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103
PRESS REVIEW
10 pounds.
A great effort was placed in the
manufacturing process for the Model
1842. It was the first small arm produced
in the U.S. with interchangeable machine-
made parts. It was produced at both
Harpers Ferry and Springfield Armories.
Harpers Ferry produced 103,000 and
Springfield produced 172,000 between
1844 and 1855.
The Model 1842 was produced with
an intentionally thicker barrel than necessary,
the war could be much longer and bloodier
than originally anticipated. For more infor-
mation about the 150th Anniversary Cel-
ebration at the Battlefield site go to www.
manassascivilwar.org. When we think of
the American Civil War we automatically
think of the .58 caliber Minie ball and the
1855 and 1861 rifled muskets.
But just as common in the war -
especially in the earlier battles – was the
Model 1842 percussion musket. The
Model 1842 was the last U.S. smoothbore
musket. It was the first U.S. musket made
with a percussion lock, though most of the
1840 flintlocks ended up converted to per-
cussion locks before reaching the field. The
Model 1842 was .69 caliber with a barrel
length of 42 inches and an overall length
of 59 inches, and it weighed 10 pounds.
A great effort was placed in the man-
ufacturing process for the Model 1842. It
was the first small arm produced in the
U.S. with interchangeable machine-made
parts. It was produced at both Harpers
Ferry and Springfield Armories. Harpers
Ferry produced 103,000 and Springfield
produced 172,000 between 1844 and
1855. The Model 1842 was produced
with an intentionally thicker barrel than
necessary, with the assumption that it
would likely be rifled later. As the design-
ers anticipated, many of the Model 1842
were rifled to accept the newly developed
Minie ball.
The Minie ball is not a ball, as the
name implies, but in fact a conical bullet
with a skirt that expanded when fired so
that it tightly gripped the barrel to take
advantage of the rifling. The conical shape
of the bullet, combined with the spin
ofthe rifling, made the Minie ball much
more accurate than the round ball that
it replaced.Tests conducted by the Army
showed that the .69 caliber Minie ball was
not as accurate as the .58 caliber Minie
ball. For these reasons the Model 1842
was the last .69 caliber musket. The Army
standardized to the .58 caliber Minie ball
and produced Model 1855 and Model
1861 rifled muskets.
For the 150th anniversary of the
American Civil War, Chiappa Firearms has
decided to release a special edition of the
Model 1842 smoothbore musket. Chiappa
plans on releasing a special edition firear-
mevery year of the 150th Anniversary ba-
sed on the firearm’s use and impact onthe
war. Chiappa’s Model 1842 will come with
Stan Swanner, a sales representative for
Chiappa Firearms, will be inducted into the
2011 SASS Hall of Fame.
two lock plates, both stamped 1847; one
plate will be a Harpers Ferry and one plate
will be Springfield.
The Model 1842 I tested was very
well made and fitted. It is also North-
South Skirmish Association approved. The
N-SSA are the experts on the Civil War
firearms and they approve the best firearms
to be shot at their competitions at Fort
Shenandoah. Ezechiele Chiappa founded
Armi Sport in 1958 in Brescia, Italy, and
was among the pioneers who gave birth to
the replica firearms world. Over the many
years and everchanging world the business
is still proudly owned and controlled by the
Chiappa family.
The business is now known as The
Chiappa Group – located in Brescia, Itaty
– an industrial corporation that includes
Armi Sport, Kimar, ACP, Costa, and
Chiappa Firearms Ltd. - located in Dayton,
Ohio. The current President and CEO is
Rino Chiappa, son of Ezechiele.
I had the opportunity to meet some
of the family at IWA in Nuremberg, Ger-
many, and some more at the NRA annual
convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
this year. It is truly a family business. While
I was visiting at the Chiappa booth at the
NRA convention I met and talked to Stan
Swanner, who is a sales representative for
Chiappa. He is also known as Deadwood
Stan SASS Regulator 7275.
Chiappa is also known for its Cow-
boy guns, and Stan uses many of them
when he shoots in Single Action Shooting
Society events.
He is actually quite famous, and
has been inducted into the SASS Hall of
Fame, which is a great honor. Many of the
Chiappa firearms that Stan uses, including
the 150th anniversary Model 1842 smo-
othbore musket, are available at Taylor’s
& Company, Inc., Winchester Virginia.
Or go to www.chiappafirearms.com for a
dealer near you.
A stand can be made against
invasion by an army; no stand can be
made against invasion by an idea.”
Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
The Chiappa Firearms 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War 1842 musket comes with a
pair of lock plates, one Springfield and the other Harper’s Ferry as shown above.