Eric with his Smith Carbine (Poultney & Trimble 1861-1865)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- The Smith carbine is a percussion breech loader that used a cartridge made of India rubber that enclosed the powder. It expanded in the chamber, effectively sealing the gases within. These cases are plastic and hold about 35 grains of Goex FF. The slug is 370 grains made of mostly pure lead with a tad of tin to help it fill out better in the Rapine mould.
Also, thank you Civil War reenactors for giving me some advice to make my impression more authentic. Specifically, the buckle to my carbine sling needed to be on my back, not my chest, to spare my neck, and my saber was not hanging correctly. I've since learned how to improve this.
Also, I would like to extend an extra thank you to my friend Joe, whose iPhone camera work has made all of these videos possible. - บันเทิง
Ok I'm almost 4 years late seeing this but gotta say you shoot that Smith very well. Nice video.
Thank you very much! It was a good day. I should film a chapter two video with it.
@@littlehouseguy7782 Chapter 2 sounds good to me. Can you tell me what bullet diameter you use? .... .515 or larger? Thanks.
@@EBthere .519 inch for this particular one.
I just reread “Shot All To Hell” by Mark Lee Gardner which is about the James Younger gang’s bank raid on Northfield, Minnesota in 1876. A guy home from college borrowed a Smith carbine and some paper cartridges and killed one guy and also shattered Bob Younger’s elbow. That wound really slowed them down helping in their capture.
Yes. I have read about the incident. This is one of my "weakest" carbines, however.
Professional reenactors, please forgive my error in how I had the sabre hang. I have since been thoroughly instructed on the proper way to hang it in the future! I am not a reenactor but just a shooter who admires the dress. Nevertheless, I promise to improve my authenticity!
That's a tough question. I enjoy shooting both quite a bit, but since I have to choose, I'll choose the Maynard. I guess this is the case because I like the cartridge more. The Smith seems a bit wimpy, but that is probably due to the fact that I can't get much more than 35 grains in inexpensive plastic cases. I hear that they are "reduced" loads probably because the plastic walls of the case are thicker so that they can be reused multiple times.
Very nice shooting! Beautiful scenery, awesome piece of firearm and a piece of history from hard times...,
I wish you all the best!
Someday I will buy that guy also, but it is very expensive in our country or even not available in any shop now. But I am starting to gather the money!
Good luck in finding the pieces you want for your collection. I've been collecting for years. Many pieces I want are simply just too expensive for me.
@@littlehouseguy7782 Thanks! That is my goal and I am aiming for it!
Haha that older fella is always in the background in these videos. Awesome channel, subscribed!
Which one? They're all old! I am the baby of the group. Guess who they get to do all of the manual labor? Those guys built that range over thirty years ago. The President knows every gun, every battle, every cartridge, everything! When some topic comes up in conversation, the following week original memorabilia and artifacts from his collection about that conversation will casually show up and just be left out for people to notice. Special times at that place.
I just ordered a Pietta replica version of this, I'm so excited.
Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.
@@littlehouseguy7782 Boy was it hard to find. Pietta hasen't shipped any new ones to dealers yet.
@@pricklydingus8604 Maybe that is the case with replicas. Mine is an original, and every time I have been to an antique gun show, I have always seen them.
@@littlehouseguy7782 The Smith Carbine is a funny gun. An original in good condition isn't much more expensive than the repro by Pietta, but I wanted a new one, and an "artillery" model at that.
Man this thing is cool. I recently saw one had sold on Simpson LTD and I wanted to see what the action was like. Now I want one lol
Beautiful gun and beautiful video.
Thanks! I really do enjoy shooting the piece.
Thank you very much for the link.
Certainly!
Bravo, from France.
Merci beaucoup!
Salute from Germany and thank you for the video sir, great shooting!
Have you ever hunted with that gun?
Thank you. I don't have much hunting experience. I've also never hunted with this piece and don't think I would. This piece is rather underpowered with only 35 grains of FF black powder.. It works for quick and dirty in order to stop a person, but I don't think it would be good for a humane kill on an animal. Also, since the projectile slower, there is such a drop curve between 50 and 100 yards that it would be hard to land the shot exactly where you'd want it to for a clean kill. I would use my .45-70 for that.
What do Dixie Gunworks call them? I could not find them.
www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/2531/category/338/category_chain/578,342,338/product_name/KA0603+Smith+Empty+Cartridge+Case
Their online catalog is not very user friendly, so many times, I have to go to google and put in Dixie Gunworks and then the item I want. Somehow, it easily comes up but not by using the search box in their website catalog. Go figure!
Hello, my name is Jose Luis Ciccone, I am from Argentina, my father gave me a carbine that has been in the family for many years, I need information about what year it is and what ammunition it uses and I would like to restore it from now on, what you do is very good for reliving the story, thank you very much
You are very welcome, José. I really enjoy the art of black powder shooting. I actually spent six weeks in your country in early 2005 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Feel free to send me any photos to littlehouseguy@gmail.com, and I will do my best to help you out. ¡Qué la dispares!
Hello Eric
I very much like your vids.
Its great you provide so many different uniforms/outfits when shooting.
I do own a smith carbine S# 1390. Shout ne producers 1860. Now its that the upper lock has a little play when ist closed. About half millimetre. Would you Think its a big problem shooting it? Also habe a trapdoor 45-70 and so in getting a werndl mit the military but hunting stutzen.
Thank you for your compliments. I really do enjoy this sport and all of the history that goes with it.
Half a millimeter of play is a lot in my opinion. You may just break cases more often, however. Mine has very little play, but there is some. If I break a case, hot gas comes out, and it is a bit uncomfortable. Even with no play, cases tend to eventually break anyway. Perhaps there is a way to have a gunsmith work some of the play out. Either way, I think you can still shoot it. Just make sure your arm is clear of the area where the gun fits together, or you may get an uncomfortable surprise!
Great shot! Ill be in LA in August. lets go shoootin'
Sure thing!
The shooting range you are going looks so great. Not allowed here in Germany.
So what distance can you Shoot with your smith. And how far you go with the trapdoor? You load 45-70 with Blackpowder as well?
I'm sorry that this kind of shooting is not allowed in Germany. I am surprised. I knew that gun control was generally stricter in Europe than in the U.S., but I didn't know that there were no ranges like the one I shoot at. I generally shoot my Smith between 50 and 100 yards. However, the gun will go farther. I've not shot more than 200 yards with it. The bullet is heavy and slow, so there is quite a lot of bullet arc with it. The black powder shooting range that i shoot at only goes to 500 yards, so that is the farthest I have shot my Trapdoor rifles. (I have both a model 1873 and 1884.) However, those rifles can easily shoot twice that distance if necessary. I generally load my .45-70 cartridges with 63 grains of FF black powder.
@@littlehouseguy7782 you have to remember germany has less space and is denser populated than canada or the us. So its nearly impossible to provide the required safety for this kind of open range.
Btw: this gun is legal to own for anyone over 18 in germany, but you need a permit for the powder
@@Gulliolm Yeah, I hope it works out for you. I own two of Germany's great firearms: a Mauser 1871 and a Mauser 71/84.
Eric, do you have any preference between the smith and the maynard, the smiths used to be more popular amongst n-ssa shooters but now the maynard is more popular.
How could I have missed this question?!?! Sorry for the delay. There must be something with notifications. I guess if I had to choose between the two, I would go with the Maynard. I think the rubber cartridge of the Smith is interesting, and I really dig in-between technology guns, but I think the Maynard cartridge, being a brass drawn case with a flash hole in the base is better in regard to reliability and practicality. Also, I would say that it makes a better seal in the breech than the Smith does. The Smith cases are OK until one finally splits, and you will certainly get a surprise of hot gas when it does. It isn't all that big of a deal, but for sure the pressure loss will affect your ballistics.
Now I see that I did reply but replied the wrong way by just posting a general comment instead of posting it as a reply to you. Sorry for the error.
i had a smith once for a while.. but i went back to the musketoon...i like the musketoon better than any of them... but the sharps is ok.. i have used one of those a quite a few times
Yeah, they've all got their character. The Smith is really a novelty gun, the cartridge and how it loads. The modern plastic cases only allow for a wimpy charge, so it isn't a "powerful" piece, really.
Now that's what I call being "suited and booted", now all you need is a horse! P.S. were you using rubber cartridges for the Smith?
I used the plastic tubes that Dixie Gun Works offers. There are other companies that make rubber tubes with a metal flash hole so that they last longer. I have been happy with the plastic ones because they look like the black India rubber that was used. However, after multiple shots, the flash holes tend to get bigger and bigger. Therefore, I have to put a small piece of cigarette paper like Zig Zag paper at the bottom over the flash hole. Apparently, the plastic tubes from Dixie are considered "reduced" load tubes.
Try surgical tape on the backside of your plastic cartridges, probably a little easier than cigarette papers.@@littlehouseguy7782
@@jkeith7281 Nice suggestion.
Is it possible to use paper cartridges with the smith carbine ?
Yes, it is. I am not sure if you would want to. Remember that the Smith uses a rubber cartridge to seal in the gases. When you push the cartridge in the breech, only half of it is in. Then, when you close it, the two metal pieces of the breechblock literally make a "seal" in the middle of the cartridge length. I am not so sure paper would keep that seal against two metal pieces just closed together. The reason I say this is that I shoot the replica reloadable plastic cases Dixie Gunworks sells. Every once in a while after shooting them several times, they will split when I shoot, allowing hot gas to shoot out of the connection points in the breech. It isn't the most comfortable thing. Anyway, try it, but I think you may get a gas leak upon firing, which reduces your cartridge strength.
@@littlehouseguy7782 Thank you very much for your answer :)
How is this not being offered by Pedersolli?
I don't know. Low demand?
Where do you buy your rubber nylon sabots?
I bought those at Dixie Gunworks. They don't last indefinitely. The flash hole starts to get bigger, and when it gets really big, I have to cut a piece of cigarette paper over it and then fill the case with powder. Also, some will split, leaking gas out of the breech when firing.
thank you. I'll go check to see.
I think that your collection is wonderful, how many rifles and carabine have you?
You have many clothes to, show de bola ( show of bol) kkkk
Haha. I actually don't know the exact number, but I think I have about 40 guns in total. Almost all of them are original 19th century arms.
It’s very cute little rifle
I think it’s made for US
Horse units???
Yes, this is a cavalry piece. Breech loading was such an advance compared to muzzleloading when mounted on a horse. However, these little carbines shoot an under powered charge compared to a musket.
Good shooting
Thank you. I can do better with it now.
Can you tell me if is possible to put a scope on a Smith carbine ?
Nicolas Mamba I don't know for sure since we don't use scopes at our black powder range. However, looking at other black powder scopes, I think you could if it could handle a short barrel. I am no historian, but probably it would be historically inaccurate to do so if that is of any concern to you.
Actually my concern is for hunting purpose :) I'm not an historian myself, i don't know if a scope exist for the Smith carbine. But apparently not.
Nicolas Mamba I don't think a scope would exist since these carbines saw rough action while attached to the shooter, and also the muzzle sat in an attachment on the horse saddle. I have no hunting experience, but generally, I think most people are of the opinion that the Smith carbine is by in large underpowered for most hunting applications and generally doesn't do all that great past100 yards. Nevertheless, I got that dinger at 185 yards with 40 grains of Goex FFF behind it. However, you won't see me trying to knock out a big aggressive boar with it, especially with no side arm! I guess it could be good for pest control or getting a rabbit or turkey if no shotgun were around. The bullet is slow, so learning the arc at different yardages has also taken me longer.
A scope would be historically inaccurate not to mention destroy the history value of that old soldier. She is a real beauty!
Is this a repro or original? Great video!
D5quared91 Original!!
I am still learning the gun. It shoots high at 50 and 70 yards with 35 grains of FF Goex. 100 yards is the easiest shot because it is much closer to the exact point of aim.
D5quared91 We can see it
I want one, but on my budget, explaining $1000 for this to the wife would be unacceptable.
Bayan1905 Yeah, I almost understand. I am not married, so that isn't much of an issue. However, my mother doesn't really care for my collection and thinks I should be funneling money into doing more house repairs on my old 1926 house!
nice shooting!
popojoeexplode Thanks! I hope to grow with this piece and really become more effective. The slow moving bullet, however, really creates an arc that is hard to master at various distances.
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...is for....?
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D? Is that good or bad?