Got a question for you...

Must all rounds be fed from the magazine, or is it possible to load them singly through the action once the tube magazinw is empty?

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Lost it all in a boat accident

If you don't get an answer here, try Mike Venturino. I think he still writes at, "Guns." He knows more about those old guns than anyone else I know.

A high school classmate had one in his family, a carbine, since the Civil War. He brought it and a Colt Navy .36 to class for show and tell one day in the early 1960's. Boy, that wouldn't happen now!

Actually, almost of the guys that I knew then had guns in their homes, and most of us owned some. Wonder how many high school lads have guns now?

T-Star

You can single-load 'em, but you have to play with the lever to get the parts in the right spot. Opening it all the way, like you'd do with a Marlin or Winchester, won't work, as the extractor slides under the case-head as the cartridge chambers. Same as with a Mauser rifle - the hook goes in the extractor groove as the round chambers. The action needs to be about half open.

This information is for the Taylor Spencer in 44 Russian. I presume it would be accurate with the Taylors in any caliber, and for the originals as well, but all I really know about is mine.

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I always take precautions

What are the steps of operation for the Spencer. I did a quick search, but could only find new Spencers for sale and historical information.

I vaguely recall, with a loaded magazine:

1. Hammer to half-cock.
2. Work lever.
3. Hammer to full-cock.
4. Fire.
5. Repeat.

I've read that before, but I just work mine with the hammer down. I've tried it with and without being on half-cock and don't see a difference. I wonder if the "put it on half-cock first" was because the originals were rimfire? But, yeah, the lever does not cock it. First time I took mine to a match, the timer told me afterwards that, after the first two shots, he started watching the timer. One and a half seconds between shots. Said I was regular as clockwork. That's something else I found out. Get a rhythm and stick with it. Don't try to go too fast. Don't change how you do it - speed up or slow down. Just down, up, cock, pow, down, up, cock, pow.

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I always take precautions