Need help with Trapdoor Springfield

[Trebor]

A friend has this Trapdoor Springfield that has been in the family for generations. He showed it to me today and asked for help getting more info on it and possibly determining a value.

He also wants to find a gunsmith to check it to make sure it is safe to fire. Supposedly the original firing pin was removed and lost years ago. (But I didn't check to confirm that).

The only marking I could find was "U.S. Springfield." That's it, nothing else. No dates or anything else.

Could this be a converted rifle musket? Just wondering because it doesn't appear to look the same as other Trapdoor Springfield's I've seen in the past.


The pics were the best I could get with the camera and time I had available.

 

[Iggy]

Springfield Trapdoor. There should be a date on the top of the breech block but that doesn't necessarily indicate the age or model.

It has a low arch breech block and the sights look to be of Model 1879 vintage. This would indicate it is not an Allin conversion or 50-70 caliber.
Those guns were re-fitted and updated so many times that it is hard to tell much about it's age without the serial number.

 

[Trebor]

Where would the serial be marked? We couldn't find any other markings, but we can check again with strong light if we know where to look.

Any suggestions on finding a gunsmith familiar with Trapdoor's to see if this is safe to shoot and possibly fabricate a new firing pin. I figure a chamber cast to confirm the caliber would be in order as well.

 

[Jim K]

The serial number should be on top of the receiver, right behind the breechblock (beside the hammer). That looks like a Model 1879 Long Range Rifle. The sight is right, but most of those rifles had an added pistol grip that screwed into the stock. You might look at the bottom of the stock behind the trigger guard for any indication that anything was there that has been removed. (Of course, a Model 1879 sight could have been put on another rifle.)

Jim