What is The Spenser 22?

Answer 1

In 1863, two guns that changed the course of firearms history were first delivered to the U.S. government. These are the Henry and Spencer repeaters. These arms were among the first to use rimfire cartridges. The Henry was not actually designed as a military weapon. Some were purchased by the Army due to the emergency of the war. The Spencer, however, was specifically intended for military service. Almost 100,000 rifles and carbines were delivered on federal contracts before the end of the Civil War, not to mention state purchases. The Spencer Repeating Rifle Company went on to produce improved models after 1865. Unfortunately, they never got the really big government or foreign contracts needed to stay in business after the war. The company closed and was sold to the Fogerty Rifle Company in 1869, who in turn were bought by Winchester.

It is no coincidence that Spencer carbines and rifles are quite similar to the corresponding Sharps models. Christopher Spencer was very familiar with the durability problems patent arms had experienced in service trials. He incorporated the best features of the most successful breechloader in his design. In fact, Spencer purchased complete barrels from the Sharps company for his first Navy rifles. Internal lock components are identical to the corresponding Sharps parts, except the sear, which must be ground a little to clear the Spencer magazine tube. Since the lock was one of the most vulnerable parts of a weapon, this interchangeability became a strong selling point. Spencers could be repaired with Sharps parts already on hand.

The military Spencers of 1863 were all chambered for the 56-56 cartridge, which was developed by Crittenden and Tibbles about 1861. This firm supplied Smith and Wesson with the first cartridges made under the latter's rimfire patents of 1854. In an attempt to make militarily useful ammunition, the 56-56 features the largest case that was practical to form at the time. When fired in a rifle, this round would approach the performance of the 58 caliber musket then in use.

During the War Between the States, the relatively low power of the 56-56 was not a great handicap. Most battles were fought at much less than 400 yards. Here, the cartridge was more than adequate. It also had the distinct advantage of light recoil. This was especially true for the rifle, which weighs almost ten pounds. In May of 1863, Spencer rifles became the first of the repeaters to be issued. They had an immediate and profound effect on tactics. Shortly after receiving the new rifles, Wilder's Lightning Brigade defeated a Confederate force several times their own number at Hoover's Gap, Tennessee. In July, Irvin Gregg's cavalry division, including George Custer's brigade, stopped Jeb Stuart's southern troopers at Gettysburg. The Confederate cavalry was attempting to flank the Army of the Potomac in support of Pickett's ill fated charge. The Southerners had fought these same Federal troopers to a standstill at Brandy Station, only three weeks before. The Confederate horsemen then managed to hold the Yankee cavalry in check a week later at the battles of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville. Non of the handful of units in the Army of the Potomac equipped with Spencer rifles took a major part in these battles.

The 5th and 6th Michigan cavalry had been rearmed in May of 1863 with Spencer's repeaters. Before July, their main posting had been picket duty in the Washington D.C. area. At Gettysburg, they held the center of the Federal line that stopped the southern cavalry. Not only was the Federal mounted service coming of age, so were their weapons. A good case can be made that, had Stuart's flanking movement been successful, reinforcements would not have been so readily available to the besieged Federal line. Then, Pickett's charge may well have carried the day.

The M-1865 is the Spencer of the Indian Wars era. The only major changes are a reduction in caliber to .50" and 20 inch barrels for the carbines, down from the M-1863's 22 inches. Rifles remained at 30 inches. This, and all later military Spencers, are chambered for the 56-50 cartridge. The round was actually developed by the US Ordinance Department during the Civil War. Its introduction in March of 1865 was just barely too late for service in that conflict.

The limiting factor in the Spencer design is overall cartridge length. Cases longer than about 1.75 inches will not feed through the action. By using a lighter bullet and slightly larger powder charge, the 56-50 improved on the ballistic performance of the 56-56 about as much as was possible.

The 50 caliber Spencer went on to develop an enviable reputation on the frontier. This in spite of the fact that the round was under powered for the wide open west, even when it was first introduced. Spencers were the standard issue weapon of mounted troops for a decade after 1865, with few exceptions. Their firepower saved the day in many actions. When it came to a close fight, such as Beecher's Island in eastern Colorado, the repeaters were hard to beat. In a cost cutting move, they were finally superseded by the single shot Model 1873 Springfield carbine. The changeover started late in 1874, five years after the Spencer company went out of business. Some units were equipped with Spencers well into 1876. They continued to be issued to teamsters and settlers well after their departure from front line service. Westerners prized them as a handy saddle gun. Many were in use as late as the turn of the century. Their cartridges were loaded commercially at least through 1919.

Models and Types

The greatest difference between the various Spencer models is the cartridge extraction system. Model 1863 and 1865 Spencers use a long blade on the left of the breech block carrier. In the M-1865, this blade is held forward with a helper spring to make single loading easier. M-1867 guns use the Lane patent extractor, a spring loaded tooth mounted on the centerline of the breech block carrier. The models of 1868 use a short blade relocated to the left of the breech block carrier.

With the addition of Breechloader II to NSSA events, we can now enjoy the singular pleasure of competing with history's first general issue military repeater. All that is needed is a center fire breechblock and a flat faced magazine follower from S&S, about sixty 50-70 cases and a reasonably well supplied loading bench. There are several models to choose from, both rifles and carbines. In addition, excellent reproductions of the M-1865 have recently become available through Lodgewood.

Reloading Tips

There are some peculiarities that may be encountered when preparing a Spencer for use today. First, most Spencers have been dry fired, some a lot. Dry firing will pound the firing pin, which is case hardened, into the rim area of the chamber, which is not. The result is a dent of variable severity in the barrel breech. Often this dent will be bad enough to prevent cartridge chambering. If an otherwise correct cartridge will not seat completely, it may be necessary to find and carefully remove the dent.

Spencer cases are not currently available, so other types must be converted. The easiest cases to modify are 50-70's, but most rims are a little too large in diameter for Spencer chambers, the original 50-70 specification is .670". Turn them down to .650" and they will fit fine. Some of the newer 50-70 case rims are being made slightly undersize, due to the popularity of centerfire Spencer conversions.

Two other cases can be formed into Spencer rounds with a suitable neck expander. 348 Winchesters are the most readily available but, due to their smaller rim, these will only extract with the M-1867 Lane extractor. French Lebel cases often work well. However, their rims are also occasionally a little too small to extract reliably with the blade type extractor. In addition, they can be rather difficult to find in boxer primed versions.

A problem that occasionally appears is inability to close the breech on an apparently correct case. This is caused by the chamber's rim cut being less than .065" deep. The result can be negative headspace when using 50-70 based cases, which will prevent closing of the action. If this problem is encountered, the front face of the rim must be thinned. If the back face is thinned instead, which is much easier, primers may protrude when fully seated. It is very important to seat primers fully flush with the case. If a primer is not quite seated, the chance of a magazine explosion is great.

Case length for 56-56 rounds will vary with the type of bullet chosen. Original style bullets can require cases as short as .90". Some Rapine bullets will function quite well with cases up to 1.1". Case length for 56-50 rounds should be between 1.15" and 1.18". Often the action will function with shorter cases, however, exceeding the maximum length almost always results in jams.

Some case modification directions do not mention neck reaming as the final step. It can be skipped, but the necks will be so stiff that gas leakage back through the action is almost guaranteed. Best results are usually obtained by trimming to length then resizing before reaming to get a reasonable neck thickness. A 33/64" (.5156") reamer is commonly available and works quite well for this application. Do not neglect to anneal before the first loading, or there is a good chance of cases splits.

As for reloading dies, if you already have a set of RCBS 50-70 dies, you are in luck. The sizer and shell holder will work perfectly. All that is needed to load Spencer ammo is an appropriate neck expander plug and seat/crimp die. RCBS and Rapine will sell these separately. Otherwise, full 56-56 or 56-50 Spencer sets can be ordered through RCBS, Springfield Minute Man and Rapine. Be prepared, they are semi-custom and thus not exactly cheap.

When it comes to selecting a bullet mold, Spencer shooters have a wide range of choices. But, it will be necessary to know the groove diameter of your gun. Due to the very deep rifling popular in the 1860's, groove diameter of model 1863 Spencers can be as large as .540" although .535" is more common. To insure that the soft lead bullets would fill any bore in which they might possibly be fired, even if damaged in transport, the average bullet diameter of original rounds is about .55". The post war models usually slug out at .515", although .518" is not especially rare. The Springfield rebuilt M-1863's tend to have the tightest bores. As with any antique gun, it is a very good idea to slug your bore and order a mold a couple of thousandths oversize.

Remember that the Spencer design uses a tubular magazine. Whatever mold is chosen, be sure it is a flat nose design. The original bullets are fairly sharp and would not be safe with modern centerfire ammunition. In fact, they were not entirely safe with rimfire ammunition. Magazine explosions, while rare, were not unknown.

Rapine produces a good selection of Spencer bullet molds. Their catalog lists a 370 grain slug for 56-56 chamberings and a 375 grain weight for 56-50's. In addition, they list several 50 caliber molds that would be suitable, if another weight is desired. An excellent all around bullet for most any 50 caliber antique weapon with limited case capacity can be made by cutting down a Lyman 515141 mold to cast a bullet with just two grease grooves. The cut down modification will weigh about 375 grains when cast in wheel weight. This design's flat nose is large enough to be safe in tubular magazines.

As to casting alloys, all of the Civil War breech loaders of my experience have preferred alloyed lead. Wheel weight or a 50/50 mixture of wheel weight and pure lead is almost guaranteed to shoot better than plain lead.

Spencers generally shoot best with FF, or the new(ish) GOEX CTG black powder. They also generally group tighter when using magnum primers. Forty to forty-five grains is a good starting load. FFF will usually produce higher velocities, but groups will be about 25% larger. Often a light load is desirable for short range target shooting. Thirty to thirty-five grains works well. In order to maintain optimum compression of the charge, a card or wool felt wad should be placed over the powder with reduced loads. The white "Wonder Wads" in 50 caliber size work very well for both 50 and 52 caliber Spencers. Wads are also available treated with a lubricating grease. The yellow color is distinctive. They don't generally work as well. The grease seems to find its way into the powder charge, especially in hot weather.

In chronographing many different Spencer loads, standard deviations have always been surprisingly low. Values for the loads presented in the table shown ranged from only 3.1 to 8.6 FPS for the carbine and 10.3 to 15.1 FPS for the rifle. The higher values of the long gun are probably due to the fact that its bore, while very good, isn't perfect. The carbine used does have a shiny mint barrel. Unfortunately, I didn't have an M-1860 Spencer to chronograph. They generally produce velocities similar to the 56-50 loads presented.

One problem peculiar to the 56-56 is jams due to the bullet being turned out of its case while passing through the action. This failure can be eliminated by using a fairly hard bullet alloy and a solid crimp. Obviously, the correct reloading dies are required to make reliable ammunition, if the magazine is to be used. In order to get a feel for the Spencer before diving in with your bank account, 50-70 dies can usually be adjusted to load rounds that will shoot well. It is impossible to crimp using these dies. A sort of crimp can be applied by removing the decapping pin from a 50-70 sizer. Then gently run the finished rounds through until just the neck is swaged.

On the Firing Line

There are some wide spread prejudices against Spencers that have made their appearance on the line an all too rare occasion. The first is the inescapable fact that they won't shoot quite as fast as a Henry. In the time it takes a typical Henry shooter to get off 8 or 9 rounds, a Spencer will send 6 or 7 down range. This is a disadvantage, but not as much as shooting a muzzle loader in carbine matches. With practice, one can get very close to Henry speed, unless you are a lefty. The problem is mostly caused by the fact that the hammer must be cocked between shots.

Another complaint is the seven round magazine. This can be a serious disadvantage on the pigeon board, since there are eight targets. By starting with a cartridge in the chamber, eight shots are available before reloading. That means 100% hits are required in this event, while the Henry shooters can miss as many as four birds. A helpful trick is to hold a couple of spare rounds between the knuckles of your off hand. Then, when the magazine is empty and only one or two targets are left, the gun can be single loaded very quickly. This option is not nearly as convenient for the unlucky Henry shooter. If reloading becomes necessary, the Spencer's magazine can be refilled far more rapidly than a Henry. If everyone is missing and both the Henry and Spencer must be reloaded, the Spencer armed skirmisher can overtake a Henry shooter. For hanging targets, eight rounds are usually more than sufficient. A positive advantage of the Spencer design is that the magazine is safer to reload, since the muzzle is always pointed down range. If Spencer shooters were allowed to use a Blakslee quickloader on just the pigeon board, the Spencer's biggest single handicap would be eliminated. ( I can't resist slipping in an unabashed suggestion to the rules committee.)

A common misconception is that Spencers are more difficult to operate and prone to jamming. With the wrong ammunition, or a weak magazine spring, this is true. However, a properly prepared Spencer is as smooth and reliable as any Henry on the line.

The best advantage of a Spencer is the outstanding accuracy of these arms. The author's M-1868 carbine has produced 1 ¼ " groups at 100 yards. One particular M-1865 rifle shot a 2 ¼ " group the first time it was fired this century, and using the magazine.

Like almost all Civil War carbines, Spencer's short guns shoot really high, 12" to 18" at 50 yards with original sights. Rifles are much better. They generally print about 8" high at 50 and 4" at 100 yards.

Once the shooting is over, Spencers are probably the easiest Civil War weapons there are to clean. Just open the action, turn the gun upside down and wash and oil the bore. If the mechanism needs attention, which isn't too often, remove the lever pivot screw and the whole assembly will fall out in your hand.

So, if you enjoy shooting something different, like me, bring a Spencer to the line. They have a certain unrefined mechanical charm that few repeaters can match. It won't take long to understand why they became so popular so quickly during the war.

Load and Muzzel Velocity TableLoad M-1865 Rifle, 30" bbl. N.M. Carbine, 20" bbl. 35 gr. GOEX FF 931 FPS 873 FPS 40 gr. GOEX FF 1016 FPS 965 FPS 35 gr. GOEX CTG 939 FPS* 883 FPS* 40 gr. GOEX CTG 1033 FPS 996 FPS * This load gave the lowest standard deviation in both the rifle and carbine.All loads used the following components.

• Cut down Dixie 50-70 cases.

• Shortened Lyman 515141 bullet cast in 50/50 soft lead/wheelweight, 375 gr.
• Bullet lube 50/50 Bore Butter/Bee's Wax.
• Winchester Large Rifle Magnum Primers.
• 35 gr. loads used Ox Yoke 50 cal. "Wonder Wads" over powder.

Chrony chronograph located 15 feet from muzzle. No wind, temp 820. Cartridge ConfusionThere is a lot of confusion with regard to Spencer cartridges. This is due in no small part to their peculiar designations. Much has been printed about Spencer calibers and cartridges, a large portion of it is not correct. At the time of their introduction, it hadn't occurred to anyone to name cartridges by the caliber of the barrel for which they were intended. Therefore the first metallic ammunition was designated simply by its body diameter. Thus the cartridge that fits the Model 1863 rifle and carbine was called the "Number 56 Cartridge", since the weapon for which it is intended had a chamber of about .56". The actual barrel caliber is .52". When a 50 caliber round was first investigated, it became obvious that the chamber diameter designation was not going to work. The new round would also be .56" in body diameter. At that point, another designation was introduced. This method uses the diameter at the head and mouth of the cartridge. Thus the No. 56 became the 56-56 and the new 50 cal. round became the 56-52.

To add even more confusion, Springfield was also developing a 50 cal. round for the reduced bore M-1865 Spencer and, supposedly, all future carbines. This one was a great improvement over the commercial ammunition then being produced. It featured a cartridge case that covers and protects the bullet's grease grooves. In a foreshadowing of future designations based on barrel caliber, this became the 56-50. It was also known as the 50 U.S. Carbine and, in spite of its government roots, the 50 Spencer.

There was considerable debate during development of the 56-52 and 56-50 between Christopher Spencer and Steven V. Benet of Frankford (incidentally, father of the poet of the same name). Benet held that the bullet was better protected by a longer cartridge case. Spencer maintained that the heavy crimp used would damage the bullet's nose or even cause it to strip, thus ruining accuracy. The result was that there were two cartridges available for 50 caliber Spencers. The two rounds are different but interchangeable. The 56-50 is the first generally issued inside lubricated rimfire cartridge. The bullet's grease grooves are covered by the cartridge case. In the 56-52, The bullet's grease grooves are exposed. The Army almost exclusively issued the Springfield designed 56-50 ammunition, even if it was commercially made.

Civil War contract arms were all originally made in 52 caliber with 6 groove rifling. Over 11,000 of these were refinished and converted at Springfield to 50 caliber. Most also had Stabler's patent magazine cutoff added to allow use as a single shot. This work was done from late 1865 through the early 1870's. The conversions can easily be distinguished by their three groove rifled barrel liners. All other military models are 50 caliber. While these are the two common calibers of Spencer firearms, other chamberings exist. A few very rare and valuable sporting rifles were produced just after the Civil War, mostly from condemned parts. The greater number of these used a bottlenecked 44 caliber cartridge based on the 56-52 case. There are also a very few early prototypes in various small caliber chamberings, particularly 38 and 46 straight.