Pedersoli 45-70 trap door just picked it up yesterday

[Jjed]

stopped to look around at a shop in Duncansville Pa and found this on the used rack, it needs the bluing on the barrel redone and it's missing a screw out of the rear sight. I already had the die's, mold and brass and I always wanted a trap door carbine. got it for $550. anyone have the rear sight leaf and screw i'm missing they would like to sell?.
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[tdoor4570]

Look at this website trapdoorcollector.com You may find what you need

[Jjed]

tdoor4570 I will check that site out. I took it to my range with loads i use in my sharps rifle Lee 405 grain powder coated boolit 24 gr 2400. i can shoot my sharps rifle all day long with that load but with this carbine it's a different story WOW doe's it kick. it has a hair trigger and went off before I was ready on the first shot. unless I can find a much lighter load I don't know if I will shoot this very much. any suggestions?

[John Boy]

VTI has what you want, look also for the screw if not for the sight...
https://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=62&cat=Pedersoli+Sights%2D%2Dalso+used+for+Uberti

[Jjed]

thanks John Boy I will check it out.

[sharps4590]

Which would explain again, some near 140 years after the fact, why the cavalry charge was 55 grs. for the carbine rather than the 70 grs. for the infantry rifle.

[Drm50]

There is a H&R Officers model Trapdoor on a local sight. That has the ladder tang sight. Gun looks new and guy has Lyman 405g mold, Dies and brass with it. He’s asking $700 OBO. ???

[tdoor4570]

tdoor4570 I will check that site out. I took it to my range with loads i use in my sharps rifle Lee 405 grain powder coated boolit 24 gr 2400. i can shoot my sharps rifle all day long with that load but with this carbine it's a different story WOW doe's it kick. it has a hair trigger and went off before I was ready on the first shot. unless I can find a much lighter load I don't know if I will shoot this very much. any suggestions?

What I can suggest is to reach down and get a big hand full of your big boy pull ups , yank them up tight and shoot that carbine . I have never shot anything but full power black loads in any of the trapdoors that i have had. I have a 1884 infantry made in 1890 now .

[1Hawkeye]

Jjed try the same bullet with 10.0 grs of unique. 2400 in a .45-70 can be a bit of a thumper especially during prolonged shooting.

Drm50 700 is a nice deal on an officers model with all the trimmings just be sure the thumb lever shaft is tight on the locking lug.

[M-Tecs]

There is a H&R Officers model Trapdoor on a local sight. That has the ladder tang sight. Gun looks new and guy has Lyman 405g mold, Dies and brass with it. He’s asking $700 OBO. ???

That's well below going rates here.

[Jjed]

trap door and mold sounds like a good deal to me, better grab it.

[RedlegEd]

Hi Jjed,
I'd recommend reading Larry Gibson's post on trapdoor loads here. (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?190999-My-Trapdoor-Loads-Technique-and-Equipment) I also have a Uberti trapdoor carbine, and I agree, a full load of .45-70 with a 405gr bullet is quite a thumper. If you want to shoot this a lot, I'd recommend one of Larry's milder loads, which I shoot quite a lot, and that is a 285gr RNFP (Accurate Rapine clone) over 8.0gr of Bullseye. It's pleasant to shoot, and is good out to 200+ yds.
Ed

[Jjed]

thanks RedlegEd I will check that out. I really like this rifle but not the recoil, the same as shooting my 8MM mag kills on one end and hurts a lot on the other.

[Jjed]

reminds me of the time when I was telling my son's about how hard my remington 700 8 mag kicks, well we where out in the yard shooting 22's my son Jake had a friend over and he said Dad get the 8Mag out, so they shot it off hand standing up, Jake say's Dad that's not that bad you are making this up about the kick of this rifle. I said ok we will see. about a week or two later we went to the range to site in for the Pa deer season, I set at the bench with the 8 mag and fired 3 shots. ouch best I could do was about a 3 inch group so I ask Jake to shoot it to see what he could do, setting at the bench He pulled the trigger, I looked away from the spotting scope at Him and He was looking at the bench, I said you ok? he said WOW doe's this thing kick. told you!! big difference shooting off hand and shooting from the bench.

[a danl]

Which would explain again, some near 140 years after the fact, why the cavalry charge was 55 grs. for the carbine rather than the 70 grs. for the infantry rifle.

the reason for the reduction in charge for the carbine is that it was a lighter rifle and would kick harder for anyone on a horse, so they would not land on the ground.

[Drm50]

I’ve only had original trapdoors and RBs, some rebarreled RBs. Never hot rodded them. And only shot cast bullets. I liked the 322hp mild loads for recoil purposes.

[sharps4590]

the reason for the reduction in charge for the carbine is that it was a lighter rifle and would kick harder for anyone on a horse, so they would not land on the ground.

ya think? Pretty simple physics regarding the weight of the two firearms. Having used horses for over 30 years and shot a few infantry loads in cavalry carbines, I seriously doubt it was going to knock anyone off a horse but the recoil of full loads in the carbine is.....apparent.

[sackettboys]

H&R's 45-70 carbine shoots great, however there's a marked difference when you squeeze off a full 70 grain powder load. It will make it snap.

[koger]

I shoot 15 grs of Unique behind a 350gr Lyman/Gould hollow point, in my Trapdoor carbine, shoots great, recoil is nill, what more could you ask for.

[knifemaker]

Drop down to a 300-350 gr. cast lead boolit and you will notice a good drop in recoil. I had a Pedersoli 45/70 sharps that would rattle my teeth using a 405 gr. boolit at 1750 fps. I dropped down to a 350 gr. boolit with the same powder load and a world of difference in recoil.