The Spencer repeating rifle was a falling block, repeating rifle fed from a removable magazine. It a manually operated repeating falling block rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. The design was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860 and was a magazine-fed, lever-operated rifle chambered for the .56-56 rimfire cartridge. The Spencer carbine, a shorter and lighter version was developed also. Like the Dreyse breech-loader, the firing system had to be independently primed: in this case, a lever had to be cocked. The weapon used copper rimfire cartridges stored in a removable seven-round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another, and which when emptied could be exchanged for another. A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. ... Christopher Spencer (1833 - 1922) invented the Spencer repeating rifle. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Categories: Military stubs | Firearm components ... A rimfire is a type of firearm cartridge. ... The Dreyse needle-gun (German das Zündnadelgewehr or figuratively firing-pin rifle) was a military breechloading rifle, famous as the arm of the Prussians, who adopted it for service in 1848 as the Dreyse Zundnadelgewehr, or Prussian Model 1848. ...

The Spencer repeating rifle was adopted by the United States and used during the American Civil War (to some degree by the south as well). Notable instance of use include the Battle of Gettysburg. In the late 1860's, the Spencer company was sold to the Fogerty Rifle Company and ultimately to Winchester. With over 20,000 made, it marked the first adoption of a removable magazine-fed infantry rifle by any country. The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-three mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the... Main article: Gettysburg Campaign The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the largest battle ever fought in North America, and is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. ... The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating weapons during the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

See also

• M1819 Hall rifle
• Henry rifle
• Volcanic rifle
• List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces

The M1819 rifle was a single-shot breech loading rifle formally adopted by the U.S. in 1819. ... The Henry rifle was an American . ... Individual weapons by type and current level of use. ...

External link

• The patent drawing for the Spencer action