Trap Door Carbine found in Attic. What to do with it?

[JesterGrin_1]

It was just wrapped in News paper and the bugs liked the bore to hide in lol. I tried to scrub it but the rust took its toll on the bore over the last 60 or so years where now it just looks like a straight sewer pipe. But since the action had grease in it and on the trap door. The trap door works fine as well as the hammer and trigger. I was amazed that the trigger felt so good lol.

Any ideas what to do with it without spending a boat load of cash?

[country gent]

This is a piece of history and may command value even in the shape its in. Consider starting out with an apprasial of it by a gunsmith as to value.WIth out pics its hard to determine condition. Trapdoors can be valuable depending on model caliber and several other things

[JesterGrin_1]

will put up a couple of pictures in a moment.

[JesterGrin_1]

I could not see anything that says caliber? It still has a water mark I guess you would call it on the left hand of the stock behind the trigger.

[JesterGrin_1]

It is a Model 1873. So what I have found thus far on the net says it is a 45-70?

[scb]

You might find this interesting. http://trapdoorcollector.com/
I'm not sure if this can be re-lined or not. You might want to check with John Taylor http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...28-John-Taylor I think he may do this kind of work. He's done a couple of projects for me and his work is excellent and prices are reasonable. I'd think carefully before doing anything with it that might affect it's value. If it were mine I wouldn't have a problem re-lining it but some would. "Watermark" properly called a cartouche.

[JesterGrin_1]

But as is it is only good as a wall hanger or paper weight lol. If it does not shoot it is worth O to me lol.

[montana_charlie]

The vintage of the newspapers it was wrapped in should give an interesting clue to the last time it was handled.

[PS Paul]

You might be surprised what a bit of cleaning and care can accomplish with a bore that looks like a sewer pipe...... Underneath, provided the GROOVES are somewhat sharp or defined, you might have a shooter-grade there.

But like was suggested above, it might pay to see if there is any additional collector value........

[JesterGrin_1]

Nothing there no grooves nothing.

[JesterGrin_1]

The vintage of the newspapers it was wrapped in should give an interesting clue to the last time it was handled.

There was not enough to read lol. I could just tell it was News Paper lol

I was told probably around 60 or so years lol.

[country gent]

Im wondering . Ive seen 2 trapdoors that the rifling was reamed out of and 410 shotshells used in them instead of 45-70 rounds. This may have had that done to it at some point. Both of the ones I have seen were full rifles I even shot one as a boy. They were a rough conversion but did work. A good cleaning of the barrel may actually give an idea of what there is. Kroil mixed 50/50 with shooters choice New bore brushes and scrub. Alot of elbow grease brushes and patches may reveal something.

[kitsap]

But as is it is only good as a wall hanger or paper weight lol. If it does not shoot it is worth O to me lol.

You might be really surprised. Don't do anything dumb until you know the value. What is the serial number?? Such as 123XX.

Doug

[JesterGrin_1]

4526xx

[CanoeRoller]

You really need to take that to a Gun Smith or appraiser. That might be quite a bit more than a simple wall hanger. I think that serial number might put it in late 1875 as a date of manufacture. Some real Trap door collectors may be able to give you a better idea than that.

[waksupi]

With the saddle ring intact, don't do any serious cleaning. You may have a pretty valuable collector piece there.
I wouldn't do anything serious about the bore until you shoot it, either. Last weekend I shot an original Belgium fowler, with an absolutely horrible bore. We found it shot round ball very well!

[M-Tecs]

It’s hard to tell from the pics but it looks pretty good on the outside. If it’s real carbine and not a made up cut down it would start at $1,500.00 for a junker and it could go up a lot more for Custer era. With only one X Serial number puts it at 1875 to 1876 so it $3,000.00 may be on the low end unless it gets dicked up by improper cleaning. With two X's it's 1889 or 1890 and after the date for carbines.

http://www.gun-data.com/springfield_trapdoors.html

http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/FAQ.html

[kitsap]

4526xx

Here is a web site with a serial number look up option. The dealer will e-mail you the results.

http://www.trapdoors.com

The guy in charge is Keith Rush and he is trustworthy. There is a phone number on the home page. Close up pictures of the action, rear sight, and the stock marks (known as a cartouche) are helpful.

I will second the comment above, don't mess it up just trying to do something in a hurry. It has set for several years in the same condition.

Doug

[JesterGrin_1]

It’s hard to tell from the pics but it looks pretty good on the outside. If it’s real carbine and not a made up cut down it would start at $1,500.00 for a junker and it could go up a lot more for Custer era. With only one X Serial number puts it at 1875 to 1876 so it $3,000.00 may be on the low end unless it gets dicked up by improper cleaning. With two X's it's 1889 or 1890 and after the date for carbines.

http://www.gun-data.com/springfield_trapdoors.html

http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/FAQ.html

The last two xx are actually numbers. I just remember people saying that one should not put the whole number on the internet. If I am wrong please by all means say so and I will add the two last numbers.

[JesterGrin_1]

There is no way I can start to even try and shoot it. Unless I have a chamber reamer to clean up the chamber first. I tried Hopps No.9 and a wire bore brush with little effect.

With the saddle ring intact, don't do any serious cleaning. You may have a pretty valuable collector piece there.
I wouldn't do anything serious about the bore until you shoot it, either. Last weekend I shot an original Belgium fowler, with an absolutely horrible bore. We found it shot round ball very well!