125coues Report post Posted April 16, 2009 Trying to find out where I can go to find information on this rifle I have accquired. The pictures shows an eagle and next to that is US Springfield. On top it has U.S. Model 1873, lower from that is a serial # 60541. This rifle came from my grandfathers estate out of Texas. Any information on a website or someone I could contact to get information about what kind of rifle and what caliber it is would be helpful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KGAINES Report post Posted April 16, 2009 http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Model_1873 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
125coues Report post Posted April 16, 2009 Keith, thanks for the information, it was a great help. Does anyone reccomend a good gunsmith for restoration?? The rifle is in fair shape, just want to get it cleaned up a bit. Thanks, Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted April 16, 2009 do it yourself. the trapdoor is a real simple action. take it apart, scrub the heck out of it, oil it and put it back together. i assume it's a .45/70? great guns and quite valuable. i'd love to have one. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted April 17, 2009 do it yourself. the trapdoor is a real simple action. take it apart, scrub the heck out of it, oil it and put it back together. i assume it's a .45/70? great guns and quite valuable. i'd love to have one. Lark. Lark usually is right on the mark on most things, but not this time. Do-it-yourself restoration could result in your rifle losing some of its value to a collector. A previous owner "sporterized" my .45-70 Springfield trapdoor rifle by sawing off the forestock and throwing away its ramrod. One in the identical condition as mine sold on the AccurateReloading.com site's classified section last month for $650, while complete and original condition trapdoor rifles are selling on other sites for $1,295 and considerably more depending upon the model and condition. Cutting off part of a stock isn't the same as "scrubbing the heck out of it," but some collectors want the patina of age that scrubbing removes. Before you do anything to your rifle, be sure to read the "restoration" link in the website that KGaines mentions. And Lark, if you are serious about wanting a shooter, I'll sell you mine for $600. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KGAINES Report post Posted April 17, 2009 One other thing you might want to be sure of is the bullets you use, don't get the magnum style loads. I don't know if you can buy the blackpowder loads, but you can get light cowboy loads, Bill or Lark might know what would work best out of that gun. Take care and congrats on what sounds like a great gun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted April 17, 2009 One other thing you might want to be sure of is the bullets you use, don't get the magnum style loads. I don't know if you can buy the blackpowder loads, but you can get light cowboy loads, Bill or Lark might know what would work best out of that gun. Take care and congrats on what sounds like a great gun. Don't shoot factory loads of any kind until you are positive that your rifle is strong enough to handle smokeless powder pressures. Some trapdoors can handle black powder only. I have never shot my rifle, but if I were to do so, I'd work up some black powder loads just because I enjoy all that smoke and the aroma that comes with it. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted April 17, 2009 Mark, I also have a springfrield but it is a model 1884. Serial #52187. It belonged to my grandfather and I shot squirrels with it back when I was in high school. See ya at the wedding. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted April 19, 2009 I'm sure everyone thought I was making fun but it's true. My Grandfather was a tool & die maker and he was an avid hunter. I don't know all the history behind this gun but I do know my Grandfather told me I could shoot 28ga. shot gun shells out of it. I don't recommend anyone try this but I have shot squirrels with this gun back in the 60's. I'm leaning towards shooting a gobblers with it just to know my Grandpa would be proud. Being from Ohio I'm sure he would have never guessed in a million years a turkey would be shot in Arizona with this set up. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted April 20, 2009 dangit bill, i didn't tell him to saw it up. i've only seen a couple trapdoors that had enough finish on em to even count anyway. i was refering to inside of the barrel and the action. guns are easy to clean. i always hear about patina and from what i see it's what most folks call rust. the guys sellin' the guns call it patina. i'll think about the deal on the trapdoor. when i was a kid they were in about ever gun store i went in for maybe $50 or $75. same with model 1886's and 1895's, 1892's. the only ones that had any value were 94's. and then not a lot. you could buy a new one for $100. or less. i bought a few guns like that when i had enough cash and i could sneak it in without the ol' man knowin', but not near enough. i could retire rich today if i bought everyone i wanted. once i was in kelly's on mainstreet in safford and was closin' the deal on an '86, .45/70, for $50, and who walked in but my ol' man. didn't get that one. "those things are worthless!" (and they were at the time) but i know it'd bring a couple grand today. i wish i had every old gun i saw for sale when i was a kid. my first rifle was a 1894 .30 wcf, made in the '20's. hardly any blue. been shot a million times. paid 42 bucks for it and 11 shells at talley and son's in safford. had to dicker with ol' Irvin myself. he probly woulda just gave it to me if i'da hounddog eyed him a little. what a great ol' guy. shot my first buck and javelina with it. still pack it horseback a bunch. they don't make them old guns anymore. too bad too, because they are really good rifles. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted April 21, 2009 dangit bill, i didn't tell him to saw it up. i've only seen a couple trapdoors that had enough finish on em to even count anyway. i was refering to inside of the barrel and the action. guns are easy to clean. i always hear about patina and from what i see it's what most folks call rust. the guys sellin' the guns call it patina. i'll think about the deal on the trapdoor. when i was a kid they were in about ever gun store i went in for maybe $50 or $75. same with model 1886's and 1895's, 1892's. the only ones that had any value were 94's. and then not a lot. you could buy a new one for $100. or less. i bought a few guns like that when i had enough cash and i could sneak it in without the ol' man knowin', but not near enough. i could retire rich today if i bought everyone i wanted. once i was in kelly's on mainstreet in safford and was closin' the deal on an '86, .45/70, for $50, and who walked in but my ol' man. didn't get that one. "those things are worthless!" (and they were at the time) but i know it'd bring a couple grand today. i wish i had every old gun i saw for sale when i was a kid. my first rifle was a 1894 .30 wcf, made in the '20's. hardly any blue. been shot a million times. paid 42 bucks for it and 11 shells at talley and son's in safford. had to dicker with ol' Irvin myself. he probly woulda just gave it to me if i'da hounddog eyed him a little. what a great ol' guy. shot my first buck and javelina with it. still pack it horseback a bunch. they don't make them old guns anymore. too bad too, because they are really good rifles. Lark. Like you, lark, I wish I would have bought two truckloads of the Remington rolling block single shots being sold for $4.98 each at the army surplus store in Yuma in the 1940s and 1950s. Problem was, I was earning minimum wage ($0.50) hour in the late 1940s, and going to college in the 1950s, and couldn't afford to pay that much for any kind of rifle. Cleaning a bore is one thing, but I wanted to caution 125Coues that sandpaper, emory paper or steel wool shouldn't be used on an old gun. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
