After enjoying RIP's thread on the Big Fifty, I thought I would post on another favorite black powder cartridge firearm from the transitional period during the Civil War: Dr. Edward Maynard's fine little carbine. This one, in .50, is the Second Model; the War Department began receiving the Second Model in June of 1864. Service charge was a 343-grain bullet over 40 grains of black powder for a velocity between 900 and 1000 fps. The brass case has a pinhole in the center of the base to admit the flash from the musket cap. I have yet to shoot this one, although one I had about 20 years ago was very pleasant to shoot and relatively accurate as well.
When you show one of these carbines to a pal,the comment is invariably, "That's pretty cute, but dude, where's the rest of it?"




The Maynards were among the most well-regarded of the many Civil War carbines after the Sharps and Spencer. They were light, robust, simple, unlikely to get out of order, and the ammunition was easy to handle -- the big flange on the rim made it easy to snatch an empty case out of the breech and stuff in a fresh cartridge.

You need to get a couple of Weaver bases and stick them on top of the barrel with some double backed tape. It would give you a little bit of a conversation piece.

Dr. Maynard should have stuck to Dentistry, eh?
But the Union was kind of desperate for guns of any kind at the time those were contracted.
Exquisite "collector's item" especially for Civil War buffs.