Guns International #: 101532564
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Guns International #: 101532564
Category - Antique Rifles - Percussion
- Civil War Rifles
Seller's Information
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Seller: Brent Wilburn
Company: Antique Arms, Inc. Member Since: 11/19/15
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Wilburn
State:
Georgia
Zip: 30052
Country: United States
Phone: (678) 471-1432
Phone2: (678) 471-1432
Premium Seller
Active Listings: 36
Total Listings: 580
Seller Type:Private Seller
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns and accessories.
Payment Methods:
Money Order, Certified Check
Fantastic London Armory 1863 Dated "LAC"
P53 Enfield Rifle
Description: This is a high condition London Armoury Pattern 1853 3 Band Musket in Caiber .577 as imported by the Confederacy during the Civil War. This one is a bit fancier than most as it has the extra checkering on the stock and forend. In England, these were called "Volunteer Patterns" but I've seen old Bannerman's Surplus Catalogs from the 1920's refer to these as "Jefferson Davis" Rifles....perhaps they went to officers in the South. The interesting thing about these LAC Volunteer Patterns was that you could also purchase a special .45 Caliber Barrel with Kerr Rifling that would drop right into this rifle by simply changing out the barrel and ramrod. These were meant to be an affordable alternative to the much more expensive Whitworth Target Rifle and best of all, it allowed a volunteer to drill with his unit as a standard infantry rifle but compete in shooting competitions with the target barrels. London also simply sold them with the .45 Caliber barrel which they called the Kerr Rifle. It is documented that the Confederacy had at least 28 Kerr Rifles on hand in the Western Theater that were used during the Battle of Atlanta.. This one just has the .577 Barrel but it would be the perfect platform if someone had a Kerr Barrel or a reproduction barrel as a few of them were made up about 5-10 years ago. This one is dated 1863 on the lock and the stock roundel has been re-stamped 1869 over the original 1863/64. I'm not sure what to make of this as The London Armoury went out of business in 1866 and wouldn't have been around in 1869 and the P53 was all but obsolete by 1866 when the Snider was introduced. Was this rifle a Confederate orphan...stuck in the pipeline somewhere between Great Britain or a Confederate Warehouse in Bermuda or Nassau awaiting transport through the blockade. I know there were 5 warehouses full of Confederate goods in St George, Bermuda in 1865 when the last Confederate Port of Wilmington, NC was captured in Jan. 1865...effectively cutting off almost all supplies to the South. The goods in Bermuda were sold off at 5 different s throughout 1865-66 with goods being shipped to New York, Canada, or back to England. See Chapter 10 titled "Where Did It All Go?" in the book, "The English Connection" by Pritchard and Huey, Pgs 539-553. Another possibility is that it could this have been captured trying to run through the blockade? There was a very large surplus of 120,000 rifles sold by the US Government in 1868-9 in New York....this no doubt included many nearly new Enfields that were captured trying to run through the Union blockade that were confiscated by the Prize Court in New York. Most of the ships that were captured were British owned manned by English crews so the Prize Court was established to decide whether the ship was engaged in legal commerce or running contraband to the South. Most of the time, the crews were released and they'd go back to Bermuda or Nassau to run more contraband as they were considered non-combatants. Perhaps this is one of those confiscated items and as it was likely in new condition, a dealer in the late 1860's took it upon himself to restamp the stock date so that it could be sold as new rather than as war surplus. The London Armoury was the only private manufacturer in Europe that could produce a military rifle with completely interchangeable parts. The only other manufacturer was Enfield which was government owned. Both factories purchased their tooling from Ames Manufacturing in Chicopee Mass., USA and American technicians were sent over to supervise the manufacturing process. This new way of manufacturing went back to the Hall Rifle mfd at Harpers Ferry and was called "The American System". That said, a London Armoury P53 is the BEST P53 ever made! Overall Condition is NRA Antique Fine Plus. The rifle shows age but extremely little use. It is completely untouched, no cleaning on the brass furniture, nobody's ever added finish to the wood...it's what collectors call an attic gun. The barrel still shows 80% of its original blue left that's mixing with patina on the barrel and no pitting around the nipple or bolster. There is still some bright blue on the barrel bands with the rest flaked and turning to brown. The case colors on the lock have faded out to a dark grey. The markings are perfect with the London Commercial Proof house marks on the barrel, the 25 bore gauge...aka .577", and the little "LAC" stamps. Tthe grain on the walnut stock is still raised having seen very little use. Bore is Excellent. Screws are nice.plete with original ramrod and sling swivels. Nice chance to own what very may well be a Confederate Orphan that never made it to the South during the Civil War. That said, we're just going to price this as a very nice quality Enfield. If we could prove it was Confederate, it would go for triple that. You won't find a better made Enfield than an LAC, nor one as nice at this price! Antique, Pre-1898. Percussion. No FFL Required. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail to Lower 48 States $60.00. SOLD Antique: Yes Manufacturer: London Armoury Company Manufacture Date: 1863 |
Guns International #: 101532564
Guns International #: 101532564