Replica Spencer Calibers

[klw]

I'm curious to know what cartridges people are buying.  I think that this is a complete list, excluding the Fletcher-Bidwell (Dane Piper) guns and the Romano Carbines.  But just in case there is a "other" category.  If you gun's cartridge is not specified, I'd certainly like to know what it is.

Romano, of course, made at least one 38-40 carbine and talked about making guns in 44 Magnum.  Don't know if he ever did.

Fletcher-Bidwell was going to chamber carbines, I think, in 44-40 and something else.  I've fogotten.

[French Jack]

Bought the Taylor's in 56-50 because that is the original chambering.  The action works better with the original round than the other calibers offered. 

[Major 2]

I have an Original in 56-52  and a Taylor in 45 Sch.  for low cost plinking and backup CAS.
no issues with either

[klw]

I've never really understood the various original calibers.  I've seen the description of the 56-52 but don't begin to know how you'd tell if an original was chambered for that.  Is the barrel marked?

[RattlesnakeJack]

My carbine is chambered for 56-50 (though I'm still waiting for it to arrive - it is somewhere in transit ...)

I wanted that caliber because the rifles and carbines acquired by Canada in 1866 were in that caliber (and were in fact Model 1865's, which is what these replicas are  (well, more or less ...)

[Sloan Dodgy]

My vote was .56-50, but there's also a .44 Russian in my stable.

[Ed Clintwood]

KLW,
I THINK the 56-52 was Spencers answer to Springfield Amory's 56-50.  The Armory seated the bullet further in the case and Spencer felt that this was wrong so he answered with the 56-52 which was more like the original 56-56 but smaller caliber (50 instead of 52).  Both the 56-50 and the 56-52 were interchangable.  If this isn't right, I'm sure someone here will correct me.

[French Jack]

The 56-52 was actually developed prior to the 56-50.  It is loaded with a heel base bullet, and outside lubed, diam. a nominal .520 +/-. The 56-50 has an inside lubed bullet, and a diameter in the original of .515 +/-. It was developed by Springfield Armory and was done to provide a more efficient load.  The case is longer and allows for the same powder charge with the same overall length allowed in the Spencer action, even a heavier bullet.  The 56-52 can be fired in the Original 56-50, as the bullet is swaged down in the bore, but the 56-50 cannot be fired in the 56-52 without loss of accuracy due to the smaller bullet.

The calibers on the Spencers are a bit misleading, as the Spencer utilized barrels from Sharps initially, and the caliber varied with the supplier.  Most were a nominal .54 caliber, and a majority of the ones produced at later dates had a .52 caliber bore.  The ammunition was supplied slightly oversize to allow for use in any of the barrels.  Firepower, not target accuracy was the objective.  Also remember that ammunition manufacturing was in its infancy.