I have found a original trap door carbine in 45*70 that is in excellent condition except the front sight is missing and the elevator rear is missing the rear sight but the ladder is all there.How hard are these missing sight parts to find and how much will they cost?
Last edited by keekeerun; 04/30/18.
Frank Glaser,Alaska Wolfman:"with a lung shot on hoofed game the .220 Swift killed quicker than any other gun I ever owned."That included caribou,moose,wolf,and sheep.
Ok Does anyone know anything about the 1873 Springfield rifles? I would like to know ifi can find out if the serial number 433xx is old enough to have possibly been at the Little Big Horn battle? The rifle I have been told is a 44-40 but I think they were only made in 45_70. Also from what I have read the standard load for the calvery was 55gr.black powder and 405gr.bullet. With the rear sight laying flat the rifle was sighted for 250 yards which would be one hell of a arch for the45_70 and would be high at100yrds bigtime. I have found a set of sights but don't understand how the barrel went from 45_70 to 44_40......I think the owner is wrong and figure the only way to tell is a chamber cast.He said he could tell because he measured the bore...... The lock has 1878 stamped on it is this correct or did some guns made in 1873 get stamped 1878? The little bighorn battle was June 25,1876-June26,1876 The reason I am wondering I have read that any Springfield carbine with serial number 43700 and earlier are"custer guns" time frame and could have been at the Little big Horn battle and picked up by the victorious native Americans because nothing was left laying on the ground after the battle and not many documented guns out of the 300?carbines that were issued to the 7th calvery regiment.
Frank Glaser,Alaska Wolfman:"with a lung shot on hoofed game the .220 Swift killed quicker than any other gun I ever owned."That included caribou,moose,wolf,and sheep.
Some one would of had to of rebarreled, or lined and chambered the barrel for it to be a 44-40. If it was a battlefield pickup by the indians, it likely would be decorated with tac's etc. and probably not be in real good condition.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
Sounds like you need to find some detailed reference material on the Trapdoor. I'm no expert but from what I glean from your description I'd be very wary.... i.e. there were no "original" .44-40s or 1878 models. Garry James wrote a piece about the 1879 Carbine that details a few of the differences between models. http://www.gunsandammo.com/historical/the-model-1879-springfield-trapdoor-carbine/
Charter Member Ancient order of the 1895 Winchester
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I found a place that sales sights for the old guns,it's called S&S firearms Glendale NY. Did the front sight mount on the barrel with solder? What factory ammo can be shot in the old 45-70 rifles?Remington only?would you load it up with black powder or pyrodex or what? I don't think the shop is correct on the 44-40 barrel but a chamber cast would be in order?If it truly is 44-40 a 45-70 case would not fit right? Thanks big time for all the help! This has been a learning adventure bigtime
Last edited by keekeerun; 05/04/18.
Frank Glaser,Alaska Wolfman:"with a lung shot on hoofed game the .220 Swift killed quicker than any other gun I ever owned."That included caribou,moose,wolf,and sheep.
Go to Trapdoors.com It is a good place to get what ever information you want. They used to have a serial number look up that told you where the rifle was issued and decommissioned. I have one rifle that was decommissioned at Ft. Keogh Mt. and the other was used in the 10'th PA INF.
