This Spencer sporting rifle was likely manufactured just after the end of the Civil War and is chambered for the 56-46 Spencer cartridge (44 rimfire) commonly used in the Spencer sporting guns. It has an inscription on the pewter forend cap. "Presented to" and "by" are clear, but the recipient and presenter names have not been deciphered. (The writer believes the presentation to be from a general but will yield to the close-up photo provided.) Other known presentation pieces were given to Frank Cheney of Spencer Repeating Rifle Company, Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. The assembly number "27" is stamped on the forearm, barrel, front of the action, and various action components, and "517" is stamped on the action partially obscured by the peep sight mounting screws. The first and possible last digits of the serial number were obliterated when the receiver was tapped. For this reason, during the post-war years, Spencer marked most of the sporting rifle serial numbers to the left of the screws. It has an octagon barrel fitted with blade and notch sights. The action has the Spencer cut-off and single set trigger as pictured on page 113 of "Spencer Repeating Firearms" by Marcot. Like the Civil War Spencers, the sporting versions were fed by a tubular magazine in the buttstock. Relatively few Spencer sporting rifles were produced before the company closed in 1868 due to poor demand. The design that had made the Spencer so effective during the war prevented it from chambering the high power cartridges favored by the hunters of the time.

About good with some parts absent (peep sight and set trigger) or replaced (sights). The rifle has a primarily dark brown patina with some spots of oxidation and pitting. The wood is very good with some slight chipping and hairline cracks and overall minor pressure marks and scratches. The action needs work given that the missing components from the trigger mechanism prevent it from holding full cock and thus firing properly. The markings are mostly clear. While an estimated 144,500 military carbines and rifle were produced by Spencer during the Civil War, only an estimated 1,807 of these sporting rifles were manufactured between 1864 and 1868, and only a scarce few have presentation inscriptions.