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Spencer 1860
The Spencer Repeating Rifle/Carbine or Spencer 1860 is an American lever-action rifle, an early example of the lever-action design. Designed in 1860 by inventor Christopher Spencer, the Spencer 1860 is chambered for the proprietary .56-56 Spencer rimfire cartridge and holds seven rounds in an integral tube magazine. Like other lever-action firearms, it operates by working a lever near the trigger to extract a spent casing and feed a new cartridge from the tube magazine in the buttstock. However, unlike later lever-actions, the user would have to manually pull back the hammer after cocking the lever. Cartridges are fed into the action via a spring in the magazine, which would have to be removed first before loading new rounds. Cartridges could be loaded one at a time, or the user could use a Blakeslee tube, a type of speedloader that consists of a tube pre-loaded with seven rounds each.
Although Christopher Spencer presented his rifle to the American military right before the outbreak of the American Civil War, the military denied adopting it for standard use. Military officials stated that soldiers would waste ammo through inaccurate rapid fire (a sentiment that would be echoed by multiple armed forces in the later half of the 19th century when repeating and bolt-action rifles began to appear and supplant the use of single-shot muskets). Moreover, the US military felt that it would be impossible to expand logistics and supply trains enough to keep thousands of soldiers supplied with enough ammunition to effectively use their Spencers, as Army supply chains were already strained by the task of supplying tens of thousands of soldiers across the vast North American continent. The fact that the rifle cost several times more than a standard Springfield 1861 muzzleloader did not help, either.
Despite this, the Spencer became a popular and well-liked weapon during the American Civil War, sometimes issued in an official capacity or more commonly privately purchased. The Spencer, along with other breech-loading carbines of the time, were very popular among cavalry forces. The Spencer had a rate of fire of around 20 rounds a minute, giving it a significant tactical advantage over muzzleloading rifles. Its strategic value, however, was limited as tactics had not yet evolved to accommodate weapons with high rates of fire, like the Spencer.
Christopher Spencer's company went bankrupt in 1869, with production of the Spencer 1860 ceasing after over 200,000 rifles were manufactured. The Spencer would later see use in the wars against Native American tribes in the late 19th century, the Boshin War, Paraguayan War, and the Franco-Prussian War. .56-56 Spencer ammunition would be commercially manufactured in the United States well into the 1920s. Today, modern replicas of the Spencer Carbine and Rifle are available from Chiappa Firearms and Taylor's & Company.
The Spencer 1860 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Specifications
(1860 – 1869)
- Type: Rifle
- Caliber: .56-56 Spencer rimfire
- Weight: 10 lb (rifle), 8.25 lb (carbine)
- Length: 47 in (1,200 mm) with 30" barrel, 39.25 in (997 mm) with 22" barrel
- Barrel length(s): 30 in (760 mm), 22 in (560 mm), 20 in (510 mm)
- Capacity: 7-round internal tube magazine (may be reload with speedloader)
- Fire Modes: Lever Action
Film
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mail Call | R. Lee Ermey | |||
| Lock 'n Load With R. Lee Ermey | R. Lee Ermey | |||
| Return To Lonesome Dove | Timothy Scott | Pea Eye Parker | 1993 | |
| NCIS - Season 3 | Civil War re-enactor | "Silver War" (S3E04); found in coffin | ||
| Hatfields & McCoys | Kevin Costner | William Hatfield | 2012 |
Video Games
| Title | As | Mods | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Dead Revolver | "The Owl Rifle" | 2004 | |
| Red Dead Redemption | "Repeater Carbine" | 2010 | |
| Fistful of Frags | "Spencer Carbine" | Added in 2017 update | 2014 |
| Red Dead Redemption II | "Carbine Repeater" | 2018 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots | on the stand with guns | 1969 |