Repro musket or Original
I’ve been researching getting either an original or reproduction rifle-musket, mainly something like an 1861/1863 Springfield or a P53 Enfield. My goal is to have something I can realistically cast Minié balls for and use for target shooting, and maybe hunting later on.
Originally I was leaning toward an original, but between the price ($1200–2500+) and needing to find one with a good bore/rifling, I started looking harder at reproductions.
What surprised me is seeing people get really solid accuracy out of repro Springfields at 200 yards with cast Minié balls. I always heard reproductions don’t always use the original rifling/twist specs, so period-correct molds and loads might not work properly.
At the same time, a reproduction would obviously be mechanically “fresh” and probably less risky than buying a 160-year-old rifle.
So for those of you who shoot these regularly:
Would you go original or reproduction?
Which repro makers actually have good rifling/twist specs for Minié balls?
Is the Springfield or P53 Enfield the better route if I want to cast my own bullets
I mentioned Springfield and Enfield because those are the only two that popping into my mind right away so if you guys have any other recommendations, let me know!