While I don't agree with those who won't use smokeless in trapdoors, I certainly respect their opinion. Rifle cleanup with black powder is not all that tough. Put a rubber band around the action to hold the breach in the open position and go to it. Use of a bore guide is advised but not necessary if careful. Cleaning CASES is the pain in the tush! And that MUST be done fairly soon after firing. I usta use an 1873 model trapdoor which had a .463 bore and I was shooting wheel weight metal. I wish I had it now! I took a Lee 500 grain mould, wallered the handles off (don't ask), put the blocks in a lathe and opened it up to .463...I had no supply of pure lead which would have made this exercise unnecessary. With a load of black fffg compressed a bit, it would SHOOT just fine. I've shot Sharps in .40-70 BN, .40-65 and .45-70, Ballards in 40-63, .40-65 and a Ballard Creedmoor in .45-100-550 and the trapdoor will shoot with them if properly loaded with black powder. Most of this was a 500 meters, but some out to 1000 yards. We all see pix of exploded guns. What we can never be sure of is what exactly happened. We all see pix every day of crunched up cars and most of us know what causes it. I am not demeaning those who have guns blow up on them but most of us do just fine. But it IS hard to mess up with black powder, but not impossible. The 1884 trapdoors had the better sights, but all of them will shoot if the bore is at all good.