Spencers take to the field

[1816flintlock]

I was down at Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg, Va for an event this past weekend along with some reenacting pards.  Normally we portray Confederate infantry, but the Yankees decided not to show up at last minute.  Too bad this was not the case in the summer of 1864.   So those who could scrounged up whatever blue garb they could find at last minute to form a company of Union Infantryman from scratch.  We did good all things considered.  Terry and myself brought our Spencers along and decided to use them in the Sunday battle demonstration.    For those of you wondering, Terry Yates and myself invested in Spencers mainly for the fun of live firing them.  We really don't have much use for them given our impression but, they are cool to show off at living history type events as part of the evolution of Civil War era small arms.   I brought both my Spencer Rifle and newly purchased Spencer Carbine with me.  Since I can't well fire two Spencers at once, I loaned the carbine to one of the other guys in my group for him to test.  We had a good time, firing off roughly 70 rounds worth of blanks between the three of us in the course of ten minutes shooting.

The Park Staff is rather interested in the Taylors Spencer rifle after looking at mine given that their Romano Spencer Rifle has been unreliable with blanks.  I recommended the 44-40 version if they do get one since it offeres more cost effective options for obtaining good blanks.



Three Spencers, all in 56-50.




Terry Yates and Scott Williams with their carbines.



The Spencers firepower can be an asset during a raid.  Sorry to disappoint everyone but, the "Womens Changing Hut" was sadly empty.




Cleaning.

Stephen

[Two Flints]

Hi 1816flintlock,

Many thanks for sharing the photos and for your thread!

Two Flints