new member of the family

[voodoo304]

I just inherited a rifle. It was from my great, great grandfather.

Its a US Springfield, 1884, trapdoor, 45-70. Its in rough shape but everything still works as it should and just needs a lot of TLC.

Anyone know where I can find info on these antiques? I can't wait to tear into it and start cleaning but I want to do my homework first.

Can I just email Springfield with serial numbers and markings and them give me the history on this fine weapon?

Any info is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[MrSmitty]

Send me the info, I have a Flayderman's guide to antique American fire arms

 

[MrSmitty]

OOPs sorry for the repeat

 

[sgreen3]

Congrats on a nice rifle

 

[forkliftdave]

Wear your ear protection. It makes a big boom. Your lucky to have one.
Got any pictures?

 

[kmshooter]

Second on posting pics. Would like to see before and after shots. Congratulations on the rifle.

 

[markiemark]

Congrats on a great family heirloom! Be sure to use to the low pressure rounds

 

[sloughfoot]

The Springfield Armory in Massachusetts was closed by the US Government in the 1960's. No way to get any info from them. The current Springfield Armory is a non-government, commercial entity in Illinois.

I had one of those rifles once. I took care to only shoot black powder loads out of it. It was a lot of fun to shoot.

 

[voodoo304]

 

[manygunsmike]

Thats nice ! What ever you do try and leave it as original as possible .
manygunsmike

 

[hrdwarhax]

How long till it becomes tacticool?

 

[daspurlock]

If it's all original don't do anything to it makes them worth more. Not that you would sell a great peice of your family history anyway. Great gun congrats

 

[meyer4589]

The "trapdoor" is the weakest action out of all of the 45-70 guns, not a bad thing though just make sure you stick to black powder loads. They are a blast to shoot.

 

[voodoo304]

So I've been looking online and can't find some parts I'm looking for. Anyone know where I can get 45-70 +P+ ammo? Also looking into a nice rail to mount my Surefire / laser.
Just spray painted the stock all black and put a red dot on it too.

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement! I'm kinda on the fence about whether or not to even shoot this thing. I would love to be the first one to pull the trigger on this puppy in 100 years.

Anyways, I'm waiting on a book I purchased to tell me more of the history on the gun. Then depending on how valuable it ends up being, I'll have a gunsmith check it out to make sure its safe before I shoot it.