Georgia Armory Rifle

[BSWBCW]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

Its all about the fayetteville for CSA arms people. Got too love that fancy "S" hammer


Brad

[Minieball577]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

The price Blair has is about the going rate for a cutsom firearm.

[WestTN_reb]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

I can at least tell you their prices are well outside the realm of sanity.

[MickCole]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

Thank you for the very useful information, gentlemen! Your willingness to share your insights is greatly appreciated.
Any thoughts on the quality of the "Taylor" made Dixon Nelson reproduction at http://www.customizedcwguns.com/.
Mick Cole

[ney]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

I gave this a try a few month ago with a Zouave I got for a really good price. I used some parts from S&S firearms for the 1855 rifle. The stock required a far amount of rework and I was still unable to get proper fits on the barrel bands. Ultimately I ended up with a sort of Frankenstein rifle that doesn't look half bad from a distance of 200 yards or more. :) The entire affair was a bit of a waste of time in the end.

[Minieball577]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

Also, in addition to what Curt has included, from what I have on the "Georgia Armory Rifles" the trigger guard is an Enfield type, with a separate trigger plate from the bow, which is one piece in itself rather than the two piece of the U.S. design.

The "patch box" also is of a different design. The bands on a Zouave, too, are rounded, where as the G.A.R. has flat bands like the 55 rifle. The nose cap, to should be of the 1855 "long" type, rather than the Zouave style which is like that on a rifle-musket.

You can probably use the barrel, the lock, buttplate and the sight, but you'll need a new stock to mount it on, which is problematic in itself since not even Dunlap offers one. You'll need new bands, new nose cap, new patch box, new trigger guard, and new trigger plate.

I think that the image in EOG is misleading.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Georgia Armory Rifle

Hallo!

IMHO, Georgia Armory rifles are some of the most "problematical" of Southern made rifles as there are no surviving specimens that are entirely Georgia Armory made- their being typically collections of parts such as US marked buttplates, barrels, bands, and seemingly parts cannibalized from other other guns with CS manufactured parts as needed.

It is believed that the particular GA rifle is a hybrid U.S. M1855 "copy" where the CS departed from their "norm" in making relative "copies" of the U.S. M1841 and occassionally the Enfield Short Rifle (and disregarding the Harpers Ferry M1855 rifle based Fayetteville made rifles).

The Remington M1863 Contract Rifle (aka "Zouave") is itself sort of a hybrid- being a development of Remington's contract to make M1841's and their doing their own thing as it were combining elements of both the M1841 and M1855 rifles into a new beastie.
Using an repro "Zouave" for the basis of a Georgia Armory type M1855 clone would not work "well," IMHO because:

1. the Remington so-called "Zouave" parts such as buttplate, patchbox, trigger guard are similar but not the same dimensions as the M1855 Rifle

2. the two barrel bands and nosecap are distinctively different than the "Zouave's"

3. the lockplate would need stripped and restamped with "Ga. Armory" over say "1862 or ""1863" or "1864."

All in all, IMHO, I would rather go with trying to make a reproduction M1841 into say a CS Ashville, or M.A. Baker, or C. Chapman, or Davis & Bozeman, or Dickson, Nelson & Co, or Gilliam & Miller, or H.C. Lamb, or Mendenhall, Jones & Gardner, or J.P. Murray, "Mississippi clone" rifle.
Or, for that matter, even one of the mid 1850's and early 1860's U.S. reworked M1841's with rear sights and bayonet mounts (or bored to .58).

Others' mileage may vary...

Curt

[MickCole]

There is a picture of what is identified as a Georgia Armory Rifle on pages 42 and 43 of EOG: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy that bears a close resemblance to the reproduction rifle generally known as the Remington "Zouave." The only differences would seem to be the lack of an eagle forward of the hammer on the Georgia Armory and a slightly different bayonet lug.
As with the "Zouave" rifle, the Georgia Armory rifle appears to be an updated M1841 Mississippi rifle, with some M1855 parts, such as the small patchbox, the barrel bands, and the nosecap. The picture in EOG is consistent with description of Georgia Armory rifles in Flayderman's and Confederate Longarms and Pistols.
I have seem numerous pictures of CSA Mississippi style rifles with the same general features as the EOG Georgia Armory rifle, particularly the lockplate, barrel and stock, with variations in the bands, sights, and with or without (generally without) the M1855 style patchbox.
Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to examine any original CSA Mississippi style rifles, with the exception of the few examples seen through glass at the Gettysburg NP visitors center.
I am interested in CSA Mississippi style rifles because some of the units in which some of my Confederate ancestors served were issued Mississippi style rifles. While recognizing that Enfields were far more common in Confederate ranks than either Federal Armory or Contract Mississippis or CSA Mississippi style rifles and that many or most events do not allow any rifles to be used on the field (except perhaps by cavalry), I am wondering about the feasibility of de-farbing the so-called Zouave into a Georgia Armory rifle for use in living history demonstrations based on research into units documented as having used Mississippi style rifles or at events where involving units documented as having Mississippi style rifles. Particularly with respect to the lockplate, it appears that the reproduction could more readily be de-farbed as a Georgia Armory rifle than as the Remington it is supposed to a reproduce. As my research has been limited largely to photographs and written description, I am hoping someone with first-hand knowledge of Confederate weapons can offer an opinion on this.
Mick Cole
Commander, Guy-Thurmon Camp SCV
Rochester, NY