Trapdoor Rifles

Seen at Baltimore
251
658
1088
plus one more in a display I was not able to handle.
All looked to be real, and in reasonably good condition.

I have owned and sold Forager #'30 and 421.

Thank you both. Four of the five were "new" so we now have 152 in the registry.

421 was in the Dorsey collection, recorded by Richard Branum (whose card index I have) in 1972.

SEE THE VALUE OF KEEPING OLD RECORDS?

I see a forager listed on proxbid with a serial number of 1408. Would they have went that high? I don't know enough about them. I am looking to pick one up, but I don't think it will be this one.

The accepted total is supposed to be 1376, but I saw 1378 at a San Jose CA gun show about fifty years ago - so, 1408 is possible, but I wouldn't expect anything much higher. Give me the Proxibid link and I'll have a look - serial number isn't everything - certain features must be right.

UPDATE: Found it. Funky. Stock's not right (but, it is a restoration - so I'm guessing it's a complete fabrication). Never saw case color on a Forager; they were used hard and put away wet. - WAY too gaudy for my taste. Receiver might be right, can't tell from limited pics. I'd be REALLY leery of putting a lot of money into that one.

Have to watch my words about replicas/restorations because of my 1882RB project - however, I am making no false claims about that, and it is being done as a personal project for my own enjoyment - not for sale. When I'm gone, it will live on but there are enough things 'wrong' with it that it would never pass as the real thing. My aim was a five-footer, and that is being achieved.

Thanks, I appreciate the info. The case coloring looked odd from the git go. I will be looking elsewhere.

On a positive note, I will say that the coloring is pretty good - often the refinishers get some odd colors not typical of the SA process. That block (with proper markings of course) would 'pass' on a minty 1889-dated M1884 rifle. Continuing in that vein, I believe it IS a real Forager block, just WAY overdone. Yes, let someone else wind up with that one. Foragers can be had - they just won't be as pretty as that one, nor should they be.