Picked up Maynard Carbine

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  • Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Picked up a Maynard Carbine wile also doing some work site surveys down in Winchester Va. part of an estate/collection of an NSSA shooter who passed away

    This is a late war/post war build and more a shooter than collectible. I still plan to look for more of a collectible at the next MACA show that happens.

    This shoots cartridges loaded with powder and lubed bullet and has a small hole in the back for the musket cap to ignite.

    Accuracy was pretty decent for short sight radius at 50 yards. I plan to just use it to shoot offhand at 25 busting clays on a board.

    I picked it up with some pre loaded plastic cartridges and already had some brass ones. Also got a mold. A bunch of cast hard and soft bullets as well as a sizer/ loader to size and push into the case. Cases are reusable and don’t need to be resized or Claire’s or anything. Just clean, load and push a bullet home
    I lubed up some of the already cast hard lead ones. Guy had 3 batches. 5HB, 10HB and 12HB

    Pic is 50 yards with front hand supported on a rest.
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    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,232
    Carroll County
    You must read the story of Toby. "Toby is a high private in the Mississippi Army..."

    "Nothing to do with the Maynard but load her up and point her north. If twenty of them don't clear out all Yankeedom, then I'm a liar, that's all."


    The Maynard is popular with skirmishers, who call it the BB gun. You will want to wear a welder's glove on your support hand.
     
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    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I think I may have known the gentleman who owned that carbine.

    He made a wise choice to use the plastic cases to load. I just finished loading 25 of my reduced capacity Brass cases and 25 of his plastic cases and the plastic is much easier to use. The loader/sizer loads the first few mm of the bullet but you need to pull it out and push in manually and the plastic is MUCH easier to do that. A full load plastic case recoil is also perfectly comfortable to me too. I wanted to buy the Brass case to have a more historical feel but I definitely will be using up those plastic ones for sure too.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    Did some shooting offhand at 25 yards today. I ordered a repro rear sight so I can cut it and slot it to center at 25 and 50 offhand

    I was happy with how well it shot at 25 yards though
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    was42

    Member
    Aug 19, 2010
    20
    Carney, MD
    A little Maynard history

    The Maynard Carbine

    More than 20,000 Maynard Second Model Carbines were produced between 1863 and 1865 to arm Federal cavalry units. Unlike the First Model Maynard, the Second Model was produced exclusively in .50 caliber. In addition, the Maynard tape primer system, patchbox, and tang sight common to the First Model were omitted, and the profile of the buttstock differs between these two variants.

    This percussion carbine was patented by Edward Maynard of Washington, D.C., December 6, 1859, and manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. Introduced into United States service in the late 1850s, it was put into mass production in 1861 and performed well in the hands of Federal troops. Its 20-inch barrel measures 36 7/8 inches in overall length, and has no forestock. The barrel tips for loading when the trigger guard lever is lowered. Percussion caps were required to fire a perforated .50 caliber brass cartridge that required hand extraction. Early versions included the Maynard tape primer system, but wartime exigencies forced its elimination. Both barrel and buttplate were blued, and the receiver of this arm was casehardened. Some were tinned for Navy use.

    Dr. Edward Maynard (1813-1891) was both a brilliant dentist and a gifted inventor. Born in Madison, New York, Maynard entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, but was later forced to resign due to poor health. Prior to the Mexican War, Maynard invented a mechanical priming system for use with percussion arms which was intended to replace the copper primers that had been used almost since the invention of this ignition system.

    The Maynard Tape Primer consisted of a thin shellacked paper tape which contained fulminate of mercury "packets" imbedded in its surface. When the hammer was cocked, a single primer would automatically advance over the ignition cone, or "nipple," thus eliminating the need to prime the arm as a separate step in the loading process. This system was incorporated into the U.S. Model 1855 rifle-musket, rifle, and pistol-carbine, and many older long arms were modified to employ the Maynard system as well. Tape primers were later abandoned due to their unsuitability for use in combat.

    Perhaps Maynard's most significant firearms invention was his tip-up single-shot metallic-cartridge breech loading rifle, which he patented in 1851. Early models employed the Maynard primer system, but before 1865, this ignition system was obsolete. The Maynard First Model Carbine was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1856, which sparked the formation of the Maynard Arms Corporation during the following year. The Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, later undertook the manufacture the Maynard rifles and carbines. Approximately 5,000 First Model Carbines were produced in 1858-59 in .35 and .50 caliber. The larger-bore models saw service with Union troops in New Mexico, and some state troops and U.S. Marines were armed with these early in the Civil War. Several Southern states including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina purchased Maynards from factory inventories prior to the outbreak of war, and contracts were given for production of additional arms.

    All told, these orders accounted for nearly half of the total production for the First Model Carbine. In addition to prewar purchases, the Confederacy also acquired Maynards through the capture of Federal armories located in southern states. The Maynard Second Model Carbine was produced between 1864 and 1865, with more than 20,000 produced to arm Federal cavalry units. Unlike the First Model Maynard, the Second Model was produced exclusively in .50 caliber. In addition, the Maynard tape primer system, patchbox, and tang sight common to the First Model were omitted, and the profile of the buttstock differs between these two variants.

    The Massachusetts Arms Company continued to produce Maynard rifles until 1890. These arms set a standard in both target and hunting activities in the United States. They proved to be extremely accurate, were well-fitted, and featured lapped barrels and interchangeable parts made of the best materials. Maynard rifles were available in a variety of grades ranging from an inexpensive gallery model to fancy-grade versions featuring adjustable long-range rear sights, engraving, and checkered pistol-grip stocks and forends, and in several models which ranged in caliber from .22 to .50. This proved to be a selling point, and customers were advised that, "You need not have several guns since you can buy interchangeable barrels for your Maynard action."

    In 1873, the addition of a special accessory made it possible to quickly convert these arms to chamber a thick-based Maynard center-fire cartridge that could be extracted with the fingers. This marked an early successful transition between these two ignition systems. Model 1882 Maynard rifles featured an improved centrally-mounted hammer with integral firing pin, and chambered a rimmed-case center-fire Boxer-primed cartridge similar to those still in use today. The Massachusetts Arms Company failed during the 1890s, due in part to the firm's inability or unwillingness to convert to newer mass-production methods, as well as to the rising popularity of the repeating rifle. The firm's assets were purchased by the Stevens Arms & Tool Company, also located in Chicopee Falls.

    After leaving West Point, Maynard served a brief apprenticeship in dentistry, establishing a practice in Washington, D. C. circa 1833. He proved to be a brilliant dental scientist, and helped bring dentistry from "the deplorable depths of quackery" to a science dedicated to the betterment of mankind. In eight short years he moved to a major position of prominence in the field of dentistry. By 1841, at age 28, he was one of the first recipients of the honorary degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery from Baltimore College. Maynard was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine from Western Medical College. Maynard's contemporaries sometimes referred to him as the blacksmith dentist because he spent so much time at the forge making better dental tools, including drills and other surgical instruments.

    A leading teacher, Dr. Maynard developed a number of ways to improve dental education. He was appointed Chairman of Theory and Practice at the Baltimore Dental College and held a similar position at the National University in Washington D.C. In these positions, Maynard insisted on aptitude testing which included not only academic aptitude but also the motor skills necessary in the field of dentistry. As a teaching aid, he produced a set of clear dentures complete with cavities to demonstrate to students the internal appearance of dental fillings.

    Dr. Maynard was gifted in his ability to calm and gain the confidence of his patients. Extremely concerned about pain, he sought and found ways to reduce suffering during dental surgery. Russia's Tsar Nicholas I was so impressed with Maynard's work on the royal root canal that he offered him the job of Imperial Dentist, a position of nobility which carried the rank of major in the Russian Army, to induce him to stay in St. Petersburg. Maynard declined but did accept a large ring with 60 diamonds as a token of the Tsar's appreciation. He also charged the Tsar a very healthy fee.

    He also served as dentist for several presidents, ambassadors and many congressman and senators. Dr. Maynard died in Washington on May 4, 1891.

    Maynard Carbine Loading Data

    Bullet: Rapine “.520 Spencer” sized to .518 with SPG lube in the Lyman Lubrisizer. This is for a Bobby Hoyt lined original carbine.

    Cases: Full capacity. New cases should be “test chambered” and oversize brass run into the CH .56-50 die to properly size. New cases can be polished with fine (600 -800 grit) sandpaper by spinning them using a handheld electric drill and inserting a ½” bit wrapped with masking tape to insert in the case mouth to hold while spinning. The case flash hole should be run out to .059 - .060. A 1/16 inch flash hole is exactly .060. Overall case length: 1.2”. The mouth of the case should be chamfered with VLD (very low drag) tool to ease starting of the bullet in the seating die. A hand twisted countersink will work as a chamfer (use a ¾” countersink from Lowe’s or Home Depot).

    Load: 30 grains of 3-F black powder, measured to +1/10 grain.
    Filler: .7 to1.3 cc of Cream of Wheat. Use a Lee dipper set. The load should compress slightly when seating the bullet. Lighter charges down to 25 grains or even 20 grains can be tried. Adjust the filler accordingly.

    Seat the bullet so that overall length of complete round is 1.74” to 1.75,” less than 1.80” overall length. The bullet should not engage the rifling or the carbine can not be “live round” unloaded without the bullet sticking in the barrel. Test chamber loaded rounds for fit in the carbine. Again, too much bullet seating pressure when assembling ammo can bulge the round and make it difficult to load and chamber.

    Revised 1-16-2020
     

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