Guns International #: 103025075
Seller's Inventory #: 247616

Category - Civil War Rifles - Antique Rifles - Cartridge

Category
Civil War Rifles
Antique Rifles - Cartridge

SCARCE MERIDEN Mfg. Co. MILLER .58 RIMFIRE CONVERSION Model 1861 Rifle CT PARKERS, SNOW & CO. Percussion Rifle-Musket

Description:
SCARCE MERIDEN Mfg. Co. MILLER .58 RIMFIRE CONVERSION Model 1861 Rifle CT 

PARKERS, SNOW & CO. Percussion Rifle-Musket

Here we present a Meriden Manufacturing Company Miller Conversion of a Parkers, Snow, & Company Model 1861 Percussion Rifle-Musket to a .58 Caliber Rimfire Breech Loading Rifle in Meriden, Connecticut. Only approximately 2,000 Civil War era rifle-muskets were converted by the Meriden Manufacturing Co. circa 1865-1867 to the Miller patent breech loading system for use with .58 rimfire ammunition.

Production of the U.S. Model 1861/63 rifle musket was in excess of 1 million during the American Civil War between Springfield Armory, Harpers Ferry and about 20 different contractors. It represented a streamlined and, in some ways, technologically advanced musket capable of accurate fire when compared to previous generations of American muskets. Yet it was adopted during a period of rapid innovation that would make it obsolescent before the war drew to a close. Many conversions appeared toward the end seeking to take advantage of metallic cartridge technology for a faster rate of fire. Such examples were the Snider, Joslyn, Needham, Peabody, and the most successful, the Allin, and this was not even all of them. This conversion, undertaken by the Meriden Manufacturing Company of Connecticut, produced the “Miller Model 1861”. The conversion was named for the patent holders William H. and George W. Miller. In the system, a release catch found along the top of the barrel was used to brake the action open along a hinge, exposing the breech for inserting a cartridge. The patented arrangement was featured in Parkers, Snow & Company Model 1861 rifles.

The Parker Snow Contract Model 1861 was the chosen host for this conversion. The lock is stamped with a large spread-winged eagle over “U.S.” and marked “PARKERS’ SNOW & CO. / MERIDEN, CONN” in front of the hammer. The date of “1864” is stamped back of the hammer. This rifle being dated 1864 is believed to be the product of the James Mulholland Contract of 1861 of which only 5,502 were delivered. According to Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms, “it represents the first venture in firearms manufacturing by Charles Parker of Meriden, Connecticut. Originally a manufacturer of hardware, he soon, after the Civil War, in 1866-1867 formed what was to become the most famous of all-American shotgun Manufacturers, the famous “Parker Brothers”. These are known to have been issued to New York and Maryland militias after the war.

The overall condition is very good. The action is excellent. The bore is bright with sharp, strong rifling. The stock has a short, thin split along the grain on the left stock flat (behind the front lock screw head) where it is thin due to the conversion; otherwise, solid stock throughout.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 39 inches.

Caliber: .58 Rimfire

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$3400

#247616
 

Antique: Yes

Price: $3,400.00
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