Euroarms 1858 Pattern Enfield Rifle

With the end of the Crimean War, the British government ceased orders for revolvers from two transatlantic competitors, resulting in a downturn in the fortunes of both. The lack of military orders caused Sam Colt to close his London factory, which had produced thousands of his Model 1851 Navy pistol for the Army. Robert Adam’s selfcocking revolver had also been in demand, but like Colt, he realised that military orders would no longer be forthcoming, on top of which he had dissolved his partnership with the Deane brothers. In February 1856, Adams became the principal shareholder in a new venture, the London Armoury Company, of which his cousin, James Kerr, was also a major player. Taking over the former site of the South-Eastern Railway Company in Bermondsey, London, production of Adams’ revolver was resumed. In 1859, the company received an order to produce the Enfield 1853 Pattern rifled musket for the British forces, and the plant’s facilities were thrown behind this product, to the detriment of the manufacture of revolvers. Adams was not happy with this situation, sold his stock in the company and walked away, taking his revolver patents with him.

The American Civil War

On April 12th, 1861 the North American continent was thrown into turmoil when troops from the recently formed Confederate States of America fired on the Union’s Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The American Civil War had begun. With both sides desperate to equip large numbers of soldiers with small arms, they sent representatives to Europe to procure whatever weapons they could. This new conflict was to bolster the stock of the London Armoury company as American suitors came calling. Almost before the dust had settled in Carolina, both the Union and the Confederacy had their agents in London looking to buy whatever was on offer. Major Caleb Huse was in London charged with obtaining 12,000 rifles and a battery of artillery for the Southern cause, and the day after his arrival he visited the offices of the London Armoury, whose Managing director, Archibald Hamilton, was a Sothern sympathiser. To his dismay, he found the Union representative had beaten him to it, but he was granted an audience anyway. Offering to buy whatever the Armoury could produce over the next year, he was initially rebuffed. The company still had a contract to supply the British government until mid-1862 and had signed a deal with the Union for some 1,300 rifles at 100 guns per month. At the completion of the government production, the factory output of rifles was seemingly offered to the Confederacy, but there are few documented shipments. Estimates differ as to how many rifles were shipped to America but what is certain is that not all of them would reach their destination, due to the blockade of Southern ports by the Union navy. But those London Armoury guns that did get through were regarded by their users as the finest that came out of Britain. Such was the volume of business that the company received from these American orders, that within 12 months of the end of the Civil War, with no further orders from the British government, the London Armoury Company closed its doors.

A rifle for the navy

The example we have here, the 1858 2-band rifle, was originally designed and manufactured for the British Navy, and although their contract with L.A.C. was for Pattern 1853 rifles, it is possible that some of these could have been among those shipped to the CSA. The one-piece plain walnut stock has a matte finish, which could be oiled, and a red/brown colour. All edges and cut-outs are reasonably sharp and the wood-to-metal fit is good. The barrel, which has 5-groove rifling with a 1:66” right-hand twist, has a nice, deep gloss finish. On original versions of this model, the barrel was slightly heavier than normal to cater for the heavy Navy cutlass bayonet, but not having another repro to compare it with, I cannot say whether this is the same. The bayonet stud is on the right of the barrel, 4” or so from the muzzle. The barrel is held in place by two bands and the front one has a sling swivel, plus a screw in the short, top tang. A second swivel is fitted to the trigger guard, which is brass, as is the butt plate and front nose cap. The butt plate is a substantial affair, curving over the top of the stock, and it is held in place by three screws.

Different markings

The lock plate and hammer have dark case colours and here we see an indication that these replicas were intended for the American market, with the American spelling of the word ‘Armory’. Originals simply had ‘L.A. Co.’ below the date of manufacture. There was also a crown with the initials V.R. underneath, which is not reproduced here. The initials were originally placed on all rifles intended for military use, with commercial production generally leaving them off. The London Armoury Company were seemingly the only commercial producer to stamp the V.R. on their locks. The mechanism is held into the stock with two screws, entering from the left side, with brass escutcheons. There was also a cartouche stamped into the butt stock of the originals, which this gun does not have. A steel ramrod sits in a slot under the barrel. The rear sight is a tip-up ladder with a sliding bar in a stepped block that’s fastened just behind the rear barrel band. The steps on the right side of the block are marked 1 to 3, with the ladder graduated from 5 to 9 (wonder where the 4 went?). In both lowered and raised positions, the profile is a v-notch. A flat spring keeps the ladder firmly in place when raised. The front sight is a blade on a block soldered onto the barrel. Neither of the sights has any facility for windage adjustment, so when you find out where it’s printing, aiming off is your only option.

Shorter is better

It is some years since I tried an infantry, 3-band version of this rifle and I find the shorter version that we have here more to my liking. It is a nicely balanced piece and the 14” length of pull is just about perfect. After a cursory examination and a few photographs, I needed to sort out a load. I’m one of those guys (aren’t we all?) that never throws anything away and found some .570” round lead balls in my cache, along with half a dozen of the Pritchett bullets that I had been given for the last review. Henry Krank medium black powder, a packet of lubricated patches and half a tin of top hat caps were also on hand. A couple of caps were fired off before starting, just to clear any oil that may be left in the nipple from the factory. (I remember watching as each gun at the Uberti factory was given a coat of oil with a 2” paintbrush before being put into the plastic bag for shipping). I then measured three batches of powder (60, 65 and 70-grains) into plastic phials and started with the lowest weight and the patched round lead balls, shooting with a rest from a bench at 100 yards. The recoil was fairly mild but accuracy left a bit to be desired, with six shots covering around 10”. The 65-grain loads were an improvement, with six shots from that coming in at around 7”, but I felt this was still way below what the rifle should be capable of. The barrel was wiped after every two shots and the balls were loaded fairly easily with the metal ramrod supplied with the rifle. The ‘business’ end of the rod has a slot to enable a small patch to be inserted, while the other end is threaded for the addition of any tools that may be used. If I were buying one of these guns, I would make a handle to screw onto this end to give a little more purchase. With only six of the 515-grain Pritchett bullets available, I moved to the 70-grain powder charge and wiped the barrel after each shot. There was a marked increase in felt recoil and the group came down a little. Five of the shots were a shade under 6”, with a wild flyer, no doubt down to me, but still not good enough to trouble the marksmen back in the day. More practice and experimentation with loads, particularly with the Pritchett bullets, would pay dividends and a little work on the heavy trigger pull would be beneficial. Henry Krank has been saying for some time that Euroarms products were drying up and this really does look like your last chance to buy one of these rifles at what seems like a bargain price. I would like to thank Adam Sutherland for this tutorial and the bullets he supplied last time.