Trapdoor Rifles

I would not be the LEAST bit concerned, at all, period, finis .......

Thank you Dick , It is interesting of the period of transition. I see so many rifles shortened to carbine . This is a full rifle with R rear sight . The stock has been cut down but not the action and barrel . Would it be wise to return it back to original stock? Tom is right, but that (buggered sto...

That is in an "interesting" (but only to TD nut jobs like myself) area of transition between the earliest guns and the major change at 96300. They may have the second or third style breechblock, long comb stocks with narrow inletting, M1877 sights, etc. I own 73751 and 77593. In a limited ...

I may have held on too long....

That is an IMPRESSIVE firearms/military history library!!! I've got a lot of books (one good-sized upstairs room actually is..... a dedicated library) but nothing to compare with that assemblage on the given subject. Congratulations.

Thank you to both Dick and John for your input. I may have to consider recovering the serial number if at all possible. The guy I got it from lived in Canada but he said he bought it at an auction, so who knows what the history could be on this one. There was quite a bit of pitting throughout all t...

Even though 16.25" is the correct blade length for trapdoor cadet bayonets, their sockets should be the same as those for the full rifle, as the shorter barrels were reduced to the same muzzle diameter. With the lack of a US, i'm guessing what you have is not trapdoor. Did New Jersey use other ...

I have always felt the short 1865's were real. Al disagrees, and he is above me on the totem pole of trapdoor nuts! :lol: It IS clear that SA did NOT fill spring cuts on the (legitimate) short 1866s, but I do not believe there is definitive info on the short '65s. Every one I have seen has been exac...

Jim, Berdan, not Benet. The Berdan cartridges were only in use for a very short time (loaded March & April of 1877 then dropped) Perhaps the dimpling issue contributed to their demise? The s/n looks like deliberate localized abuse - and there were two main contemporary causes for this - stolen b...

The short 1865s come in two basic flavors. (1) the crudely done, badly proportioned ones where the middle band remains in place and the front looks weird. These usually have the wrist severely thinned as well. In my opinion, they are not collectible and really should be shunned. (2) the nicely propo...