Opinions on Taylor's Spencer rifle/carbine?

[July Smith]

Does anyone here have experience with the Chiappa Spencer rifles or carbines imported through Taylors?  I am curious about the general build quality and reliability of the firearms.  I think it would be fun to shoot a Spencer in 56-50 for Cody Dixon stages.  I understand these are not the fastest rifles out there, but they sure are classy looking.

 

 

[Nickel City Dude]

I had one in 44-40 and it was a real hoot to shoot.  Just not compeditive for SASS.

[Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226]

I've been running a carbines in 45 Colt as my main match rifle for a number of years now.  As I have run it more I have become much more efficient which should not be confused with fast.  I figure that hand cocking every round and single loading the last three adds 20 to 30 seconds every stage.  It has been very satisfying to develop the consistency and the "fan base"*

 

*"fan base" - people remember the Spence, not the slow.

[Steel-eye Steve SASS #40674]

I have one of the early ones in .45 Schofield. I bought in 2001, right after they first became available. Its been my reenacting and CAS long arm. I've only need to replace the cartridge follower spring a couple times other than that it has held very well especially since it has used for mounted cavalry reenacting. Hanging any weapon on a horse from a carbine sling and thimble is rough on a firearm.

[Three Foot Johnson]

I have one in .56-.50 and it's experienced two problems that needed to be addressed - the barrel came loose during a match once. I unscrewed it, applied some Loctite, screwed it back in, and it's been fine ever since. The other one was the breech block would occasionally come out the bottom of the receiver when levering - if you take a look at the assembly, this is governed by the curved front of the trigger plate riding in the groove in the top of the breech block. The cure for this problem was fabricating and installing a thin washer on the stem of the breech block.

Red arrow in first picture shows where the breech block can slip past the trigger plate. Yellow arrow shows where the washer is installed to solve the problem.

The next picture shows the placement of the washer (green).

 

[Grizzly Dave]

Sagebrush Burns is pretty good at running his Spencer

 

 

 

[Steel-eye Steve SASS #40674]

3 hours ago, J Bar Binks, #47015 said:

I have one in .56-.50 and it's experienced two problems that needed to be addressed - the barrel came loose during a match once. I unscrewed it, applied some Loctite, screwed it back in, and it's been fine ever since. The other one was the breech block would occasionally come out the bottom of the receiver when levering - if you take a look at the assembly, this is governed by the curved front of the trigger plate riding in the groove in the top of the breech block. The cure for this problem was fabricating and installing a thin washer on the stem of the breech block.

Red arrow in first picture shows where the breech block can slip past the trigger plate. Yellow arrow shows where the washer is installed to solve the problem.

The next picture shows the placement of the washer (green).

 

I also had this problem with my early model (2001) .45 Schofield Spencer. Instead of the washer, I used two set screws.

[July Smith]

Thank you all for the replies.  Looks like I will get one when finances allow for it. 

[Three Foot Johnson]

9 hours ago, Steel-eye Steve SASS #40674 said:

I also had this problem with my early model (2001) .45 Schofield Spencer. Instead of the washer, I used two set screws.

Anything to space it out enough to keep it from slipping by the stop.

Mine was imported by Dixie - I bought it used, in like new condition, eight years ago for $700.

 

July Smith - these things are not very forgiving on overall length of the loaded cartridge, as the breech block has to come up exactly between cartridges. It actually scrapes along the bottom edge of the second cartridge as it comes up behind the one being loaded, so it's a good idea to also break the sharp edge along the top front edge of the breech block. It doesn't need to be rounded, just break the sharp edge so it doesn't tend to dig into the bullet of the second cartridge.

RCBS makes a mold that works well (50-350-CM), and then there's the modified Lee mold that is popular - #515-500-F, I believe, with the bottom couple grease grooves machined off to produce a bullet of around 325 grains or so. This is a very simple mod if you have access to a lathe, and the Lee mold is only ~$20. I've used them both and both seem to work just fine.

Also, there is no ejector on these rifles, so either "lever with authority" or tip it up a bit when levering so the empty falls out. Oh, and cock the hammer first, then lever a new round in, as the firing pin doesn't rebound and there's a risk of bending or breaking it if the hammer isn't cocked first.

 

Modified Lee on the left, RCBS on the right, and a pulled bullet from some Ten-X factory loads in the middle. The Ten-X bullet is just a tad bit different from the RCBS - it's a few thousandths longer, the flat point is a few thousandths smaller in diameter, and the grease groove is a few thousandths narrower. Black powder is all I ever shoot in mine, and I think the Lee feeds slightly easier, but if you're going to use smokeless, pick a bullet with a crimp groove so it doesn't get pushed back into the case.