Trapdoor 22

[KCSO]

A friend dug up, literally an 1878 trapdoor springfield with a broken lock and a rat tail file jammed in the barrel. So we took it apart and I replaced or repaied the missing pieces and took the barrel stub and refitted it with a target barrel from an old Savage 22. The gun is rechambered and re fitted as a 22 rimfire trapdoor. Sight bases were machined from scrap steel and the hammer re welded and re fitted with screws cut on the lathe. The barreled action is finished and I am currently looking for a stock to fit it in as the dug up stock is just barely there.

I wonder is anyone else has ever done this conversion? It is unique but the trapdoor action is somewhat clumsy to reload with those little 22's.

[pworley1]

Would love to see it.

[oldred]

Without pics it didn't happen!!!! :mrgreen:

[KCSO]

140873140874Here it is in the old dug up stock. The flat duracoat is to hide the pitting in the action.

[carbine86]

IMHO leave it in that stock its looks beautiful with the aged look.

[kootne]

A month or so ago we had a gun show here in town. A fellow had an 1868 model Springfield trapdoor cut down to carbine length and relined to .22 WRM. (Just answering your "has this been done" question.) If I were wanting one I think I would get one of the Lee Shaver barrel insert kits. I think the cartridge adapter would solve the itty bitty shell loading issue. But, my hat is off to you for placing enough value what many would call junk to put in the time and effort to give new life to a piece of our history.

[oldred]

my hat is off to you for placing enough value what many would call junk to put in the time and effort to give new life to a piece of our history.


+1 on that, a commendable effort indeed!

[Bent Ramrod]

That is really cool, KCSO! A friend has a Pedersoli Sharps in .22 RF, which is a lot of fun to shoot and valuable as an understudy for the full house rifles.

I see there is a relief milled on the underside of the trap door bolt. Would it be possible to solder a grooved piece of metal in the bottom of the receiver to position the .22 round for loading? Would be easier, I think to push the round forward into the chamber from that rather than hold it in the fingers and poke it in.

i like rescusitating old wrecks myself, and am glad that others do as well. Does that Duracoat actually fill the pits? I have a couple pitted wrecks that are still basically sound but aren't worth sending out to a restoration welder to have the cosmetics fixed.

[Tackleberry41]

Duracoat doosn't tend to hide pitting to well, unless put on fairly heavy. Or sand between coats like you would anything else. I fixed a severely pitted 45 frame like a car, some of the titanium filler stuff. Nothing structural, just looked really bad.

[pietro]

.

I'm interested in finding out how the firing pin was changed from CF to RF.



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[KCSO]

The dura coat I cheated and filled the larger pitts. Theu under cut would have to be carried forward intot he bolt head and the firinf pin is underslung in that area. The firing pin is just drilled all the way through the bolt and a new firing pin made to strike the rim and then a new face plate soldered to the front of the bolt. The front of the bolt was so far eroded that the case hardening was all gone. The face plate was made from a chunk of saw blade and measured for headspace and then silver soldered in place after lining up the firing pin hole. This is a lot like doing the Steven's guns fill the old hole with weld at the front and drill at the right angle,

[flint45]

Looks good how does it shoot?

[TXGunNut]

Gotta ask, are you going to shoot it or wait until you find some replacement wood?

[pietro]

.

Nice work ! I'd be tempted to shorten a stock's forend (the original or a replacement), and either make a poured pewter nose cap or install a forend barrel band, so it'd look like the officer's Model, besides being a tad lighter.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTJrEDBLRU05aSJvtiTOKSrzybQmvacu gSZ2gcP6Wjgiz5krtbnuw


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[TXGunNut]

Making any progress, KCSO?