PM

Before you buy an enfield make sure you have the chance to shoulder one to find out what kind of sight picture you can get. The enfields have less drop in the stock than other muskets of the same period. A lot of people find it very difficult to see thru the sights.

The springfield, zouave, and richmond muskets do not have that particular issue. In case you were interested there are two good looking muskets on gunbroker right now with 0 bids: a (2 band) remington 1863 (zouave) listed at $550 and a (3 band) 1863 richmond listed at $600. Of course you don't know how many other bids they will attract.

Chaz

Seamus Mc · June 16, 2014, 07:58 PM

The Parker Hales are great reproductions. The 2 band version is a lot easier to handle than the 3 bander.

Seamus

bedbugbilly · June 16, 2014, 08:35 PM

The Parker Hale is a good rifled musket. Personally, I'd rather have the two band. When I was shooting NSSA, a lot of the fellows shot the two banded PH.

As mentioned, the stock drop/contour is different on an Enfield than on a Springfield. Some folks like them, some don't. I, personally, love the Enfield. I have shot reproduction PHs and at one time had an original Enfield that I used to shoot once in a while. The repro PH was an excellent shooting rifle and accurate at longer distances. It was a fun rifle to shoot.

On the originals, the Enfield stock always seemed "lighter" than the typical Springfield. Perhaps "slimmer" or more "sleek" would be a better description and well balanced. I found it very easy to get a good sight picture on the PH that I shot but we are all built differently and the only way you're going to know is to shoulder it and see.

Good luck on your search!

**4V50 Gary** · June 16, 2014, 09:22 PM

The two bands were reserved for their ad-hoc sharpshooter battalions. I think the statute of Berry Benson though has a three band enfield. Benson belong to McGowan's Sharp Shooters.

June 16, 2014, 03:04 PM	#1
oldknotty Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Location: Norwood Ohio Posts: 90	Black powder rifles I have been shopping again and found two rifles i am interested in , both are Enfields from the civil war era ,One is an Italian made Parker hale , the other is the Armisport The Parker Hale is less expensive than the Armisport i was wondering if that is kosher .The Parker Hale is a two band whereas the Armisport is a three band .

June 16, 2014, 08:35 PM	#6
bedbugbilly Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Posts: 3,290	The Parker Hale is a good rifled musket. Personally, I'd rather have the two band. When I was shooting NSSA, a lot of the fellows shot the two banded PH. As mentioned, the stock drop/contour is different on an Enfield than on a Springfield. Some folks like them, some don't. I, personally, love the Enfield. I have shot reproduction PHs and at one time had an original Enfield that I used to shoot once in a while. The repro PH was an excellent shooting rifle and accurate at longer distances. It was a fun rifle to shoot. On the originals, the Enfield stock always seemed "lighter" than the typical Springfield. Perhaps "slimmer" or more "sleek" would be a better description and well balanced. I found it very easy to get a good sight picture on the PH that I shot but we are all built differently and the only way you're going to know is to shoulder it and see. Good luck on your search! __________________ If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63

June 16, 2014, 09:22 PM	#7
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 22,296	In the Army of Northern Virginia The two bands were reserved for their ad-hoc sharpshooter battalions. I think the statute of Berry Benson though has a three band enfield. Benson belong to McGowan's Sharp Shooters. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

June 16, 2014, 03:24 PM	#2
maillemaker Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2010 Posts: 1,635	The Parker Hale Enfields always seem to be well lauded. I'd be leery of the Armisport if it is newer. Several months ago, Todd Watts, a renown "defarber" of reproduction firearms, tried to work with Armisport to correctly contour their stocks. They royally screwed them up. Who knows how many are now in the pipeline or in inventories. 2-banders could be either a P58 or a Musketoon, though I do not know if Parker Hale made both or not. The current cadillac of Enfield reproductions is Pedersoli. All of the modern reproductions were modeled after the Parker Hale, and the Parker Hale was derived from Royal Armouries tooling for a Type IV Enfield. The Type IV never saw Civil War service, and there are notable differences between the Type IV and the Type III. Pedersoli corrected many of the deficiencies and now makes a very good Type III reproduction. Steve

June 16, 2014, 05:01 PM	#3
oldknotty Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Location: Norwood Ohio Posts: 90	The one I am looking at Is a two band Rifled Musket 1855 Enfield and the asking price is $650 it is and italian repro

June 16, 2014, 06:53 PM	#4
chaz12 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2008 Posts: 223	Before you buy an enfield make sure you have the chance to shoulder one to find out what kind of sight picture you can get. The enfields have less drop in the stock than other muskets of the same period. A lot of people find it very difficult to see thru the sights. The springfield, zouave, and richmond muskets do not have that particular issue. In case you were interested there are two good looking muskets on gunbroker right now with 0 bids: a (2 band) remington 1863 (zouave) listed at $550 and a (3 band) 1863 richmond listed at $600. Of course you don't know how many other bids they will attract. Chaz

June 16, 2014, 07:58 PM	#5
Seamus Mc Member Join Date: March 24, 2013 Posts: 33	The Parker Hales are great reproductions. The 2 band version is a lot easier to handle than the 3 bander. Seamus