Anyone tried the 45 Colt Spencers?

Tuolumne Lawman · April 20, 2009, 11:39:54 AM

Howdy,

As I have been absent for most of the past 18 months, (with the exception of one or two short stays last year), I have several questions:

Has anyone tried the 45 Colt Spencer?

How available are they and what's the going cost?

How do they work with brass Starline 5 in 1 blanks?

Who knows. With evil black guns selling so high now, I might be enticed into selling my Israeli "Mash'az" re-import GI M1 Carbine to get another Spencer...

If I do, as much as I like the 56-50, it is a pain to do blanks for for re-enacting! I know the 44 Russian Spencers work well with 410 or 44-40s formed into blanks, but the 45 Colt could take a 300 grain bullet and 35 grains of powder and have some THUMP!

major · April 20, 2009, 12:51:28 PM

TL
Nice to see you back here. I have not had a chance to personally try the Spencer in 45LC but I know that the blanks made from 410 hulls will not work in it. I sent several 410 blanks to two people that have a Spencer in 45LC and they both said that the round will chamber but the breach will not close. The flange on the shell must be too large.
For reenacting I feel your best bet is the 44-40 version and the 410 blanks. Just in case you haven't read it here is a link to my article. http://www.9thnycavalry.webeditor.com/spencer_article.html
But you are right now is the best time for selling black guns, and we can thank Obama for this.
Terry

Tuolumne Lawman · April 20, 2009, 01:00:50 PM

It is unbelievable. WASR10 Romanian aks (were $350 8 months ago) go FOR $700-$800 at gun shows now! I bought a Russian Saiga sporter in November for $350, and now they are $500-$600!

The 44-40 Spencer I got for the article was phenomenally accurate! Oh well, unless I win the lottery or sell the M1, I will just continue with the Smith.

Tuolumne Lawman · April 30, 2009, 11:19:48 AM

I never really got an answer about the 45 Colt Spencer. Aside from re-enacting (where 44-40 would be hands down best with 410 blanks), and specifically for CAS, has anyone tried them or have any experience with them. The 45 Colt Spencer was being released about the time my world fell apart, so I did not pay much attention. Anyone on the list have one?

Pizen Switch · April 30, 2009, 05:07:22 PM

I've got a Cimarron Spencer Carbine in 45 colt. I had some problems right outta the box with it. First of all, the extractor was too long and would bind up when extracting a spent case. I was able to fix it by carefully filing down the top of it until it extracted the cases reliabily. Second issue is the magazine spring. It is entirely too weak and won't reliably feed the last two or three rounds. I still haven't been able to fix that issue. I tried to stretch it out and put spacers in the bottom of the mag tube but the spring won't hold tension.

Other than those two issues, I'm really happy with the rest of it. It shoots good and looks very nice. The fit and finish of the parts are really nice. I'm hoping I can find a better spring for the magazine though.

major · May 01, 2009, 09:03:04 PM

Pizen
Have you tried contacting the place you purchase the gun from about getting a replacement spring? Taylor's has always been very helpful about this kind of problem.

Preston County Rider · May 02, 2009, 07:28:38 AM

A fellow Spencer shooter at the CAS club I shoot with had a Taylor .45 Colt Spencer - it functions smoother than my .45 Schofield - has some extraction problems but he is happy with it - I truly believe some of that is due to the fact it is a Taylor Spencer and not a Cimarron, like mine. The Taylor's version is definitely smoother and more dependable.

PCR

Sagebrush Burns · May 02, 2009, 08:50:47 AM

I've been using a Taylor's carbine as my main match rifle for almost a year now. It tends to be cranky about feeding the last round from the magazine - a certain amount of fiddle f*#k factor there - but otherwise works fine. If you want to be speedy and win matches use something else. If you want to be stylish and have fun, you can't beat it.

Grouchy Spike · May 03, 2009, 12:40:31 PM

I'll second the comment by Sagebrush. It's a hoot to shoot. Mine is a 56-50. Never a glitch.

When I used it for a main match rifle, my stage times were about 100 seconds, where I would normally shoot in the 30s. I needed someone to cover me while I reloaded.

That 350 gr bullet would hit the knockdowns so hard that the target would pop back to the standing position. Must have been painful to have been shot with one of those bullets. Certainly would unhorse someone.

Tuolumne Lawman · May 03, 2009, 01:26:34 PM

I sure liked shooting my original 56-56 and 56-50 Taylors as a main match gun! It had a nasty habit of knocking over the whole knock down target, stand and all!

Pizen Switch · May 04, 2009, 08:52:23 PM

Quote from: major on May 01, 2009, 09:03:04 PM
Pizen
Have you tried contacting the place you purchase the gun from about getting a replacement spring? Taylor's has always been very helpful about this kind of problem.

I bought it at Sportsman's Warehouse. I did a little work to it and it worked pretty good for a while but it sat in the safe for several months and when I took it out a couple of weeks ago, it wouldn't feed the last couple of rounds. I'll try contacting Cimarron and see what can be done.