Another Spencer Replica Question

[Fighting Bob Evans]

I have a Taylors replica in .45 S&W. I know there is (or was) another replica manufacturer somewher (I believe) in the Midwest. I think the person's name was Romano and his Spencer carbine was in the $2,000-3,000 price range.

I think his replicas are just in the .56-50 caliber.

Has anybody bought one and, if so, how do they perform?

[Rosoce Coles]

I don't own one but I have handeled one and they are spectacular.  I'm not sure I would pay that much for one but hey if money were no object, its always nice to have the best.  By the by, how do you like your 45?  I have a pair of 1872s in 45 schofield and have thought that it would be fun to have a spencer to match but I'm a little hun up on the higer price and the non origional caliber.  I have an origional in 56-50 but have been thinking of a taylors as a more reliable shooter. 

[Fighting Bob Evans]

Roscoe: I like the .45, but I've got to admit that it sure is finicky about the ammunition that it'll take.  Case length has to be perfect or she won't feed.

If you were to use it in a match...or anywhere...and you wanted to be sure that it would feed all your rounds, you'd have to cycle all your ammunition before hand (which can be done with the hammer at half-cock) to make sure it'd accept 'em. It's kind of a bear to have a jam and try to fix it.

I think the gun's fit and finish are great and with my Blakeslee quick loader it's a hoot to shoot. I'll admit that the retail price is on the high side (but my FFL gave me a break on his price to me).

I've heard tales that the extractor can cause problems but (knock on wood) I've not had any to date.

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[Two Flints]

Fighting Bob,

What ammo are you using in your 45 Spencer.  I have been using Ten-X 200 grain RNFPs and have had no trouble at all loading and extracting rounds.  They  seem to work just fine for me.  But, if I hesitate on the lever action too much JAM!

Which Blakeslee case do you have?  Made by whom?  Why did you select that particular maker?  Been wanting to get one, but not sure who makes the best repro.

Two Flints

[Fighting Bob Evans]

My Blakeslee was purchased through www.civilwarleather.com and its a wood block drilled for ten tubes (included), leather wrapped, with sling and marked "Blakeslee Cartridge Box, U.S., Patd December 20, 1864, R.Gaylord, Chicopee, Mass.". Price is around $225 plus shipping.

My ammunition is Ten-X, 200 grain RNFP.

Yes, I did fail to mention that you do have to be authoritative when you throw the lever or you'll have a jam for sure. But, some times, it just won't take certain rounds (so I just stuff 'em in my Schofields instead).

Why did I pick this particular model? It was the only one that I ever found (I "heard" about the website on the SASS wire). I believe that there's a smaller Quickloader at this same website (smaller meaning it holds fewer tubes), probably at a slightly lower price.

[Two Flints]

Fighting Bob,

There are two other places I know of for Blakeslee Cartridge holders - one is BlockadeRunner.com; they sell their Blakeslee for I think $99.00,  and the other is Taylor's, the importer of the Spencer, they sell.  The cost for theirs is around $225.00, I think.   

What I did, is order a cartridge belt with loops for just my Spencer.  It also has a pouch for additional rounds.     
When I go coyote hunting, now, I carry the Spencer (great in the woods of Miane) and plenty of ammo.  If I don't see any coyotes, I do some target shooting, so it's not a lost day.

Two Flints 

[Pinchony Creek]

 Two Flints I have the .44 Russian and it feeds ok but you can't do it slow, i use the
 same bullet for .44-40 215 gr. RNFP OAL  stay between 1.235 - 1.255 feeds good i
 chose it because it holds 9 rounds only have to load one on the clock most of the
 SASS events i start by loading the 10 round first after staging the gun open the
 breech just enough to load the round , 10 shots now ready for the stage.

[Fighting Bob Evans]

Two Flints: I went to the Blockaderunner website and looked at their Quickloader and it looks pretty much like mine (except mine is the larger ten tube model). I think that at $99 it's a bargain (in comparison to what I paid).

[Two Flints]

Fighting Bob,

Yeah, it's cheaper, but someone told me their Blakeslee was made in Pakistan and the quality isn't what it could be, but then again, I really don't know, other than what I have been told.  I guess the one you have is considered the best repro out there, and you can get either the 6 or 10 tube model, I think for the same price.

One antique web site I went to has a 13 tube Blakeslee  for sale (original in mint condition) and they only want $11,500.00 for it!  I may just go for it!  Yeah, right!

Two Flints

[Tuolumne Lawman]

   My original 1869 mdel SRC .56-.56 SPemcer feeds like a dream! two little fingers on the lever.   Hmmmmm, they just gon't make them like they used to 145 years ago <g>

[walta44]

Any info. on making blanks for re-enacting? have Taylor 56-50. Will shortened and crimped 50-70 brass work? Appreciate any help.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy,

I read somewhere that in the movie Unforgiven" they used a modified 50-70 blank in the Spencer.  There are some plastic blanks that work in both 56-56 and 56-50 Spencers availabele from some of the Civil War suttlers.  They us a 209 shotgun primer.  First you pour in some BP through the base, and then put the primer in (the nose is sealed).  Unfortunately, they only hold about 15-20 grains of BP, and are anemic.  I would get some of those, drill them out from the nose, add BP after the primer, then plug the hole in the nose with a small styrofoam ball or green florist's styrofoam.

When loading blaanks for Cowboy re-enacting, I use a 44-40 case full of BP and a styrofoam ball in place of the bullet.  I use it in both 44-40 and 45 Colt guns.  Use real BP, though, as Triple 7 and Pyrodex just don't seem to "boom" as much.

[klw]

The original Spencer replica was an effort by Dane Piper and Ken Howell.  Piper provided the money and Howell was to do the gunsmithing.  Got as far as a prototype before Howell backed out.  Don't know why he departed nor any of the circumstances about it.  Dane continued to try to do this and is still plugging away.  One of his guns has been for sale on Dixie's web site for some time.  I ordered one, probably nine years ago.  Doubt that he has supplied any significant number.  The one person I knew who had one said, well, it had feeding problems.

The Romano Spencers are a work of art.  Larry Romano, however, doesn't like making them because they are too labor intensive.  Rather than quit, he raised his prices from roughly $3000 to over $4000.  I bought mine years ago.  A 56-50 rifle.  Absolutely beautiful.  Worked perfectly.  I sold it, however, because it would have made me sick to have scratched it up.  Larry Romano does absolutely beautiful work.  Makes quite a number of interesting rifles and accurized replica civil war revolvers (that isn't mentioned on his web page).

I've got a Romano Maynard that I do shoot.  And yes it made me ill when I banged it up a bit.  Works perfectly.

There was another fellow who was trying to make Spencers.  I've long since forgotten his name.  This final fellow, however, was trying to buy up enough original parts to use those parts to build guns.  As far as I ever knew he never got that effort going.

[mtmarfield]

   Greetings!

 As far as feeding in my 1860 Romano goes, it's nearly flawless; but you MUST work the action fast, throwing the lever down & back up in "a single motion", with no hesitation in between down and upstroke. This is peculiar to the design, and The Spencer Repeating Rifle Catalogue reproduced in Satterlee's "Ten Old Gun Catalogs" gives directions to this effect for loading & firing.
 Now wouldn't it be dandy if someone would print a facsimile of that beautiful Catalogue for us.

                     Be Well!

                                         MTM
                                      5-30-05