Help with an 1864 Enfield

Big Game

Big Game

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Selkirk,Manitoba
Need help identifying an old enfield. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures but I did gather the following information from the owner and off the gun.

The side plate behind the hammer has a crown and the inscription VcR underneath it. Forward of the hammer it says Enfield 1864. The barrel is 35" long and it appears to be a smooth bore with a roll block action. For a 150 year old gun it's not in too bad condition but the spring on the hammer is broken and the bore is rough. The gun came as an inheritance from an estate in West Virginia some 50 years ago and has been sitting in a closet ever since. From what I've been able to google I'm not sure if it is a Confederate rifle or not? Anyone have any ideas on this or maybe a value? I could try to get some pics if it would help. Thanks.
 
You seem to be describing a Snider Enfield which may or may not still be a .577 Snider cartridge. It is not a rolling block since the breach rolls sideways where rolling blocks are usually considered to be the system used by Remington in which the breach rolls for and aft and is locked in place by the front of the hammer.

Sniders often have very shallow rifling and if the bore is pitted and dirty could easily be mistaken for smooth bore. It could also have been converted for shooting shot as an inexpensive shotgun.

value in part is determined by condition and we will have to wait for photos on that

cheers mooncoon
 
I'll try to get some pics this weekend if I can get hold of the gun again. I'm leaning towards a Mark II but it doesn't sport full furniture so I'm not sure if it was "sporterized" or If the Snider came with a long barrel and short forearm! Any proof marks I should try to get pictures of?
 
Look for cartouches on the stock, its either one of the carbine versions or a cut down sporter

There are lots of different markings on these, tale pictures of all the ones you can find, also a good pic of the bore quality.

Cheers, McLean
 
If the rifle is not full-stocked like this, it has been "bubba'd" -

1198e-1.jpg
 
Big Game said:
I'll try to get some pics this weekend if I can get hold of the gun again. I'm leaning towards a Mark II but it doesn't sport full furniture so I'm not sure if it was "sporterized" or If the Snider came with a long barrel and short forearm! Any proof marks I should try to get pictures of?
Click to expand...

It sounds like it is sporterized and combined with what sounds like a dubious barrel (no rifling) I think its value is mostly as an action. I think I would put it around $200 and $50 to $100 more if it was rifled. With the original full stock etc it would be in the $600 - $800 range

cheers mooncoon
 
I agree with Mooncoon's valuation - it is likely no more than a "parts gun", unfortunately.

I see nobody has yet addressed your speculation that it might be a Confederate gun - presumably because of the area it came from and the date on the lockplate. It can be said with certainty that it was not: The Snider system of converting existing muzzle-loading Enfield rifles into breechloaders did not come along until 1866 - well after the end of the American Civil War.

Snider-Enfield rifles in full original military configuration are relatively common in Canada - in fact the Snider-Enfield remained Canada's primary-issue military rifle from 1867 through 1898, longer than any other part of the British Empire.
 
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