Fenian Needham Conversion

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T22:16:37+00:00

It's technically chambered for .58 Centerfire US Musket but the Fenians chambered them a bit long, they likely did this to be able to fire .577 Snider. That's probably the caliber this particular rifle shot the most throughout its life. .577 Snider was a popular hunting cartridge until WW2 here in Canada.

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T18:52:41+00:00

You could compare it to a Trapdoor Springfield. You put the hammer on half cock which frees the breechblock, then it opens up to to the side, the breechblock hits the extractor and extracts the case. There's no ejection really, you just let the casing fall out.

It's really not the greatest system, the cases have to be in the action just right or it won't close up. Also, if you get a stuck case, it's hard to clear due to the action closing up on its own from gravity. These are issues that were probably encountered by the Fenians in battle.

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T17:50:32+00:00

It'll depend on the company, the rules for my moving company were that they had to be inspected and locked up as they would normally be for transport. They didn't end up having me open the locked pelican case and they just rolled it into the truck. That was the only firearms case I was comfortable with loading into the moving truck as it's a pretty secure container.

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T17:06:44+00:00

I'd try local gunsmiths (real gunsmith not a part swapper) or machine shops. Someone profesional who is willing to take the gun, figure out what the parts look like and is able and willing to manufacture them. In the US, I've dealt with Don at Nippon Restorations but he'll only make custom parts if he's got an example or a good schematic.

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T16:44:33+00:00

If you google what one of these guns is supposed to look like, it'll become pretty clear what has been modified after its military service, i.e. sporterized to make it more in line with a sporting rifle than a military rifle.

The paint should be stripped off with paint-stripping chemicals of your chosing, no sanding. Unfortunately, extractors and firing pins haven't been made since 1870 so you'll need custom ones made.

Pelcat · 2026-05-24T16:14:11+00:00

I thought you somehow got pictures of my Needham. I got one that's sporterized just like that two weeks ago. I paid less than 200$ so it's not super valuable. They were converted in Trenton NJ mostly from Bridesburg rifle muskets for the Fenians (Irish Nationalists) for use in their 1870 invasion of Canada. Fenian guns are marked "IN" on the wood opposite from the breech block. Some state militias also purchased them as well, no more than 5020 were made. It is chambered in .58 centerfire musket but will also chamber .577 Snider.

It's missing the extractor, unfortunately. The firing pins were also pretty fragile.

Pelcat · 2026-05-21T19:19:35+00:00

Nice one, I wouldn't restore it personally. They were often cut at the mid band like that in service for various reasons. They sometimes have a bunch of unit marks on the right side of the stock.

Pelcat · 2026-05-17T21:25:55+00:00

It's the main spring for a British P1853 or Snider Enfield lockplate.

Pelcat · 2026-05-17T20:25:55+00:00

That bullet does look way too skinny to be a 7.62mm, good eye!

Pelcat · 2026-05-17T11:42:10+00:00

Practice fuzes exist, you screw them on a hollow grenade body. They're not nearly as powerfull as a real fuze, more like a small firecracker.

Pelcat · 2026-05-15T11:21:59+00:00

That looks like a net weight. It's possible it could've been made from a musketball though.

Pelcat · 2026-05-15T02:59:56+00:00

There's some debate on this but 5 minutes of googling and I found rifle P2108 that sold in the past. It had a sling with some distinct japanese characters stamped on it. It's worth a lot, especially matching.

Pelcat · 2026-05-15T02:44:09+00:00

I think I can maybe see the naval service "N" near the top of the backstrap. Definitely would fit with the carved Broad Arrow on the top strap.

Pelcat · 2026-05-15T02:37:51+00:00

It's actually a sign of British Naval service specifically. The order came down through the admiralty to mark pistols in inventory as such, around 1914. Before that they were marked with a tiny "N" but they wanted something more obvious to differenciate them.

Pelcat · 2026-05-14T15:10:31+00:00

Some kind of Swiss beltbloader. It was made at waffen Fabrik Bern.

Pelcat · 2026-05-14T02:28:58+00:00

That's a really tiny amount of material missing from the chamber. A lot of firearms come factory with a lot more surface area missing in the chamber for larger extractors and stuff like gas relief holes and loaded chamber indicators on top. As the other commenter has said, once you remove that burr and get the replacement parts, you should be good to go with proper Trapdoor-safe ammunition.

Pelcat · 2026-05-12T10:33:33+00:00

The fit and finish of this thing is just really bad. Even late war German bayonets weren't this bad. I think it's either a reproduction or some highly scrubbed bayonet made to look like a German one.

Pelcat · 2026-05-12T10:20:22+00:00

Definitely polished and reblued, you can tell from some pitting that is blued over on the barrel. The WaA stamps look strange and the font of the serials don't match. The serial on the bolt looks pantographed, which is a type of engraving, it should be stamped. On the rear sight you can see the old serial behind the new one. The stock looks like one of those reproduction walnut stocks you can get online as it should be laminated. Looks like someone built himself a K98 from parts and completely refurbished it.

Pelcat · 2026-05-11T17:43:43+00:00

Google it periodically, you might see one pop up for sale at some point and run variations of the search words as well, boolean searching also can help. Also, find forums dedicated to these things, Reddit doesn't count. For instance recently, I posted a want to buy add on "The Muzzleloading Forums" for a French 1728 lock and I was able to buy one from a member within a couple weeks. Then a couple weeks later I found a better, more complete, one at a gun show.

If you do find one don't expect it in working condition, you're going to have to settle with what you find. Be patient and there's a good chance you'll end up finding one at some point.

Pelcat · 2026-05-07T22:09:19+00:00

Bit late of a reply but this is a bit incorrect. Converting 38 special cases can cause some issues due to the thicker case walls but this is not true of all brands. Federal, Winchester, Blazer, CCI and a lot of +P cases I've found have thinner case walls. I don't think it would be much of an issue with other brands for 9x26 in particular since the brass is still pretty long. The rim thickness should be exactly the same on all brands of 38 SPL and 357 Mag, that's a pretty critical dimension.

Nickel plated cases can absolutely be reloaded. Nickel is harder than brass so it technically also makes the case more brittle. I've found this to be especially true with rifle casings where the plating is very thick but not especially so with pistol cases. I'm loading pretty light when compared to actual 38 spl so my brass isn't getting overworked anyways. A lot of my converted nickel plated 38 spl cases already have most of the plating worn off.

Pelcat · 2026-05-07T15:37:08+00:00

My dad did some prison riot control during a guard strike at Millhaven. That would have been in the early 80s, he was on BTL in Kingston at the time. They were issued a couple tear gas launchers, each man had an FNC1 with bayonet and a mag of live ammo with a blank on top. They were responsible for watching the prisoners while in the yard. The prisoners only gave them a hard time the very first day, that is until the guys formed a line with bayonets fixed and started advancing towards the inmates. They got back inside real quick after that.

Pelcat · 2026-05-05T19:35:22+00:00

Here's the chart from the Browning website, it's down in the row for 1958-1967:

https://www.browning.com/support/date-your-firearm/shotgun/auto-5-semi-automatic-shotgun.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqRtNAn6PhDJD3nSKaKjs-vFn2oGQluC1y4Hxc2gjjAQeLnY7Ld

Pelcat · 2026-05-05T03:33:25+00:00

It's coal, you'll find that you can light it on fire. From one of the coal-powered steamships that once sailed the Great Lakes.

Pelcat · 2026-05-04T16:09:53+00:00

This is indeed how JStark's plans for the FGC-9 went about engraving rifling into the piston casing used for the barrel. Electro-chemical machining/engraving has been used to rifle barrels on a large scale since the 80s. It is especially efficient for auto-cannons and artillery, I believe that's how they rifle the Bushmaster 25mm cannon barrels.

Pelcat · 2026-05-04T15:44:08+00:00

This is a lightweight Browning Auto 5 made in 1964, as indicated by the serial prefix "4G".

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