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Miller's Musket Conversion: The Trapdoor We Have At Home (ad-free)
🕑 Added 2023-03-15 12:00:02 +0000 UTCIn 1865, brothers William and George Miller of Meriden CT patented a system to convert percussion muskets to use the new Rimfire ammunition that was becoming available. Between 1865 and 1867, the local Meridan Manufacturing Company converted 2,000 surplus US Model 1861 muskets (mostly made by Parker & Snow) to the Miller system, using .58 Rimfire ammunition. The US military tested one of these conversions in 1867, and found it to suffer from some gas leakage and about a 3% misfire rate. There was no further Army interest, although the New York and Maryland state militias did both purchase small numbers of the guns.
Comments
Looks like a secondary locking lug and groove above the chamber.
Matisse Enzer
I wonder how often (if ever) the conversion from muzzle loading to breech loading was accompanied by also adding rifling and chambering for a projectile that would engage the rifling. It would not take much spin to improve effective range.
Jeff Price
How does 3% misfire rate versus any rimfire cartridge? Is this better or worse than rimfire can do? or is it actually an issue with the breach loading system?
Guido Schriewer
as revolver conversions to cartridges, a brief short period of producing and a much longer period such were used most likely.
Falling Steel
Would that be considered a falling block system?
