I know nothing of these types of guns so any info would be great.  Here is the tiny bit i know for sure.
I will get another look soon.

It is an Enfield with the date or model numer 1855.

It has an enormous barrell  30" to 40"

It has the Royal crown stamp as well as some less defined ones.

Somebody told the old woman that it was a  "1860 MARK3 Schneider Conversion" .  She was told that she may be able to get 500 fot it.  

It is in Decent shape, bore looks rough but the wood and receiver are good.  Has three initials scratched into the butstock.
I only saw it for a short period and couldn't ask many questions as she was talking to a dirtbag gun dealer while i was witing to get one can of CLP.  I talked to her outside andtold her i would ask around for her so she wouldn't get burned.  She thanked me and told me her faily had been ripped off by a gun dealer in bosten/salem MA area some time ago for probably tens of thousands.  I will get more info and pics but its difficult until i see it as she doesn't like to mess with it.  Thank You..
lobsta

Is this the rifle you were looking at?



I had never heard of it before, but I was looking around and it appears that 'Schneider' is the English term for it and 'Snider' is the American term for it. Not sure how accurate that is, but when I goggled "Schneider Conversion" I got almost nothing, but "Snider Conversion" came up with quite a bit more, including that picture on the first page of images.

Sorry I can't give you more info than that without reading up on it myself, but you might want to try goggling "Snider Conversion" and go from there.

ETA: I also found this at Sarco:

www.sarcoinc.com/guns17a.html

3rd from the bottom. Now Sarco's special firearms tend to be very overpriced, and that one is in a lot better condition than the one you described, but it gives you an idea of the price range. Compare it to others on the page to get an idea of what type of mark up they have put on it.

The rifle would be a model 1853 Enfield rifled musket in .577 caliber. The 1855 on the receiver would be the manufacture date. Most receivers would have TOWER and the royal crown stamped on the lockplate. That does not necessarily mean that it was produced by the English government arsenals. Although I would figure that is was government produced due to the 1855 date. The snider conversion was designed to prolong the service life of the weapon by converting it to a breech loader. The US/CS used millions of the rifles during the War Between the States. That was before the conversion though. Since the rifle was converted, I would guess that it never made it to the states originally. Good rifle.

thank you to all who responded.
Southernman077  That was very informative.  The one i saw was almost identical but with about 10' to 15' more inches of barrell.  Gun dealer offered her around $500

What do you guys think of me offering her $550 for it.  Are these converted rifles common or is this a rare find?  Factor in a little sentimental value for me.  Just a bit.  I do like rare rifles even if the value isn't great.  
thanks

Don't know about the condition of these rifles as compared with what you saw, but IMA sells them for $525. After you figure in the shipping and a handpick fee, it would probably be about $550, so your offer to her wouldn't be to bad. Also, if you get it , IMA has lots of the goodies for it and many other rifles. Here is the link:http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/cPath/29_115/products_id/577

Thank You very much for your help.  When people take thier time to find any info for me it reminds me why i hang around.  thanks for the link also...it was interesting.  I'll try and get a pic of it,  it would be funny as it is pretty close to being taller than me.  I look like a pygme when holding that thing.
lobsterman



eta:   smartass over here said i look liy a pygmee without it