Model 1873 Trapdoor Springfield Rifle

If your Great-Great-Grandaddy was in the United States Army in 1874, he might have carried this very rifle. It's a Trapdoor Springfield Infantry Rifle made at Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts and chambered in 45-70. This rifle has a very generous hammer and a 2-click tumbler that goes to safety and load on the first click and full cock on the second. The trigger is smooth, and the stock has a straight toe line all the way back to the steel buttplate. The barrel is round and a little over 32 inches in length. The rear sight is stepped four hundred yards on the side and then it's graduated up to eleven hundred yards on the main staff. Springfield Armory made about 700,000 Trapdoor Springfields from 1866 until 1892. This particular gun is an 1873 model, in the serial number 11,000 range, which puts it made in early 1874. It came with a front and rear sling swivel attached, and a one-piece, full-length cleaning rod. The piece that swings up and gives it the name "trapdoor" is a breech bolt that contains the firing pin and actuates the extractor. The army did a test back in 1873 and found that a trained soldier could actually fire 20 rounds a minute with this rifle. For a visual demonstration of the rifle's functionality, be sure to check out the video above.

--Larry Potterfield