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M1842 Alert for new buyers!

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  • M1842 Alert for new buyers!

    Hallo!

    Warning for NIB M1842 buyers!!!

    From time to time, I post about the Italian makers making changes every so many years to the point that the pieces/parts of the same maker may or may not be interchangeable with older production versions of the same companies' gun.
    Plus, I often harp on the random or missing levels of Quality Control on a Sliding Scale by importer.

    Reports of a number of M1842's are now surfacing with a major milling problem involving the sear spring. (I have not seen or handled any new M1842's to be able to have or found images to share yet ... And the problem may be limited to a few, or more in the current production batch.)

    Sear springs should have both a "screw hole" for a mounting screw as well as an "alignment tab" that fits into a milled slot in the lockplate to both align the spring and to keep it from shifting or moving.

    Numbers of new M1842's are showing up with the slot for the sear spring 'tab' out of alignment, angled, or 'crooked.' Since the tab slot is 'crooked,' the tab does not align properly and pops out of the slot disengaging the sear (which prevents the lock from cocking and being released by the trigger pull).

    This can also be a problem, "naturally" if one has the sear spring screw too loose and it does not hold everything down. But this appears to be a misaligned tab slot issue.

    Taylor's (importer of Armi Sport) has been called, and even some M1842's taken in in person. They admit the problem but have not responded to the "complainant" yet.

    Fixing it oneself is beyond the skill and ability of most lads as it required welding the wrong slot closed, and milling a new one in the proper place or alignment. OR, making a new sear spring with an angled "tab" (but if the new required angle is too great, it may not secure in the slot, maybe..)

    So, pards, WARNING to anyone buying a new M1842.

    Curt
    Curt Schmidt
    In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt

    -Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
    -Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
    -Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
    -Vastly Ignorant
    -Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.

  • #2
    Re: M1842 Alert for new buyers!

    Curt,

    Thank you for the warning.

    Dan Stewart

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    • #3
      Re: M1842 Alert for new buyers!

      Hallo!

      Update.

      Chiappa (aka Armi Sports) says...

      Box it up with the receipt and return the M1842 to them.
      If one does not have a receipt, they will not honor the "implied warranty' and bill at $50 an hour for any work done.

      You CANNOT send back just the lockplate or lock..

      Taylor's is caught in the middle. They have apparently offered a replacement lockplate but if their inventory is only of this new milling problem, nothing would be resolved.

      More as I learn of it.

      Curt
      Curt Schmidt
      In gleichem Schritt und Tritt, Curt Schmidt

      -Hard and sharp as flint...secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
      -Haplogroup R1b M343 (Subclade R1b1a2 M269)
      -Pointless Folksy Wisdom Mess, Oblio Lodge #1
      -Vastly Ignorant
      -Often incorrect, technically, historically, factually.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: M1842 Alert for new buyers!

        Interesting. Modern quality control issues aside, this is also a fairly common problem with original arms (like the commercial, handmade P53) as well. While the manufacturer (Armi Chiappa) should be able to resolve the issue, sending the musket back to Italy seems impractical and time consuming. Taylors & Co customer service is pathetic.They should be able to resolve this in house but I am not surprised to learn that they can't or won't do so. I once ordered a replacement lockplate for one of the Armi Sports and the comedy of errors dragged on for months. However, there are other options. You can file or "carve" a slot for the sear spring to fit it, or better still...install an original lock into the .lock mortise An original 1842 lock will work better than the reproduction and improve the appearance as well. If you don't fancy this sort of project or doubt your abilities, have Lodgewood or Watts do the job, but it is not that tough to do. The lock is very easy to fit, and it may drop right into your musket.

        While you are at it, replace the soft, machine grade factory trigger with an original part...you'll be surprised how much of an improvement
        you can obtain by making these relatively minor changes to the (overall) very good Armi Sport US 1842 reproduction.
        Last edited by Craig L Barry; 09-02-2014, 07:02 PM.
        Craig L Barry
        Editor, The Watchdog, a non-profit 501[c]3
        Co-author (with David Burt) Suppliers to the Confederacy
        Author, The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy
        Member, Company of Military Historians

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