Trapdoor Rifles

Ah, thanks for the info. I’ll do some research on that one. Are they of more/equal/or less value than 1855/1873’s? I’m guessing if it’s been shortened that destroys the collector value. May see what I can get out of it to help get a correct trapdoor one…or may use it as an excuse to hunt for a Hotch...

Thanks for the reply. I saw the Cadet one on this site : worldbayonets. com/Bayonet_Identification_Guide/United_States__19th_Century_/ but, as you say, the ID of the socket is still to small. The only thing I saw close to that ID was some of the “Winchester Socket Bayonets”. But their other dimensio...

Just bought my second trapdoor. An 1873 mod. Manufactured in 1881 with stock cartouche and “N.J.” Stamped into the side of the receiver. I got it along with a NJ marked belt and cartridge box also marked NJ. Having what (at least I believe) to be a NJ militia Trapdoor rig, I found a socket bayonet i...

One thought is to cross drill the stock right at the barrel band front and use a pin to retain the band leaving enough on each side to hold it in place. Just like my Martini-Henry Mk 2 rifle. Then drill a second hole where the rod retainer would have been so it crosses the rod groove and the rod wi...

Agree, I have some small brass rods I was thinking of using for the same things. We shall see. Just starting into 19th century firearms, a few hundred bucks for a functional one doesn’t seem too bad a deal… . Thanks again.

Thanks Tom, you’ve been very helpful. A poster on another forum thinks the stock may have been bought as unfinished scrap, rejected due to being somehow out of spec…? Who knows. If that were the case, the cartouche being on there is strange but I’ve found you can buy cartouche stamps on the old inte...

One more question. Does the firing pin look bent/deformed? Maybe it’s just the angle it’s in there at.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/09f3LaQ ... ICPapU3XhA

Thanks for the reply. Yea, I saw how to take the breech block apart. My immediate thought was "So that's where Mr. Stoner got his front take down pin design from." ha! My reloader buddy got my black powder rounds to me yesterday and I just couldn't resist. Fired 10 rounds and everything we...

Hi, New here. Just got my first Trapdoor. I did a little research beforehand and knew it was a parts gun of some sort, but the goal was to get my feet wet with something I could hopefully shoot and tinker with a little without breaking the bank. It was advertised as a model 1873 but by the serial# (...