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Item No.:	10574	Price :	$2,195.00
Item :	BRASS MOUNTED P.S. JUSTICE PERCUSSION RIFLE, .58 CALIBER, W/BAYONET

Description :

Here is an original, Civil War, .58 caliber percussion rifle made by P.S. Justice of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. P.S. Justice was one of the first makers to step up and try to fill the needs of the Union Army for arms. His deliveries were some of the fastest of the war. Unfortunately, this speed of delivery led to less than adequate quality. His arms garnered a reputation of having poor quality and of being unsafe. This reputation led to Justice being brought before the 37th Congress to answer charges of war profiteering and providing shoddy arms. They eventually determined that his overzealous desire to provide arms quickly led to the decline in quality of his product. One of the great shortcomings of Justice's guns was the use of unseasoned wood. This led to shrinking, cracking, and twisting of the wood on many of his guns. The Justice rifle used two barrel bands with a 35" round barrel. It had a side lug for use with a saber bayonet. This rifle is in very good condition. The barrel, originally browned, has been lightly cleaned and has no finish remaining. The barrel and lock have a steel gray patina. There is a fair-sized blemish in the barrel steel on the right side of the barrel at the mid-point. These rifles are brass mounted, and this brass has a nice bronze patina. The lock works pretty well but the main spring is a beast. The bore is good. It is dark with some pitting, but the rifling is strong along the barrel's length. Included is a correct original saber bayonet and scabbard in very good condition. the bayonet has been cleaned and has a steel gray patina with some brown speckling. The Justice name is partially visible on the left ricasso. The hilt has a golden brass patina. The scabbard is very good. the brass has been cleaned to a golden brass patina. The blacking on the leather has almost certainly been touched up but looks great. This rifle has one of the small letters stamped in front of the trigger guard that may indicate that it was re-inspected or repaired by the Confederacy. It also has the initials "J.B.F." carved on the right side of the butt. On the left flat of the stock is carved what looks like "17 MISS". I have no idea if these are genuine and am selling it solely as an example of a Justice Rifle. If the markings could be documented, it would be worth considerably more. I learned early on to take unit marked Civil War guns with a grain of salt! This is a good-looking Justice with its original bayonet. Stock no. 31373

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