Just Got This Trapdoor!

[FiveStrings]

My Dad just gave me this rifle, one that I have also cherished since I was a kid. It's a Model 1884 Rifle, cartouche dated 1890. My Dad bought this gun in 1950 at the Bannerman's store in New York when he was a sophomore in High School for $15.00. At the time, it had been butchered pretty badly by an early 20th Century sportsman who found it appropriate to take a hacksaw to the piece and remove all of the stock forward of the first barrel band and also several inches off the muzzle, replacing the original front sight with a welded backwoods abortion. In that condition, it sat for another 50 years, until a few years back my Dad took it to a gunsmith in New Hampshire who cut and fitted a beautiful matching forend piece to the stock, crowned the muzzle, blued the barrel, receiver, and hardware, and installed a modern front sight with a nice tall blade. The guy really did a nice job on a gun that had had a really nasty job done on it back when I suppose these old guns weren't worth much to anybody.

Bore is near excellent, save for some leading that I just cannot get scrubbed out no matter how hard I try. This weekend I loaded up 30 BP cartridges for it following the Chuck Raithel BPCR guidelines I found here on THR. Using 385gr cast bullets with SPG lube, I loaded 10 @ 60gr, 10 @ 65gr, and 10 at 70gr. Ca't wait to see how this rifle does. I also loaded up 20 smokeless rounds using 300gr JHP's, keeping the pressures around 21,000. I'm gonna shoot those first, maybe they'll clean out the remaining lead.

I've been wanting to try some BPCR reloading & shooting for a while, now I got the gun for it!

 

[4v50 Gary]

Kudos to you and your dad. My trapdoor was cut down and looks like an overgrown carbine. I wish it was in its original infantry configuration but it is what it is.

 

[Ratdog68]

NICE !!! Of course... dear ol' dad gets to shoot it whenever he's going through withdrawls?

 

[hawkeye74]

Find some Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner from Novum Solutions. Follow the directions and it will end your leading problems quickly. It is also sold under TC or CVA under a different name, barrel blaster I think. Check the label and make sure it is from Novum. Messy but very good.

 

[StrawHat]

Nothing wrong with a cut down Bannerman Trapdoor! I have one in 50-70 and enjoy it.

The leading should just scrub out but some needs to be attacked more aggressively than others. I don't believe you can shoot it out with a jacketed bullet but some believe in that method.

Have you measured a slug from the bore of the barrel? This will give you a good starting point to size your bullets. Lee makes the 405 grain hollow base bullet that was designed to copy the original bullet from Springfield. Slow to cast but they work well in trapdoors. Reloading info is available in a few places and can be confusing but black powder is the way to go.

Good luck with your new carbine.

 

[messerist]

Tsk tsk tsk! Someone forgot to post a "drool bucket" alert. Great gun. I hope you post some range reports and pics if you can.

 

[BHP FAN]

I have two, a Bannerman's Carbine with a premium airgage barrel,and a 1970's H&R carbine. Enjoy!

 

[Old Shooter]

Nice looking trapdoor.

The other guns in the collection look like a very interesting variety, congratulations.

 

[FiveStrings]

Guys, thanks for all the feedback! Weather permitting, we hit the range on Saturday. The Springfield will of course be accompanied by Mr. Walker & Mr. Remington (I can't go without those two), and a range report will follow.

Hawkeye, I'm gonna try to find that stuff you're talking about. I've had luck blasting out tough lead with jacketed bullets in handguns, but never a long gun. I would sure prefer to scrub it out, the right way.

What I wouldn't give to have been able to walk in that Bannerman's store back in the day with a wad full of bills. My Dad grew up in Larchmont, NY back in the 40's & 50's and visited Bannerman's a lot as a kid just to check out all the stuff they had. What a place that must have been.

 

[Bluehawk]

You are going to have a ton of fun shooting that trapdoor!!!! I had an H&R Officers Model and I actually cried real tears when I had to sell it...late at night when I was alone of course.

 

[wobble]

Congratulations on a fine looking trapdoor. The reconstuction job looks amazing. I recently bought my first 1873 trapdoor. It, too, was a well-done restoration.

Many serious collectors look down on restorations and don't touch them, but I feel that it's still the same gun underneath and a good restoration job simply saves and brings life back into a gun that would otherwise end up in a junk pile. I'm proud to own not only a historic gun but also the product of a skilled rebuilder.

 

[FiveStrings]

Wobble that's pretty much exactly how I feel about it. Yeah, it's not a collector's gun - the "sporterization" was done on it a long time ago when there really wasn't any collector interest in them, and no one in my family did that to it (or any other gun). To your point, a skilled gun craftsman gave it a whole new life, I'm proud to own it, and I'm gonna have a lot of fun with it. Once I get my BP reload recipe right, my Old Man is gonna wish he had kept it!

 

[Jim Watson]

I would not shoot jacketed bullets in a Trapdoor, especially one that was leaded up.
The barrel is pretty soft and it doesn't take much to generate some wear.

The best source on loading the .45 Government (as opposed to the .45-70 Winchester and .45x2.1" Sharps) is:
http://www.the45-70book.com/The-Book-3rd-Edition-by-Spence-Pat-Wolf

 

[Iggy]

FiveStrings,

That's a darn nice looking TD. It is in beautiful shape.

I agree with Jim Watson and vote against using any jacketed bullets in your TD.

You're gonna have fun with that rifle, and never underestimate it's ability.

I have a sporterized Model 1879.

It was an Infantry model and the barrel was all rusted out. About 40 years ago, I found an unfired barrel for $25.00. Cut off the muzzle and front sight. Got an unfinished Rinehart-Fajen stock.
Pillar mounted and fiber glassed the receiver, free floated the barrel, and it was good to go.

I have several successful hunts with the old rascal.



It is my favorite rifle out of many.

 

[FiveStrings]

OK, I'll scrub on that bore some more before I take her out Saturday and try to avoid the jacketed bullets. THere is a pesky patch of lead about 1/3 down from the muzzle that so far has resisted my best efforts to get it out. THe rest of the bore is good to go. My thought at this point on the jacketed rounds was to put only 5 or 6 through this one time and clean it before I got started with the lubed cast bullets. I would think that once I can finally get that remaining lead out, and stick with properly lubed BPCR loads, I shouldn't have anymore trouble. Hopefully one last good go-round with the brush will take care of business.

Iggy that's a magnificent rifle. I can sure see why its your favorite.

 

[Guncollector1982]

Ive read that the trapdoor barrels are made from decarbonized steel and that jacketed bullets can strip the rifling itself out. Least ive seen that numerous places id stick with the cast bullets exclusively myself. Hope i didnt repeat anyone didnt see anyone mentioned that... sounds reasonable anyways