Holdem Louie Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 I have a good friend that wants to use his Armi Spencer Carbine for a SASS match rifle. He needs the name of a gunsmith that is familiar with the Armi Spencer Carbine and it's quirks. The carbine is rough and fails to feed so it probably needs TLC to get it working like it should. Can anyone make a recommendation? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Louie - I have an Armi Sport Spencer in 44 Russian and have learned how to overcome some if its' quirks. There is not much you can do to the Spencer with regards to an action job. The Spencer is very case length sensitive so this could be an issue. Is he local? What caliber? If he is local, he can get in touch with me and we can go over his issues. You could also try the Spencer Shooting Society on the CasCity website. https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?board=35.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Best place for info on Spencer Rifles is over at the Spencer Shooting Society Spencers can be very sensitive to OAL and getting one to function smoothly requires a lot of trial and error. You'll likely need a few spare parts before it is running properly. Do you know what caliber it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226 Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Lonnie at Runnin' Iron in Nebraska knows his way around a Spencer-turned mine into a smooth runnin machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holdem Louie Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 On 9/7/2021 at 7:20 PM, Sedalia Dave said: Best place for info on Spencer Rifles is over at the Spencer Shooting Society Spencers can be very sensitive to OAL and getting one to function smoothly requires a lot of trial and error. You'll likely need a few spare parts before it is running properly. Do you know what caliber it is? .45 Schofield. Thanks for the link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holdem Louie Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 14 hours ago, Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226 said: Lonnie at Runnin' Iron in Nebraska knows his way around a Spencer-turned mine into a smooth runnin machine. I live in Arizona and I was hoping to find someone local. I may give then a call to see if they can help. It's a .45 Scholfield and I believe COL sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner, SASS #1940 Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 As the founder of the Spencer Shooting Society, I can tell you with confidence they are a treasure trove of information. It is worth the time to mosie on over to CAS City and chat them up. Mine is a .45 S&W as well. OAL of the cartridge is a major concern, as well as my twin extractors....I hate when they get out of sync. It is also a feel for the gun and how to work the action. It may be slow, but dang, it sure is satisfying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 I spent several days reading all the posts there. Priceless treasure trove of information. I have a rifle and carbine in 56-56 that run really well because of that I learned there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I had a Armisport Spencer carbine I used for Civil War reenacting. I first had one in 44 Russian but I could never get the blanks to work well with the double extractors. I sold that one a got one in 44-40 and made blanks for it using cut down 410 shotgun hulls. It had the Lane extractor and it worked very well. At one reenactment I fired it so much I raised a blister on my thumb from cocking it. I did shoot it live once just for giggles. It shot ok but not well enough for competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 23 hours ago, Gunner, SASS #1940 said: As the founder of the Spencer Shooting Society, I can tell you with confidence they are a treasure trove of information. It is worth the time to mosie on over to CAS City and chat them up. Mine is a .45 S&W as well. OAL of the cartridge is a major concern, as well as my twin extractors....I hate when they get out of sync. It is also a feel for the gun and how to work the action. It may be slow, but dang, it sure is satisfying. Gunner - What OAL of 45 Schofield works for your Spencer? I may take a look at the OP's friends Spencer next week and that information may help. I reload 45 Schofield and we could experiment with the OAL. BTW - I reload (for pistol only) with an OAL of 1.43 using 200 gr RNFP bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 Well, we spent a few hours tinkering with the Spencer and I think we found the problem. However, a solution still needs to be found. The problem is the magazine tube. From the parts lists that we have (Armi Sport and Chiappa (which acquired Armi Sport), it is not the correct one. When I put in the magazine tube from my 44 Russian (which by the way, from the parts list is the same for the 45 Schofield), the 45 Schofield Spencer would lever and feed. Now the solution would be to get the correct magazine tube but I am not sure that is possible. I have e-mailed Taylors and Chiappa and am awaiting a reply. We might be able to modify the magazine tube that is in the 45 Schofield Spencer and try that. Some details: The magazine tube in the 45 Schofield Spencer is 14 inches long with an aluminum follower. A round will not feed with this magazine tube fully installed. (I believe this magazine tube is for 45 Colt / 44-40). It is also sleeved: The 44 Russian magazine tube is 13 1/4 inches long with a different style follower with a rubber tip. It's overall length is slightly longer than the one above. It is not sleeved and has a taper at the end. Apparently, the current magazine tube constrains the cartridge too much at the receiver and it cannot align to be placed properly in the lower block to be chambered. We pulled the current magazine tube out about an inch which would remove the constraint on the cartridge and the Spencer would lever so we feel that this proves that the constraint is the problem. We are going to investigate the possibility of reaming out the liner for about an inch to see if the constraint can be removed enough to permit levering the cartridge if the correct replacement cannot be obtained. From the Armi Sport Owners Manual (my 44 Russian) showing the magazine tube that works: From the Chiappa Manual, (which I believe shows the magazine tube currently in the 45 Schofield Spencer). Note that it is for 45 Colt / 44-40: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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