Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
I have an early New Model Army, one of the few with a barrel address that does not include the words New Model. It has an odd front sight and loading ram and latch. I assumed they were left over parts from Beals or Elliot Army models, but I have not been able to find references to them in Ware. Anyone know what they are?
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Re: Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
Hello,
I suspect they are period field replacements fabricated by a gunsmith probably because the sight, latch post and loading lever got damaged. The Beals Armies, Old Model Armies and transition New Model Armies had dovetailed cone front sights, which I believe were made of German silver so it would have been fairly easy to knock out the old sight, cut and shape a piece of brass and tap it back in place. I believe all of the Army revolvers had a screw in latch post. From the picture yours looks like it too was dovetailed into the barrel probably because the original threads were damaged. It also looks like it may be made of brass. The loading lever also seems to be a replacement. The Remington levers have a pin, which is flush with the lever to keep the spring-loaded catch in place.
Bill
I suspect they are period field replacements fabricated by a gunsmith probably because the sight, latch post and loading lever got damaged. The Beals Armies, Old Model Armies and transition New Model Armies had dovetailed cone front sights, which I believe were made of German silver so it would have been fairly easy to knock out the old sight, cut and shape a piece of brass and tap it back in place. I believe all of the Army revolvers had a screw in latch post. From the picture yours looks like it too was dovetailed into the barrel probably because the original threads were damaged. It also looks like it may be made of brass. The loading lever also seems to be a replacement. The Remington levers have a pin, which is flush with the lever to keep the spring-loaded catch in place.
Bill
Re: Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
What Bill said....Gunsmith/Blacksmith replacement.....Jim
Re: Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
Thank you gentlemen. This NMA saw some hard use, and gunsmith fabricated substitute parts make sense. The cylinder also has a different serial number. Someone really wanted to keep this revolver working. It must have been one of their favorites. The auction house that sold it to me did not identify or explain the odd parts. They listed it as a transitional, in spite of the barrel address and the serial number (26156) on the bottom of the barrel, the left grip frame and trigger guard tab.
Re: Early New Model Army - odd front sight and loading arm latching assembly
The thing that makes it a transitional revolver is the original cone front sight and the two-line barrel address without the “New Model”. As for the serial number on the cylinder, Remington did not as a rule serialize their cylinders. According to Don Ware if the cylinders were marked some hand fitting was required to get the revolver to function properly. The cylinder was marked in order to match the cylinder to the frame after the bluing process. I have seen some cylinders with the complete serial number, some with partial serial numbers and some with unrelated numbers.
Bill
Bill