SCARCE MINTY REMINGTON-JENKS MAYNARD PRIMED NAVY CARBINE

SCARCE MINTY REMINGTON-JENKS MAYNARD PRIMED NAVY CARBINE

Hover to zoom

Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 Image 7 Image 8 Image 9 Image 10 Image 11 Image 12 Image 13 Image 14 Image 15 Image 16

$5,950.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 1309-53

Shipping: Determined by Method & Location of buyer

To Order:
Call 717-334-0347,
Fax 717-334-5016, or E-mail

This Jenks carbine is one of just 1,000 of these streamlined breech-loaders manufactured with the Maynard tape primer and rates about Excellent for condition- complete, all original, with smooth metal showing better than 90 percent plum brown on the barrel, some thin, mottled gray and blue case color on the loading lever and lockplate, pleasing, mellow tone to the brass bands, triggerguard and buttplate, sharp markings in the metal and the wood, which shows a tight fit to the metal and just a few minor handling marks. The lock and Maynard tape primer show gray with dark gray spots, but are smooth metal as well. The rear of the lockplate is crisply marked: “REMINGTON’S / HERKIMER / N.Y.” The barrel is stamped at the top of the breech flat “W. JENKS” lengthwise, over “USN / RP / P / 1847 / CAST STEEL” stamped crosswise. The stock bears a matching, legible “RP” inspection cartouche. The inside of the primer door is numbered “690.” The mechanics and bore are good.

Jenks patented his breechloading system in 1838 and first tried it out on flintlock arms in 1839 without much success, but it found favor in Navy tests of his percussion version, using the “mule-ear” side hammer, resulting in sales of some 4,200 to the US Navy from 1843 to 1846. This is one of 1,000 manufactured by Remington for Jenks to fulfill a Sept. 22, 1845, Navy contract for Jenks carbines fitted with a Maynard tape primer, the rights to which, for use on 1,000 locks, the Navy had acquired in March 1845. Earlier conventional percussion versions had been made by Ames. Flayderman indicates Remington had purchased both the contract and necessary machinery from Ames for their manufacture. Some minor changes were made in the contract, such as permitting the use of “cast steel” for the barrels, as noted in the barrel marking, and an extension was granted May 1846, with the first carbines inspected in January 1848 by Richard Paine (or at least he was paid in January 1848,) whose initials are on the barrel and stock, with deliveries made of 300 to the Boston Navy Yard in April 1848; 300 to the NY Navy Yard in June; 300 in September to Norfolk and 100 the same month to New York. The number inside the primer door seems to have served as a serial number on these. If the numbers on the primer door functioned as serial numbers and the guns were inspected and delivered in numerical order, this one would likely have been in the final, third shipment to either New York or Norfolk.

In December 1858 1,359 of the Navy’s 5,400 Jenks carbines were recorded as in service and the carbine remained standard issue right up to the beginning of the Civil War, though McAulay thinks that major issues of the Remington-Jenks carbines began only after remedy of a shortage of Maynard tape primers noted in October 1854, and suggests that these new Remington Jenks went to the new screw frigates (Merrimack, Wabash, Colorado, Niagara, and Minnesota) in the 1856-58 period with some perhaps among the varied Jenks patterns issued as well to the Preble, Congress, Cumberland, Susquehanna, Portsmouth, Cyane, Lancaster and Iroquois in the 1858-1860 period.

This carbine is rifled, usually stated to be .54 caliber, but closer to .52, shows the oval loading aperture for use of cartridges rather than loose powder from a flask and a ball, and has a sling ring on the base of the triggerguard tang. Opinion is divided, which is a way of saying nobody seems to know for sure, when or by whom these alterations were made. The rifling and oval loading aperture are often attributed to alterations made by the Navy as the Civil War loomed, but no records are cited. Others take these to be alterations made to the arms after sale to the civilian market as the Navy replaced the Jenks with the Sharps beginning in 1861, though a good number remained in Navy inventory at various locations, with a final 107 recorded in 1866.

Perhaps the largest and best known sale was some 2,800 Jenks carbines sold to A.M. Eastman, authorized in August 1861. McAulay notes that Eastman turned them over to W.W. Marston for rifling and installation of the sling rings. (In fact, the only roughness we see to the wood is next to the triggerguard tang, which would have been taken out for the modification.) He does not say the loading aperture was altered at that point, but it is possible. Some take these alterations to have been done earlier on contract for the navy, but Eastman was involved in the Hall Carbine Affair, which involved reselling surplus arms back to the government at exorbitant prices and it seems clear he was thinking of marketing Jenks carbines as cavalry arms and ability to take a cartridge would have been essential. Some salvaged Jenks carbines did make their way to the 2nd VA Cavalry Battalion, but they had been rejected for US cavalry use before the war, and their subsequent fate is unclear.

This is a very strong example of a scarce version of the Jenks, which itself merits a place in any collection of American arms.   [sr][ph:L]

DISCLAIMER: All firearms are sold as collector's items only - we do not accept responsibility as to the shooting safety or reliability of any antique firearm. All firearms are described as accurately as possible, given the restraints of a catalog listing length. We want satisfied customers & often "under" describe the weapons. Any city or state regulations regarding owning antique firearms are the responsibility of the purchaser. All firearms are "mechanically perfect" unless noted, but again, are NOT warranted as safe to fire!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!

Inquire »

Inquire About SCARCE MINTY REMINGTON-JENKS MAYNARD PRIMED NAVY CARBINE

should be empty