On Saturday, March 12, the Museum brought the community a blast from the past by holding a Spring Luncheon with guest speaker Mike Shershill, who guided the group back to 1866 and the firearms of that time, over lunch provided by Maine Street Cafe, accompanied by mimosas and other soft drinks provided by the museum.
Museum Director Teri Hedgpeth first welcomed the attendees, saying “This used to be our Ladies Luncheon, but we've changed it to be our Spring Luncheon instead. So, welcome to the many men in attendance today as well.” Board Treasurer Doris Dwyer then kicked of her introduction of the guest speaker. “We've always been very proud of our gun collection, and yet we never had an event that focused on it. Today we have my longtime friend Mike Shershill, who looked at the collection and chose a couple of pieces to talk about today. Mike is originally from Red Bluff, CA, but has been a long-time Fallon resident except for the 20 or so years that he was in the Air Force. He's a gun enthusiast and gunsmith, and an active hunter.”
Shershill opened by saying what a beautiful gun collection the Museum has, and then blasted into the past. “In 1866, the United States had just completed a bloody civil war. As servicemen returned home, they turned in their issued equipment, most notably their rifles, and several of those are in this collection. An early model was the 1849 Harpers Ferry musket, and the later model 1851 Springfield Armory rifle, both of which were at the apex of musket technology.” He paused, then quipped, “Are any of you bored yet?” He described how back then, an experienced rifleman could load and fire three to five shots per minute with his musket. However, the advent of copper-jacketed bullets displaced those guns, and the federal government had to store millions of obsolete muskets that were being replaced. Congress issued a nationwide proposal challenging inventors to develop a method of recycling the stockpiles of out-of-date arms it was stored at great expense.
In response to that call for arms, Urskin S. Allin, a Master Armorer for Massachusetts Springfield Armory designed a rifle that would reuse most of the musket rifle's parts but would use a hinged breech block instead. The design was accepted by Congress and became known as the Allin Conversion. “His first design used the existing .58 caliber barrels and stocks with the new copper cartridges. The rifles were issued to the U.S. Army as the model of 1865 and were involved in several engagements used to good effect. However, after several firing cycles, the copper cartridges would get hot and jam in the barrel. The rifle was useless until the cartridge could be pounded out. Combat is really intense, and it's not a time to have to pound out your rifle with your bayonet or cleaning rod.”
New and necessary refinements were made to reduce the weight and its caliber to .50. By the 1870s, the design was further refined and patented as the Springfield Hinged Breach Block .45 caliber rifle. In 1873 the shorter rifle became known as the 73 Springfield Trap Door. It was called a trap door because the breach block swung up to open and forward to expose the cartridge chamber. “The trap door rifle was noted as a hard recoiling rifle and was said to be able to knock down two men – the one who was the target and the one who was behind the rifle.”
The weight of the gun and bullets combined were still too heavy for Infantry use. Improvements were made again to reduce the size of the barrel and stock, the cleaning rod was eliminated, and the copper casings were replaced with brass ones, all further improving the rate of fire. Eventually, single-shot rifles were upgraded to repeaters, allowing rifles made by the Henry, Spencer or Winchester to shoot 15 to 25 rounds per minute. “Examples are here in the museum, and every time I come in and marvel at them, then I say I want one.”
He also pointed out for the group that the Springfield Armory is a national historic landmark and museum with several thousand firearms, plus machinery and tools to make them all on display. “For any gun enthusiast, it's a worthwhile trip to make.”
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