Lets get a pic thread rolling

Status
Not open for further replies.
I thought it had a lot of unnecessary parts; guess I was wrong. :eek: Someone call a gunsmith!

index.php


Sorry, NIGHTLORD40K , just couldn't resist. :evil:
Wondered when an old 1917 would show up, Gunny. :thumbup:

Always liked those derringers, doubleh, would be a great project to pass the time these days!

Regards,
hps
 
Couple of rattle can/sponge camo jobs. Top spring wardrobe, bottom late summer-winter.
48223042766_46e380971e_c.jpg

47979313331_ab3a3d8fea_n.jpg 47979257848_ddc03b30bb_o.jpg

ETA: I had my doubts as to durability when I put my first Krylon paint job on rifle above. Amazing how well the Krylon camo paints hold up with a couple of coats of flat krylon clear coat. The "winter" rifle above has seen at least 10-11 years of hard use and is no worse for the wear.

Regards,
hps
 
Last edited:
I'm posting this with a Colt 2nd gen 1860 Army to keep it firearms topical, but it's really to show off my new model 1840 "heavy" cavalry saber. The pistol is out of the 1979 Colt produced 200th anniversary of the US cavalry set so it includes grips with a facsimile inspector's cartouche. I won the sword in an online live auction back in February before the Kung-flu panic started in the US. Still, I won it for very little money compared to what the normal ACW common non-officer model sabers go for.

This is an M-1840 "heavy" cavalry saber and was made by the Emerson & Silver company of Trenton N.J. New Jersey raised a lot of cavalry troops during the ACW and at least the first three regiments of volunteers coincidentally trained at Fort Bayard in Trenton.
s8zjYiR.jpg

soL8Fpim.jpg rpRM69Bm.jpg
A full-strength Union regiment would have consisted of 12 troops of 100 men each not including officers and support. This is one of only 2700 each of the M-1840 "heavy" sabers ordered from Emerson & Silver by the state of New Jersey between 1863 and 1864--made at a time when all of the new cavalry sabers, being produced by companies such as Ames and Horstman, were the much more popular model 1860 "light" cavalry model. I guess the state was giving their volunteers a choice of the "heavy" or the "light" saber. The M-1840 was the standard cavalry saber during the Mexican war and was nicknamed "the old wrist breaker". It continued to be used in the ACW alongside the newer M-1860 but soon fell out of favor as the M-1860's became available starting in 1861. The M-1860 was just a scaled-down version of the M-1840, but was the most produced, and used, by the Union during the war and became the standard right up until the start of the 20th century. It was also copied in the South and of course, confiscated by capture or when found on the battlefield.

The blade on this example has never been sharpened nor marked up after it left the factory. The scabbard is almost as nice--with just a few spots of oxidation staining. In fact, the sword appears to have been unused and possibly never issued--a rarity for a period manufactured piece.

Being from the South, I would much prefer to have a Confederate used sword, but my bank account just can't handle what such pieces sell for now.

Cheers
 
Here's a weird one. In the 60s the Army experimented with some new concepts in weaponry. They were called S.P.I.W.s which stood for Special Purpose Infantry Weapons. Some fired "fleshettes" or little steel darts. Some fired conventional ammo, grenades of shotgun shells. Not sure what this one fired, but it is marked "5.6mm" (5.56?) so i'm guessing it is a rifle. Springfield Armory made some of these things, but Winchester and others submitted designs.

The third pic is the Museum Director holding a prototype Auto-ordinance design from 1942 They were looking for a cheaper and easier to build sub gun. The last pic shows some of the SPIW guns in the background. We have around twenty of the things.

The cavalry saber in the foreground is self explanatory. Buford was a one star at the time of the battle. He had two regiments of cavalry with him on July 1st 1863, outside of a town called Gettysburg, when he ran into what he first believed to be a Confederate raiding party. He soon realized that it was Lee's army. He dismounted his men and set up a hasty defense. His 1800 men held off the Confederates for one day, probably saving the Union. Gettysburg is only 80 miles from Washington. He was promoted by Lincoln after the battle and died from Typhoid Fever later in the year. The saber is inscribed "Maj. Gen." so we know it was presented to Buford after the battle. It is a standard 1860 model Ames Man. Co. cavalry saber.

Buford lived for a time in Rock Island, Illinois and I assume that is how we got the saber. Just glad we have it. It is a priceless artifact of American History.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6127[1].JPG
    IMG_6127[1].JPG
    114.7 KB · Views: 49
  • IMG_6126[1].JPG
    IMG_6126[1].JPG
    88.5 KB · Views: 47
  • IMG_5837[1].JPG
    IMG_5837[1].JPG
    163.5 KB · Views: 48
  • IMG_5782[1].JPG
    IMG_5782[1].JPG
    128.6 KB · Views: 48
Last edited:
tark

Is that an Ingram Model 6 submachine gun designed by Gordon Ingram in one of your photos? I seem to recall it was produced after WWII in as an alternative to the Thompson submachine gun and was marketed primarily to law enforcement agencies.
 
The cavalry saber in the foreground is self explanatory. Buford was a one star at the time of the battle. He had two regiments of cavalry with him on July 1st 1863, outside of a town called Gettysburg, when he ran into what he first believed to be a Confederate raiding party. He soon realized that it was Lee's army. He dismounted his men and set up a hasty defense. His 1800 men held off the Confederates for one day, probably saving the Union. Gettysburg is only 80 miles from Washington. He was promoted by Lincoln after the battle and died from Typhoid Fever later in the year. The saber is inscribed "Maj. Gen." so we know it was presented to Buford after the battle. It is a standard 1860 model Ames Man. Co. cavalry saber.

Buford lived for a time in Rock Island, Illinois and I assume that is how we got the saber. Just glad we have it. It is a priceless artifact of American History.

I'm just rereading my copy of "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara, which the Ted Turner produced movie "Gettysburg" was based on.

One of the early chapters, of course, is devoted to Buford's action in holding up the Confederates until the main Union army could get to Gettysburg to hold the high ground. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book is written in novel form, so Shaara shares what Buford must have been thinking. Having been stationed on the Texas frontier fighting the Sioux before the war, Buford had learned the advantages of using cavalry more like mounted infantry as the situation dictated. He also did not hold the saber in high regard as a fighting weapon by this point in history, so he had his men leave them behind. Instead, he made sure his men were equipped with I think were repeating Spencers. This was an important factor in his action before the battle.

In the movie, veteran western actor Sam Elliot played Buford admirably and much of his dialog was right out of the book.

Cheers
 
What to do in combat when your optic equipped rifle gets damaged and there are no backup iron sights on it? I know even back in the day in WW2 the Springfield 1903 in sniper configuration didn't have iron sights but when the scope gets damaged the rifle is pretty much useless past 25 yds.
The one in the movie had a laser sight on it, I didn’t put one on mine. Plus I have no plans of ever using it in combat. It was just a range toy.

Here it is after it had seen some rough combat range time.
5CBE681A-CC9C-40B9-92C1-1DBB163A3F1C.jpeg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top