C.S. Arms, Inc.

Cliff Sophia, Proprietor

9150 John S. Mosby Hwy. (Rt. 50)

Upperville, VA  20185

(540) 592-7273 | sophiacsarms@aol.com

Open 10am - 5pm, Tuesday - Saturday

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Item No.: 9741 Price : SOLD
Item : VERY RARE, GREENE (BRITISH TYPE) BREECH LOADING PERCUSSION CARBINE, .54 CALIBER
Description :
This is an original, Greene (British Type) Breech Loading Percussion Cavalry Carbine manufactured in 1855 by Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts. It is .54 caliber. Only 2,000 of these were produced under contract to the British Government for use in the Crimean War. They saw little service and the majority were destroyed and stripped for parts. The remainder were sold as surplus by the british Government. It is possible that only about 200 survived. The carbines made for Britain were marked with a Crown over "VR" and have British proof marks on the barrel and stock. They featured short 18" barrels and had a sling ring on the trigger plate. It has an iron patch box and is fitted with the Maynard Tape Primer Device. This allowed, in theory, a new cap to be advanced to the percussion cone each time the carbine was cocked, eliminating the need to manually cap the weapon for each shot. The carbine uses a complex breech loading system. There are two triggers. The forward trigger unlocks the breech, allowing the barrel assembly to rotate to the left and then move forward. The entire barrel assembly then is rotated to the right allowing a cartridge to be inserted into the chamber. This process is reversed to close and lock the breech. This carbine is in antique excellent condition. It retains about 90% of its original factory blued finish. There is some light browning of the blued finish on the sides of the barrel near the breech and on the faceted gripping area of the barrel. There is a little finish loss on the bottom of the trigger guard. The hammer, lock, and barrel tang retain most of their case colors with The Maynard cap door starting to fade. The Gun has excellent mechanics. The Maynard Device uses a different mechanism than that seen on the Model 1855 Rifle Musket. The small toothed wheel that advance the caps works well. The bore is excellent, bright, and shiny. The stock is in excellent condition with just a couple of tiny dings fro use or storage. There is a crisp proof in the patchbox. This is a superb example of a very rare carbine. Stock no. 27125

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For CS Arms, Inc.
Shop Address:   Mailing Address:
9150 John S. Mosby Highway (Route 50)
in historic Upperville, VA
  Box 602
Upperville, VA. 20185
(540) 592-7273 or (540) 592-7274
E-Mail: sophiacsarms@aol.com

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