Before I have a stroke arguing with shops to see if they will transfer one of these, where you have guys bought these from? This seems the best option under 1000 for non scary rifles . I refuse to pay 1500 or more for a neutered A.R. 15 or Springfield dorsal fin blaster.
I’ve been researching getting either an original or reproduction rifle-musket, mainly something like an 1861/1863 Springfield or a P53 Enfield. My goal is to have something I can realistically cast Minié balls for and use for target shooting, and maybe hunting later on.
Originally I was leaning toward an original, but between the price ($1200–2500+) and needing to find one with a good bore/rifling, I started looking harder at reproductions.
What surprised me is seeing people get really solid accuracy out of repro Springfields at 200 yards with cast Minié balls. I always heard reproductions don’t always use the original rifling/twist specs, so period-correct molds and loads might not work properly.
At the same time, a reproduction would obviously be mechanically “fresh” and probably less risky than buying a 160-year-old rifle.
So for those of you who shoot these regularly:
Would you go original or reproduction?
Which repro makers actually have good rifling/twist specs for Minié balls?
Is the Springfield or P53 Enfield the better route if I want to cast my own bullets
I mentioned Springfield and Enfield because those are the only two that popping into my mind right away so if you guys have any other recommendations, let me know!