[ Model 1870 Trapdoor Carbine ]
Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com.
I'm Ian McCollum, and I am here today at RIA
with a very scare pattern of Model 1870 Trapdoor Carbine.
This is in fact the only version of the
Trapdoor Carbine that was made before the transition to .45 calibre ammunition.
So, when the Allin Conversion of the Springfield musket
(the proper name for what we colloquially call the Trapdoor Springfield),
when these were first developed it was intended as a conversion of
existing .58 calibre rifled muskets to a single-shot breech-loading cartridge-firing rifle.
And so one of the important elements is the barrel of course.
And the very first Allin Conversions continued to use the existing barrels, which were .58 calibre.
And so they were actually built ... around a .58 calibre rimfire cartridge.
However, this went away pretty quickly in favour of a more modern centrefire cartridge.
And that was a .50 calibre centrefire cartridge, specifically it was the .50-70.
And it was .50-70 that would account for the production of Trapdoors through 1870.
Then we have a bit of a break.
The Armoury actually builds 10,000 Remington rifles, because there is contention.
... General Sherman thinks the Remington is a much better option
than the Trapdoor, it came out ahead in the tests.
So we have a little break, and then in 1873
the Army switches to the .45-70 cartridge instead of .50-70.
So, what we are looking at here is the early version, the .50 calibre version.
And aside from four prototypes made in 1868, this is the only carbine that was manufactured,
and only a very small number of these were made.
So let's take a closer look at it, and I'll show you a few of the
features that are distinctive to it as a carbine.
Alright, let's go ahead and start with some markings.
Here on the lock plate we have the American eagle and "U.S. Springfield".
And these are conversions of muskets, so the lock plate was made in 1864,
and has been adapted to use as a breech-loading conversion.
The breech block itself is new, of course, and it's dated 1870, with a similar US and eagle there.
We have an inspector's cartouche on the back left side of the stock.
Typically you would have serial numbers here on the side of the barrel and the receiver,
but the 1870 carbines were actually not serialised, so that shouldn't be there, and isn't.
The front sight on these is actually a brass blade held in a steel mount, which is a little bit distinctive.
The rear sight is also a bit distinctive, it's a flip-up ladder-type sight.
On the carbines, for whatever reason, they decided to use a narrower style of sight slider.
So, a very substantive ... OK, not substantive at all, but it is a unique feature of the carbines.
The sort of thing collectors really get off on.
And I say that with no malice at all, being a collector myself, and predisposed to that sort of thing.
So here is the standard 1868 or 1870 style of rifle rear sight slider,
as opposed to the narrow 1870 carbine pattern.
Now, the most distinctive change in the 1870 patterns, and this applies to both rifles and carbines,
is that the receiver was shortened substantially.
So you can see the difference here, this is an 1868, this is an 1870.
And the reason for this is once again based on the calibre.
When there were first being made, they were being made with barrels
that were .58 calibre barrels sleeved down to .50 calibre.
And in order to do that you end up with a two-piece barrel.
And when you thread the end of the barrel to fit into the new receiver,
you end up with a pretty weak piece.
Because ... it was originally a large diameter barrel that now has a sleeve inside it.
And in order to make sure that the barrels were strong enough,
they initially used relatively long receivers,
so the barrel is threaded through a big chunk of the receiver.
By 1870 they were no longer using converted barrels,
they were using new production .50 calibre barrels.
And because those barrels were all made ... in a single piece, they didn't have that strength issue.
So they were able to shorten up the receiver without any adverse effect.
If I break out my 1868 here again, the other change that was made
was the angle of opening of the breech block was changed.
On the 1868 the block goes up this far, and it has a tendency to fall shut
if you hold the rifle elevated even just a little bit.
To try and remediate that problem, on the 1870 pattern the breech block opens further.
So, there's a comparison between the two.
And that longer opening angle meant that the 1870 was less prone to
accidentally falling shut while you were trying to work with it.
Not a huge difference, but convenient, useful, and this would continue on all of the later patterns.
Naturally, I should also point out that there are no sling swivels on the stock,
or on the barrel band of the carbines, because instead they have a sling bar on the side
for the period style of cavalry single-point sling.
So this bar would stay the same on the 1873s when they moved to .45 calibre.
But it originates here, certainly not the idea,
but this mechanical part originates here on the 1870 carbines.
The Trapdoor Springfield development program really
put a heavy emphasis on rifles rather than carbines.
And so it wasn't until the .45-70 versions that there was much
actual ... construction of carbines, we just have these guys.
So a total of 362 of these were made.
An initial batch of 342,
and then they followed that a couple of months later with an order for 20.
Possibly just for private sale to officers in Texas, or replacement of some damaged carbines.
But that makes them really, really scarce.
And so it's pretty cool to get a chance to take a look at this one. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching.