Burnside Model 1865 Spencer Saddle Ring Carbine .56-50 Lever Rifle, Antique

SOLD FOR: $1325

LSB#: 210918MW26

Make: Burnside Rifle Company

Model: Spencer Model 1865 Carbine

Serial Number: 12452A

Year of Manufacture: 1865

Caliber: .50 Springfield Carbine (.56-50 Spencer Rimfire)

Action Type: Lever Operated Rotating Breechblock Repeating Rifle with Tubular Magazine Loaded Through the Buttstock

Markings: The top of the receiver at the chamber is marked “SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE / PAT’D MARCH 6, 1860 / MANUF’D AT PROV, R.I. / BY BURNSIDE RIFLE Co” and “MODEL / 1865”. The top rear of the receiver is marked “12452A”. The barrel is marked “C C P”, covered by the barrel band, and the bottom-rear is marked “12452”.

Barrel Length: The round barrel is 20” in length.

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short blade integral to a rectangular base at the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a folding ladder sight. There is a shallow “V” notch in the bottom of the sight for use when the ladder is folded down. When the ladder is raised, there is a “V” notch at the bottom of the ladder, a “V” notch at the top of the slider and another in the top edge of the ladder. The ladder is marked from “2” at the bottom of the ladder for use with the lower “U” notch, “3” to “7” for use with a slider, and marked “8” next to the notch on the top edge. The slider can be slid up and down, but stays where you put it.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut. The forend is a replacement which is secured by a screw at the bottom-rear. A barrel band is included, but it has no provision for retention. The forend has a few light nicks, scuffs and scratches. The buttstock is either a replacement or refinished, showing some more notable nicks, dings and scratches with the most notable spot of wear behind and to the right of the sling swivel in the belly. There is also a sling bar on the left of the wrist and a steel semi-crescent buttplate. The LOP measures 13″ from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has scattered erosion and wear. The stocks rate in about Very Good condition as refinished and/or replaced.

Type of Finish: The barrel has been polished bright, the receiver is case-colored.

Finish Originality: The barrel’s finish has been removed intentionally and the receiver also shows some polishing. Remaining finish appears original to the parts. The difference in finish between the bottom tang, sling bar and the receiver may indicate replacement parts.

Bore Condition: The bore is gray with moderate wear in the rifling. There is light-moderate erosion and pitting in the bore.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 7% of its metal finish. Remaining finish is in the sling bar, trigger plate, and the portions of the lever/breech-block assembly concealed when the action is closed. While there is case color on the parts mentioned, they also show wear and light surface oxidation. The barrel and exposed portions of the receiver have been polished bright, now showing scattered light surface erosion which was scrubbed out and some scattered minor surface oxidation. The screw heads range from sharp, and likely replaced, to distressed, but serviceable. The receiver’s markings on the top-front are worn and incomplete, the serial markings are clear. Overall, this rifle rates in about Good condition as Antique.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. This rifle was originally equipped with a Stabler Cut-off, but it has been removed and a fill-screw installed. The hammer has a half-cock safety position. We have not fired this rifle. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: Included is a sling clip and swivel marked “O.B. NORTH & Co / NEW HAVEN – Ct”, one complete 7-round magazine and one magazine body which does not have a follower or sling. The complete magazine has a crack in the body just in front of the follower’s indexing stud at the front edge and has erosion on its rear tab matching the buttplate. The magazine body has fairly strong case color on the rear tab and the body appears to have been polished bright, possibly a new-production part.

Our Assessment: The inventor of the Spencer Carbine was Christopher Miner Spencer, one of the leading figures of the machine tool industry. The Spencer carbine was different from any other firearm of its time. It was accurate; fired rapidly; had a long effective range; and held seven metallic cartridges that weren’t affected by moisture. It could be fired more rapidly than a Colt style revolver and reloaded in one-tenth the time. By the end of the Civil War, more than 144,000 Spencer rifles and carbines had been manufactured; over two-thirds of which were purchased by the U.S. government. To keep up with demand, Spencer subcontracted some production to the Burnside Rifle Co. of Providence, Rhode Island, who had been making their own single shot carbines for the government. Burnside delivered 30,502 carbines, mostly after the war. About half were made with the Stabler Cut-off which allowed the rifles to be fired single shot, with the cartridges in the magazine held in reserve, but this Burnside has had that assembly removed. Spencer rifles and carbines met with high praise from those who were equipped with them, and with respect from those who faced them in battle. In its first combat test, Spencer-armed Union troops under the command of Colonel John Wilder earned the nickname “Lightning Brigade” when they defeated a numerically superior Confederate force at the Battle of Hoover’s Gap, Tennessee on June 24, 1863. The Spencer carbines remained in use by the U. S. Army’s mounted troops until the late 1870’s. This is a Burnside Model 1865 Spencer Carbine that was probably made too late to see service in the war. Someone appears to have begun restoring this rifle in the distant past and is in about Good condition as Antique. The bore is gray with moderate wear in the rifling and light-moderate erosion and pitting. This rifle is rare as there were far fewer of them made than by Spencer. It would be a nice addition to a collection of Civil War carbines or to a collection of early American cartridge rifles, especially with its vintage sling clip and swivel. The Spencer rifles and carbines will always have a place in history as they represent a turning point in warfare. Please see our photos and good luck!