Trapdoor Rifles

That is a '73 rod, which is where the grasping grooves started. 1870 rod is plain at the small end, and not blued. The 1870 and 1873 rods take the same keeper but that of the '73 is blued. Rod length should be identical within manufacturing tolerances. The '70 rod may be kinda hard to find. Over 50 years, I've only had one spare, which I sold a couple of years back.

Thanks for the confirmation. Yes I am finding quite a few original 1873. Which is probably why they replaced it with that one. Well I like a good hunt.