Back after Half a Century

[daneal]

I was an ardent trapdoor collector back in the days when a trapdoor was "just another of them musket conversions". Bought my first one for $3.50 in an antique store in Virginia when I was 16.
I spent many enjoyable years touring gun shows and collecting trapdoor serial number/gun type data all over the country. In 1964, midway in my military career, I was given overseas orders, so sent all my raw data to someone I whom had heard was thinking of writing a book on trapdoors. I have no recollection of who I sent it to-- I hope it was one of those who actually did so!
I'm now a 93-year-old retiree living in Alaska and have been re-bitten by the trapdoor bug. I have owned and disposed of most of the rare ones, but now see fresh rareties coming out of the woodwork as we older guys are leaving the range. At a time when I should be divesting, I find myself unable to resist buying some of the models I couldn't find as a younger collector. Luckily, there is far more information and expertise available now, this forum being an example, and I intend to take full advantage of it.

Don Neal

[Matt]

Hi Don and all,
Well Don you have 60 years on me, but I too have recently been lured into the trapdoor world, and glad I have stumbled on this forum! I had been wanting to invest more of my gun collection into low serial number US military rifles. I watched a couple trapdoor slip away on gunbroker because I didn't feel educated enough to know what to look for and make sure I was buying the real deal. I wound up reaching out to a guy selling some 1868s and he was incredibly knowledgeable and turned me onto a book which I bought, "The .58 and .50 caliber springfield rifles & carbines". He also turned me onto this forum, which I dove into and I was pleasantly surprised to find the author, Dick, an active member here! I felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger on my first trapdoor, and first low numbered military rifle for my collection (thanks Fred!)

Looking forward to learning more from everyone here and glad I found what seems to be the place to be for all things trapdoor.
Matt

[Dick Hosmer]

Welcome Don!!! Can't tell you how glad I am to hear you are alive and kicking. 86 myself - we're not kids anymore.

I remember you quite well from Vallejo, San Jose, Mt. View, etc. AND, yes, I still have that crusty "First Model" 1873 carbine, number 16572, which you sold me, in the early '70s, for $185 - It has always been one of my favorites; it speaks to me. I think it was there . . . . . . If not LBH, maybe the Rosebud, or somehere else, but it saw HARD service, almost certainly in the west, and has had zero upgrades. I've never touched it but with an oily rag every so often.

For those (everyone but Don and I) who haven't seen it, finish is a fuzzy brown patina, no sight leaf, badly frozen firing pin, serious stock split at far side. Bit of a 'dog' back in the day when trapdoors were red-headed step-children, and no decent Colt or Winchester man would be caught dead holding one, but my how the times have changed!

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[John S.]

Don- Welcome back among friends.
Don was/is not just a trapdoor collector but a serious collector of all U.S. martial arms and very knowledgeable, so pay attention, we can learn things from him.

[Dick Hosmer]

Small world . . . .

[Texcl2]

I’m back to collecting trapdoors too but only after 30 years, lol. I started collecting in general with 1873 trapdoors with my father back in the 80’s. We went all over Texas to gun shows and stores and never paid more than $275 for a trapdoor rifle! One of the first rifles we bought came with a bag of old shells, some went off some didn’t. Some were factory black powder shells and actually went off, you never knew if it was smokeless or black powder until it set off. Many of the primers were dead and we would take the shells apart. Anyways every time I hold one or look up something in one of my father’s reference books, many marked with his notes, I feel like he’s sitting next to me.

[Fred Gaarde]

Hi Don and all,
Well Don you have 60 years on me, but I too have recently been lured into the trapdoor world, and glad I have stumbled on this forum! I had been wanting to invest more of my gun collection into low serial number US military rifles. I watched a couple trapdoor slip away on gunbroker because I didn't feel educated enough to know what to look for and make sure I was buying the real deal. I wound up reaching out to a guy selling some 1868s and he was incredibly knowledgeable and turned me onto a book which I bought, "The .58 and .50 caliber springfield rifles & carbines". He also turned me onto this forum, which I dove into and I was pleasantly surprised to find the author, Dick, an active member here! I felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger on my first trapdoor, and first low numbered military rifle for my collection (thanks Fred!)

Looking forward to learning more from everyone here and glad I found what seems to be the place to be for all things trapdoor.
Matt

Welcome to the forum Matt!