James River Armory

[DougCooper]

Gents I really hate to air questions on the forum but I need a range of responses here.

Like many of us I have ordered items from JRA. I have been both disappointed and impressed with the workmanship on these weapons, a 61 Springfield (62 Bridesburg) and a Barnett contract Enfield. My chief beef is the stampings on the lockplates - too light (62 Bridesburg) and uneven (Enfield), and the Enfield weight - fully 10.5 lbs, which according to all I can find, is 1 lb heavier than they ought to weigh.

I have been impressed with the stock work, finish, cartouches and the like, the range of choices, price and the speed of delivery.

Am I being too picky here?

After receiving the Enfield I have attempted to get in touch with them on several occasions with no luck, and have left messages with a human at the shop 3 times. I will handle that matter myself but am wondering if others have seen the same problems? If so, were you successful at getting a replacement, at least for the lockplate, and an explanation of why the Enfields are so heavy? Or is this much ado about minor problems?

Thanks

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

I don't know and probably should not comment other for the possible value of bringing out information that contributes to us being more informed customers and educated consumers, but..

I was under the impression that James River Armory's products were highly or extensively reworked/altered Italian reproductions and NOT actually custom-built guns (that can escape the curses of the Italian line from the ground up as customs can)??

I have not seen any, or handled/examined any yet.

Curt

[Terry Sorchy]

Doug,
I got an enfield from them last year and compared to my old one it is light as a feather and very well balanced. Maybe the one you got was mistakenly not reworked as far as the stock goes.
Your Comrade
Terry Sorchy

[CSchneider]

They've done some good work for me, but some aspects have been a bit inconsistent. My Bridesburg had a weak stamp on the lockplate, but the rework done on a 42 came out great. A buddy of mine got one of his muskets redone as a Bridesburg, and the stampings on his were much better. I should look into getting a new lockplate, but at least they were able to recontour the stock and fix the mess that Zimmerman made a few years ago.

-Craig Schneider

[DougCooper]

Doug,
I got an enfield from them last year and compared to my old one it is light as a feather and very well balanced. Maybe the one you got was mistakenly not reworked as far as the stock goes.
Your Comrade
Terry Sorchy

The stock is good - definitely recontoured but I suspect it has a Hoyt competition barrel that is heavier.

For you gunsmiths out there - is it possible to deepen an existing stamp on a lockplate? How were the originals done - some kind of large press? I suspect mine are hand stamped like the Italian guns.

[Richmond Depot]

Doug,

I will try giving him a call later this week. When I talked to him a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned that he has been busy with a huge order for his cabinet shop that requires on site installation of cabinets and that is why he is not in the shop. As far as I know, he does not have an email address. Like alot of us, he is not a large operation and he has to have another source of income as the firearms business is not very profitable.

If your Enfield is a Euroarms, I would think that short of completely restocking it, there is probably not alot that can be done about the weight. Even after a rework. My armi sport, like Terry's is extremely light, but the Armi-sport is light out of the box to begin with.

And he actually uses a press to stamp his lock plates.

[Minieball577]

Doug, as far as I have observed, the barrels made by R. A. Hoyt are accurate tot he period. Barrels from Euroarms, however, tend to be much heavier. A crafty craftsman could turn one of the Euroarms 1855 Rifle-muskets into a M1855 rifle, the barrel thickness is so off.

[Lone Guard]

Sorry to hijack this thread I had a quick question.

Has anyone ordered a m1855 rifle musket from James River? What is your opinion on the workmanship?

Again, sorry to throw it a bit off topic.

[utahreenactor]

I have one of James Rivers '55's and it is quite a nice musket. Mine unfortunately does not have a working primer, though I am saving up to have that done. At the moment I believe the company is offering muskets with functional primer systems at something around $850. They were advertised in one of the reenacting magazines if I am not mistaken.

A pard of mine has the "general Jackson" (or some name like that...) which is the 1855 type 3 that has a lock plate that could have real parts, but lacks a Maynard door. I think he builds these up to represent muskets that were assembled by the confederacy early in the war without internal Maynard primer parts. The lock on his looks very nice (the recess for the primer looks awesome!) and the quality of the stampings are superb.

On a secondary note, we compared my '55 to an original in the fort Douglas museum and they were very similar. I would recommend James River highly.

Chase Pinkham

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Lockplates were stamped, but with what amounted to a several ton striking arbor. However, they were stamped in mild steel not the hard modern steel of today. When a
so-called 'Defarber" attempts to restrike a hard barrel steel modern barel or hard steel lockplate with a hand held light hammer - he gets an unven strike or a very shallow impression.

The way "around it" is to heat soften the lockplate or breech, strike it with a 2 or better yet 3 ton arbor, and then rehardened it. (a costlier in time and effort deal)

After the lockplate was stamped at the CW armory, it was usually then color-case hardened. For some guns like the M1855, M1861, and most of the M1863's- the lock was then polished bright.
P1853 Enfields were sometimes stmaped, and sometimes hand-engraved depending upon model and maker...

Curt

[Richmond Depot]

This is his M55 Lockplate with functional Maynard primer.

[Lone Guard]

Mr. Hanes and Mr. Pinkham,

Thank you for your replies. I plan on buying the m1855 with the fully fuctional priming system.