Trapdoor Rifles

Try 23 grains of AA 5744 with the Lyman 50-70 bullet (515141), or an equivalent bullet. That runs just under 1200 fps out of my M-1870 Trapdoor and no signs of excess pressure. Quickload guesses just under 11K psi. and nails the velocity prediction. I have fired this load in Sharps 50-70 carbine con...

I suspect it is an inspector's stamp from when the breechblock strap was soldered on. My short rifle has a 4 in the same spot. My other 66 isn't in good enough shape to be sure, there may be a B under the pitting.

Here are a couple pictures that might help. I don't have a rifle with a filled spring slot, but these pictures show an M1864 musket above an M-1866 short rifle so you can see where the musket middle band spring was before it was filled. I pulled the middle band back to better show the spring end.

The pin hole between the lock and lower band is for the musket ramrod retainer spoon. If the stock was converted from an M-1864 musket stock there should also be a hole on the left side of the forestock between the bands. That is for the middle band spring that's no longer there. Springfield convers...

The end of the filler closest to the lock should be 11 7/8" up from the back edge of the bottom band, more or less.

Been working on an M-1841 Mississippi the last week or so. When the barrel came out of the stock, the blue on the bottom is absolutely beautiful, after 176 years! Nothing like that being done today. It's a privilege to be able to handle these old soldiers.

There was also some discussion of these in Al Frasca's Trapdoor Newsletter 20 or so years ago. Page 62 has an informative discussion. These were made at Springfield from returned 3 banders that had been fired with a bore obstruction and burst the muzzle. During the Franco-Prussian War Remington got ...

If you want to make a road trip, the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson has a Kings Box in their collection, also a Dyer Box and most of the other oddball cartridge boxes. Last time I was there (2016) they were in the basement, not on display. Call ahead and they will probably take you down to see...

That looks like one of the brass Smith Carbine cases that N-SSA skirmishers use.

Here are a few more oddities that I see. Buttplate tang doesn’t fit the stock. Samuel Porter wasn’t the master armorer until well after 1875. The Circle P doesn't look exactly right either Trigger guard bow is on backwards Stock contour around the lock plate and front of the comb is wrong, more like...