Spencer Armi Sport

[Deadeye Don]

Ok, I shot my Armi Sport Spencer in 56-50 after our NCOWS match.  I had some problems with the feeder (?) loading the round in the chamber smoothly.  In addition can someone tell me if the brass is suppose to be ejected much like a winchester ejects?
I found myself having to actually turn the gun upside down to allow gravity to do its thing.  I use factory loaded TENX ammo. Other than these problems, the gun performed great.  It has quite a kick to it but accuracy was great.  I hit was I was aiming at with almost all of the rounds put down range at the furthest steel targets.  I actually felt a bit sorry for the targets as the hit was substantial.  I can see why some in the military really liked this weapon as it must have been devastating on those people on the receiving end.  For those who have not experienced shooting a Spencer in an "original caliber",  you dont know what you are missing.  It was great!

Safe shooting.  Deadeye.

[Two Flints]

Deadeye,

Sent you an Email, until someone with a 56-50 jumps in, all I can do is direct you to this link where you might get some answers to your feeding problem.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,14777.0.html

Two Flints

[Fox Creek Kid]

Yes, the originals as well eject like that. You have to work the lever vigorously + it helps to cant the rilfe (I do it to the right) in order for the casing to fall clearly to the ground.

[mtmarfield]

   Greetings, DD!

   Given that your Ctgs are the proper overall length with the bullet you're using, you need but work the action "in one fluid motion" for the smoothest feeding from the magazine to the chamber. No need to "slam open & slam closed", just do a brisk "open/close" movement.
   These arms don't throw your brass like other repeaters, but "flick" the cases out of the chamber; you shouldn't be concerned with canting or rolling your carbine; you shouldn't have to disturb your aim. Both my Romano, and Armi Sport "fling" live rounds and empty cases clear of the receiver.
   Make up seven dummy rounds, and practice the cycling. When you get that down, put an empty case into the chamber, and cycle the action. Is the empty "flinging" clear of your receiver?
   Let's see if anybody else has some hot tips! How about it folks?

   Keep Us Posted! & Be Well!

                M.T.Marfield:.
                   7-10-07
   
   Can anyone else out there think of anything that might be an issue?

[Fox Creek Kid]

I cant mine while ejecting as a few times I've had empties land in the open slot and locked up the gun tighter than Dick's hatband!! Since I started doing the little shuffle every empty just leisurely rolls out to the right. Maybe I was "limp wristing"!! 

[Gimpy Gus]

D.D.Though I'm kind of new to SSS, I've put about 1300 rounds of various handloads through my A.S. 56-50 Spencer  carbine over the last 1 1/2 years. OAL has been the key for me. It's a smooth feed as long as the  OAL has been between 1.512 and 1.614.  Some where between the latter figure and 1.743  the feed gets rough and the nose of the bullet  gets a longitudinal gouge. It will feed but..... After that length is exceeded, it won't feed. As far as ejection goes, as long as I briskly throw the lever foreward there has not been a problem. Hesitating on the down stroke, or double stroking before fully chambering a new round can result in ejection problems and/or a jam. My issues with the gun have not been reliability. A 15# trigger pull And not shooting to point of aim in terms of windage were frustrating to say the least. Two trips to the gunsmith resulted in a 6# pull and a dovetailed front sight !  I've had my share of handloading problems, mostly due to my inexperience and lack of knowledge. I've learned alot from reading SSS over the months. Annealing my Starline cases, and going to a .515 diameter bullet has resulted in no more:  loose bullets, blow back, and inconsistant accuracy. These last 1 1/2 years have a hoot. I love my Spencer 56-50. GG

[major]

I have the Armi Sport Spencer in 44-40 and all I shoot in it is blanks so loosing my aiming point by taking it off my shoulder is not a problem.  To make it eject reliably I hold the carbine vertical with the muzzle up when cycling and work the lever briskly.  This lets gravity help get rid of the spent shell.  Just my 2 cents.
Terry

[Fox Creek Kid]

Annealing my Starline cases and going to a .515 diameter bullet has resulted in no more:  loose bullets, blow back, and inconsistant accuracy.

Ditto that. Resizing helps them chamber better also. I shoot my bullets "as cast" which is about .515. ZERO leading and it shoots better than I can hold.

[Drydock]

Your extraction sounds normal,  The speed of the lever governs how fast the shell is extracted.  Gotta work at it.  One smooth continous motion.  Don't give the case time to slide back into the chamber and lock up the action.  If its left on top of the retainer the next round coming up will fllip it out.

Most folks load these rounds too long, looking for powder capacity.  I load mine to an oal of 1.550, and get slick feeding.  Start going much past 1.6"  and you start to see nose gouging and hang ups.  Remember the ogive of our flat noses is not as curved as the original RF round nose/pointed bullets.

[Deadeye Don]

Thank you for all the great replies. They helped alot.  I assume TENX knows what they are doing with regards to brass, bullet and load specs so I will leave that alone,  but I just need to work on one smooth motion to have the brass come out right.  I think I was expecting it to work more or less like a winchester but I see the mechanism is quite different.   I will also let gravity do its thing.      Safe shooting.  Deadeye.

[Fox Creek Kid]

Don, there's been times when mine has loaded so smoothly that I was sure I hadn't even chambered a round! 

[Deadeye Don]

Don, there's been times when mine has loaded so smoothly that I was sure I hadn't even chambered a round! 

I will look forward to that day KID!