Springfield trapdoor

[lonegunman]

I have one my Dad bought in the late 1950's, an original 1873 first year gun. It shoots perfectly fine for being nearly 145 years old. My Dad had it at the range in Florida when I was 15 or so, he told a guy it was his granddad's from the Civil War, the guy was thoroughly impressed.

 

[Argonaut]

Well one of my goals as a collector is to a have a full line up of us military long guns. Ive shot a muzzle loader 45-70 once ( my grandfathers). My collection thus far is brass cased cartridge fed rifles, im considering picking up a springfield trapdoor as one of my next rifles. My question is general, what should i look for in the rifle, what recources info ect could you direct me to or personal experience could you share (ide rather not go in blind)
Firing, safety, maintnence, ect

Thanks

No such thing as a muzzle loader 45-70. By definition a 45-70 is a breech loading cartridge shooting gun.

 

[Basedgreaser]

No such thing as a muzzle loader 45-70. By definition a 45-40 is a breech loading cartridge shooting gun.

Slip of my mind or his tongue perhaps, i was a lot younger when i shot it. Thanks for the info ill have to ask him again to make that correct

 

[Argonaut]

i have owned and fired trapdoors, they are a very cool historic gun. There are volumes written about them. Custer didn't like them, preferring the Remington Rolling block. As I remember, extractors were weak and the alloy used to make the cartridge casings in those days wasn't the best. Sometimes the extractor would brake and sometimes it would tear off the rim of the casing.....either resulting in the manufacture of a club at least temporarily. The most important thing to know these days is be careful of the 45-70 loading. I had one built on a Siamese Mauser action. A very strong gun.......when loaded with something like Hornaday lever revolution ammo, it kicked like a bastard. I doubt that a trapdoor would hold up to it.

 

[tac]

Original Trapdoor - 300gr lead or 405gr lead.

Forget anything else.

Also, some balancing of assets is necessary when trying to reload. Modern cases are heavily radiused inside at the base for strength, which makes them a good 10% less roomy than the original fabricated cases. I've never managed to get more than about 58-60gr of BP in any modern case, even using the mandatory drop-tube.

I've settled on 55gr of Pyrodex RS and a 405gr bullet and a leeetle compression, according to the Hodgdon handbook. It works well in a Trapdoor, Rolling Block and High Wall Winchester up to 200 yards.

tac

 

[Argonaut]

Original Trapdoor - 300gr lead or 405gr lead.

Forget anything else.

Also, some balancing of assets is necessary when trying to reload. Modern cases are heavily radiused inside at the base for strength, which makes them a good 10% less roomy than the original fabricated cases. I've never managed to get more than about 58-60gr of BP in any modern case, even using the mandatory drop-tube.

I've settled on 55gr of Pyrodex RS and a 405gr bullet and a leeetle compression, according to the Hodgdon handbook. It works well in a Trapdoor, Rolling Block and High Wall Winchester up to 200 yards.

tac

Have you (or anyone) tried Trail Boss? I bought some to use for light loads for my 44 Magnum. It is supposed to be a good smokeless replacement for black powder cartridges. The smell of Pyrodox has always bothered me. I use FFG in all my black powder guns, my grandson has an appreciation for my old original guns, particularly my civil war 1858 Remington. He shoots it like a pro. Not bad for a 160 year old gun and a 9 year old.

 

[tac]

The reason I shoot Pyrodex is because I was given eight tubs of each RS and RS Select and five of P.

BP, on the other hand, is something I save for long-range rifle, as I shoot Swiss #2, and that only comes from one source, almost 200 miles from me. Shipping BP here in yUK is VERY costy, and with sales otherwise face-to-face and gas at around $8 a gallon, going for it is not an option.

tac

 

[Argonaut]

The reason I shoot Pyrodex is because I was given eight tubs of each RS and RS Select and five of P.

BP, on the other hand, is something I save for long-range rifle, as I shoot Swiss #2, and that only comes from one source, almost 200 miles from me. Shipping BP here in yUK is VERY costy, and with sales otherwise face-to-face and gas at around $8 a gallon, going for it is not an option.

tac

I have a bunch of BP.....buy it most every chance I get. I haven't bought any locally.....there must be someplace in Boise to buy it? Hey, neighbor......What are you doing for the eclipse? My cousin Larry Davis, from northern Idaho is very involved with long range black powder shooting.......8.00 a gallon? Must be those Oregon taxes?