1863 Remington Zouave

infideleggwelder

infideleggwelder

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Go east they said. it will be fun, they said
Caught my eye because it was nice and clean. Thought it was a reproduction. Turns out it`s an original in .58 cal in shootable condition. 7 groove bore is pretty good from what I can tell. Will know more after a good cleaning.
Little bit of erosion on the nipple, will have to have a gunsmith replace that if I can't figure it out. Someone stripped, cleaned and refinished it and hit it with Tru Oil or similar finish which apparently brought it down to my price range.
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I know you haven't asked, so forgive me if you already know, but this is how remove that awful Tru-Oil finish -

A way I've removed a Tru Oil finish, and Tru Oil like finishes (didn't know what they were really??), was by using Acetone on absorbent cloths like old washcloths. The nap/coarseness helps to sop up as the finish as it begins to slough off. An even better product is DMSO (diemethyl sulfoxide). When it can be sourced that is. Horse lovers use it for liniment on their hay burners. It seems to draw deeper than the other things I've tried. Citris Strip works well for most oil type finishes but the DMSO seems to go deeper and doesn't stink up the shop. What will you lay down on that old wood after the TO is gone?

Thanks to 'highrider' on gunboards.com
 
I have the breech end of the barrel soaking in ed`s red. Will probably stay there a month or so before I attempt to get the nipple out.
We just freed up some time here at home, so once I get my renovations done, I`ll focus a little more on getting this rifle back to where it needs to be for me. Or I`ll buy another one. The guy has a Snyder Enfield and a Springfield trapdoor for sale as well.

If anyone has or knows of a source, I`m looking for a few different “sizes” of .58 cal Minnie balls and round balls to test before I get a bullet mold.
 
Great find. Congrats. I have an Armi Jager repro circa 1975. The Lee original Minie ball mold at .500gr is too small at 575 so I bought the Lee improved Minie at .578 @ 478gr which works very well with 60gr of 3F. I already had a .575 RB mold and .010 patches. They're not bad but prefer the Minie ball. I would like the original ball but the other molds are expensive. The sights are terrible for my old eyes so I had a Lyman globe sight put on and a Vernier tang sight. I would not do that with an original though. These were the last muzzle loaders made for the US Military. Best of luck with that beautiful rifle. :cheers:
 
Just bought a Snider at auction with a destroyed nipple. FPin intact looks odd, but works. No nipple outside remains just the threaded portion inside.
Tryed soaking, unthread with punch. Will resort to drilling nipple to pieces then out. If I find another block I just will replace. Never a dull moment.
 
Got the nipple out. Soaked in Ed’s red for three weeks or so. Gave it some heat with a propane torch, let it cool and it came out like it was supposed to.
Had a nipple in the spare parts box, it was part of a pile of stuff I picked up, and it threaded in just like that. Next is evaporusting the barrel after I degrease it.

Got some 578 Hb bullets on the way, want to find out what this thing likes before I buy a mold
 
infideleggwelder said:
Got the nipple out. Soaked in Ed’s red for three weeks or so. Gave it some heat with a propane torch, let it cool and it came out like it was supposed to.
Had a nipple in the spare parts box, it was part of a pile of stuff I picked up, and it threaded in just like that. Next is evaporusting the barrel after I degrease it.

Got some 578 Hb bullets on the way, want to find out what this thing likes before I buy a mold
Click to expand...

I imagine the nipples are the large ones for musket caps. CCI used to make the powerful 6 wing musket cap but discontinued it in place of the 4 wing cap which is less than useless. You may have to order a new nipple that takes a No.11 cap from Track of the Wolf. If in doubt you can e-mail them and they'll set you straight. No.11 caps work well. For the cost I'd order 2 anyways.
 
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