Machinery and fixtures for making the 1822 contract flintlock musket had to be retooled or replaced in order to produce the lock and barrel of the new model.

Warner spearheaded the drive to equip the Springfield Armory with a set of new, more precise machines, and a system of gauging that made it possible to achieve interchangeability of parts in military small arms.

At this time, smoothbore muskets were still the primary infantry weapon, and any unit with rifles was considered special and designated as such.

By the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi Rifle was generally considered old-fashioned but effective.

It was carried by some Union troops up until 1863, though the 45th New York Infantry still used the rifle beyond Gettysburg.