Description
In good to very good condition overall, this 2nd Model (also called the Model 1863) #17,739 was manufactured circa mid- 1864. The patchbox used on the First Model was eliminated on the 2nd Models and the tape priming system was replaced with an exclusive percussion cone which delivered center fire through the base of a metal cartridge.
The hinged barrel tips downward to load by lowering the trigger guard and pushing it forward. It was manufactured by Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, under direct United States military contract. The marks on frame right side read MANUFACTURED BY / MASS. ARMS CO. / CHICOPEE FALLS and on the left side, EDWARD MAYNARD. / PATENTEE. / MAY 27, 1851. / DEC 6, 1859. The serial number appears on trigger guard tang.
Standard features include an iron buttplate, iron loading lever which also serves as the trigger guard, a blued barrel which is round with an octagonal breech, no forearm or barrel band, an integral mounted sling riding ring and bar on the left side, a two leaf rear sight, and a .50 caliber bore rifled with six grooves. The Maynard was an incredibly light, popular, reliable, accurate and powerful carbine prized by cavalrymen on both sides of the Civil War.
