The action on this carbine works smoothly and locks up tight. Military inspector's cartouches ('DAT' in script) on the left side of the wrist. The factory applied assembly marks are still visible as well as both the Spencer factory inspectors initials on top of the buttstock, and the U.S. It shows handling marks and small dents and dings but is completely free from cracks or repairs. The original Walnut stock set is in great shape overall.

The rifling still shows sharp lands and gooves and there is no pitting or erosion whatsoever. It looks 'like-new', it is bright and minty. The barrel is stamped on the top near the receiver 'M.1865'. Both the front sight and adjustable rear sight are in excellent condition and function properly. The original blue finish on the barrel has also turned to a brown/blue, but it has a nice even patina to it. The top of the reciever is stamped with the Spencer firm maker's mark. With the lever in the down position and the breech block lowered you can see a lot of the original case colors on the internals. As you can see in the pictures, the case colored receiver has faded out in the exposed areas to a gray/brown color but still shows some original colors in the protected areas. This example is a Spencer-made Model 1865 and is 100% original and fully functional. It was eventually replaced in American service by the Trapdoor Springfield design in the 1870's. Military in the Indian Wars in the American West, and also served in other countries all over the world such as Mexico and France where it was used in the Franco Prussian War in 1871.

The Spencer Model 1865 was used extensively by the U.S. The Burnside made carbines are marked on top of the receiver with the Burnside maker mark. The Burnside Rifle Company also made a contract run of the 1865 Model Spencer and had their own serial number range from 1 to 34,000. Approximately half of the production was fitted with the Stabler magazine cutt-off. They featured a 20' inch barrel with 6-groove rifling chambered for the. The serial number range was from 1 to approximately 23,000. The Spencer Model 1865 Carbine was made just after the end of the Civil War in 1865 until late 1866 by the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company in Boston, MA.

This Spencer Model 1865 Carbine is an excellent all-original example with an exceptional bore.

Spencer repeating rifle serial numbers