Taylor's 56-50 Spencer

[Tuolumne Lawman]

  Howdy to the camp!

Well, my beloved original Spencer did sell (sob!), and my daughter's wedding was paid for (yeah!).  All is not lost, however.  Tammy Loy at Taylor's has sent me an 1865 in 56-50 to do an article on!  And the best thing is that I already paid for it (I got full price for the Spencer 56-56 and sold an M1 Carbine, so I was able to rat-hole the money for the taylor's!)

The nice thing about the 56-50 Taylor's is that it is about $200-$250 less than the .44 and 45 models.  Lyman now makes "Cowboy Dies" for the Taylor's 56-50 at $40, and Starline makes 56-50 brass at $1 each or so.  There is a .512, 350 grain mold  that is correct for the Taylors.  My understanding after talking to Ken at Ten-X is that the .520s for the originals shjould not be used in the Taylors.  .008 over is a bit large to stuff though the bore!.  I suppose .515s of less than 400 grains would work in a pinch.

I will keep the camp notified once all the fixings come in.

At least I can still be amongst the ranks of the Spencer shooters still!

[#31]

The article you speak of, will it be published here, or?
Thanks,
Steve Sullivan

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy,

It will be for the cowboy chronicle.  Marshal Halloway used to have an agreement that he could publish the articles af the hard copy was circ ulated, but I don't know if that permission is still in efeect.

You out there, Marshal?

[Hobie]

Congratulations to you and your daughter!

I'm looking forward to the article and info you might post here.  The .56-50 is the only cartridge that really interests me.

You mentioned that the cost was less than for the other chamberings?  May I ask what the price was?  The data I have might be out of date but doesn't show such. 

Thanks.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy,

It's not really a trade secret anymore, since you can go to Gunbroker and get quotes.  44 and 45 run about $1200-1250, and the 56-50 is about $950 . Those are dealer prices.  Occasionally you seea good buy on 56-50 Taylors in Auction Arms or Gunbroker.

[Gunner]

TL,
Mazel-tov to you and your daughter!!
Now don't worry, even if you didn't have a Spencer in your stable, you'd still be welcome as a member of SSS!! .

[klw]

I've owned three Spencers, an original carbine in 56-56, a Romano Rifle in 56-50 and a Taylor in 44 Russian.  The Romano was a work of art.  Absolutely beautiful gun.  The original was a bit beat up but nothing serious.  Worked just fine.  The Taylor was an absolute piece of cr#$!.

There were a lot of problems.  The extractors broke easily.  Small parts would just fall off.  The chamber was oversized and rough.  Don't remember how many times I sent it back.  Finally Taylor indicated that they had all the bugs worked out and that I should send it back again.  When I got it back it froze up on the first cycling never to move again.  Eventually they gave me a 90% refund. 

Now that they have the Lane extractor I suppose that they have one less thing to worry about.  Since the action has to match the dimensions of the cartridge, the 56-50 should be the most likely to function properly.  Still the new ones I've seen or that friends have purchased are, well, DEFINITELY NOT worth the money.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy pard,

Of sll the Spencers, the 44 russian is the worst.  The cartridges are just too small for the action, in my opinion.  The 45 Schofield I tested worked excellent.  I have yet to shoot the 56-50 taylors, as it is still in transit.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

HOwdy,

I find the 56-50 Taylor's superior to the 45 Schofield one I did the article on several years back.  The Lane extractor is great, though it does not flip them out as well as the bades do.  See my new thread.