While perusing Bill Goodman’s site (I have got to quit doing that) I came across a Springfield Trapdoor in the Gemmer style. Good looking gun. http://www.goodmanguns.com/RIA%20custom%20TD%20photo.htm

Now that's a beautiful trapdoor!

Damn, what a cool rifle, a built in wiping stick holder too, i'd check twist and use the short nosed 500gr Jerry Dean flat nosed greaser, 70gr 2F could easily be handled by the trapdoor action, animals short of cape buff or ele could not handle the combination.

Had I not gone Gun crazy this month I might have jumped in it. I like it a lot

OH MY !

2) UNUSUAL AND ATTRACTIVE FULL CUSTOM "GEMMER" STYLE .45-70 SPRINGFIELD TRAPDOOR OCTAGON SPORTER! Obviously a great deal of time and money was spent building this really beautiful custom rifle. A little history: J.P. Gemmer purchased the famed Hawken shop (makers of the famous Plains Rifle prized by the mountain men and frontiersmen of the fur trade era) in St. Louis, Missouri in 1864. He operated the shop until 1915 and saw the great transition from muzzle loaders to cartridge guns. Gemmer was known to take cartridge guns and re-barrel and re-stock them in the Hawken muzzle loader style. He was especially known for his Spencer conversions as well as Sharps and Trapdoor Springfields. Interestingly, Ballard produced their No.5 Pacific rifle and No. 5 1/2 Montana rifle with the wiping rod under the barrel as factory production models for the frontier. This rifle uses a Trapdoor action with serial number 460XXX from 1889 (making this rifle an antique and not requiring an FFL for purchase). It is fitted with a blued 28" octagon barrel with Rocky Mountain blade front sight and Sharps style Lawrence full buckhorn ladder rear sight with slide. The striped maple stock shows rich color and is double-keyed or "wedged" to hold the barrel. The stock has a pewter tip and double cleaning rod thimbles to hold the cleaning rod. It also has sling swivel studs- one in the butt stock and one attached to a thimble under the barrel. The lock plate is unmarked and the breech block is marked "U.S. MODEL 1873." The rifle is fitted with double set triggers housed in a Hawken-style flowing trigger guard and the butt stock has a cheek piece plus curved butt plate with toe plate. It also has a long upper tang as found on Hawken rifles which also helps to reinforce and strengthen the wrist. All in near new , unused condition with only a few spots of minor freckling on the barrel. Weighs approx. 10 1/4 lbs. This rifle would cost a fortune to make from scratch! $3450.

www.goodmanguns.com

The very best kind of crazy to go Pacecars.

Sir Ron, You NEED that rifle, what a cool piece to add to the stable.

That is a fine piece of work.
I like the late Hawkens look. clear down to the tear drop and late trigger guard and never tail cheekiest

Fine looking shooter for sure.

Jerry,
I want it, don't need it with 4 other Trapdoors here, jealousy might break out amongst the "safe queens."

You bet Kurt, dang Sir Ron, you're flush with Trapdoors, very nice rifles, i've only fired one, a buds 45-70 that i did load with 70gr 2F and a 500gr bullet, iit booted pretty good, i shot it before i loaded the brass he brought, wanted to make sure t was in good working order before i loaded for it and he left.

Why, hells bells ! My 1888-vintage Model 1873 will handle the Saint Bagwell load of 480-gr PH at just under 1300 fps.
But with the 32.5" barrel length on the standard USA issue it might be right at 1300 fps MV.
That rifle is in great shape, with ramrod bayonet, butt trap, and Buffington sight.
I'll have to start feeding her PH bullets and calling her "Buffy."

LOL, i was/am very unfamiliar with the action, after checking out buds rifle then having him say GAS on this bitch, i went conservatively forward!

The OP photo is one of those funny file types that won't upload here so I printed it and scanned it and for posterity here is a poor copy,
most beautiful Trapdoor I ever saw:

i like that a lott . good stuff

It has great looking wood and the striped wiping rid just adds to it. I hate Bill Goodman sometimes! Must resist!

Deserves bigger pics

Nice work men!

Well crap. I should pay attention. Oh well you can’t have too many pics of a nice rifle

Pedersoli's Springfield M1873 Trapdoor Officer's Model:



Dixie Gun Works catalog says only 477 of the originals were made from 1875 to 1885, intended use as sporting/hunting rifles.
Gemmerization.