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"NEW" 1888 trapdoor! (Read 8620 times)

kaintuck Ex Member	"NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Mar 5^th, 2005 at 5:31pm	Print Post
	(You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) i will head over to the reloading forum......i need advice and info on loads for this ol gal!....she was a recent purchase, my first(and only!) trapdoor I have ever had.......


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waterman Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2983 Location: Behind the Redwood Curtain Joined: Jun 9^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #1 - Mar 5^th, 2005 at 9:42pm	Print Post
	It sure is pretty, as far as you can tell from the pix. Trapdoors are fun. 88s are about the rarest of the long rifles. Does yours still have the rod bayonet? Treat yourself to "Loading Cartridges for the original .45-70 Springfield rifle and carbine' by J.S and Pat Wolf, Wolf's Western Traders, 40 E. Works, #3F, Sheridan, WY 82801. (307) 674-5352. At least that is the address & phone # in my copy. They tell you a whole lot about shooting trapdoors & generally taking care of them. I don't remember the price. Seems like $25 or so, but that is a lot less than a good trapdoor goes for these days. My trapdoor has an assembly & inspection date stamped in the stock and also regimental, battalion, & company marks. Take a look at yours. There may be a bit of history right in front of you.


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Dale53 Oldtimer Offline Posts: 810 Location: Southwestern Ohio Joined: Apr 17^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #2 - Mar 5^th, 2005 at 11:45pm	Print Post
	FWIW; I second Waterman's suggestion to get Wolf's book. Mrs. Wolf is a lovely person. She has a number of items for sale that are often VERY useful when loading for and shooting the Trapdoor. Good luck and good shooting! Dale53


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kaintuck Ex Member	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #3 - Mar 6^th, 2005 at 6:05am	Print Post
	waterman...yup, everthing there, and it works! i have a small cartouche behind the triggergaurd, but its fancy writting in a circle.....can't really tell what....a few proff stamps? on the barrel..a "U" stamped on the barrel band. do you fellows recomend taking the barrel out of the wood and RIG te underside? i rook the lock off and she had suface scale rust on everything, so i wiped it down, then RIG on it. it looks as if for 114yrs nobody has oiled the underserfaces....i just don't want to crack the wood taking the barrel out....do they tend to come outeasy? (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links)


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marlinguy Ex Member Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater!	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #4 - Mar 6^th, 2005 at 8:50pm	Print Post
	Nice gun Kaintuck! I thought you'd have that thing out today shooting it already!

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waterman Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2983 Location: Behind the Redwood Curtain Joined: Jun 9^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #5 - Mar 7^th, 2005 at 2:15am	Print Post
	Kaintuck, Be patient. Before you grab the screwdriver, get the Wolf book & read it. There are detailed instructions about what you should & should not do. My trapdoor long rifle has a cartouche with the inspector's or master armorer's initials and a year date. Mine also has unit markings on the stock. On the wrist, right on top, they might have stamped a capital letter. That was the company marking. On the top of the stock right at the butt plate there were two sets of numbers, one on top of the other. The upper # is the battalion and the lower # is the regiment.


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PETE Ex Member	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #6 - Mar 7^th, 2005 at 4:47pm	Print Post
	Kaintuck, On the barrel band "U". Be sure that the "U" is on the lock side of the gun. It's amazing how many of these are reversed. All the "U" is for is as an assembly mark since the band is actually tapered on the inside to fit the stock. Putting it on backwards can distort things and at worst can gouge the stock. Done that before I knew better. To bad about the scale on the inside of the lock. This is not the usual thing. All I've taken apart looked almost new inside with no rust of any kind visible. Would have to get out Wolf's book again to see, but if they don't have disassembly instructions on how to take the lock apart, take it to someone who knows how. There are a lot of little nooks and cranny's that should be cleaned up and put right. You don't want to apply a lot of any kind of grease or oil to anything that will be covered by wood as all you'll do is end up with oil soaked wood, and that's worse than leaving things dry. What worries me is that if there's rust on the inside of the lock, there could more than likely be rust on the underside of the barrel to. It shouldn't be a hard job to get the barrel out. If the barrel band is reversed then be very careful removing that and the rest should be easy. Just be careful! I know a lot of people cuss WD-40, but as a preservative on non working parts it can't be beat. In time it'll dry to a varnish with no harm to the wood. Museums use it, or used to, for preserving guns so they didn't have to constantly be wiping them down. PETE PETE
	« Last Edit: Mar 7^th, 2005 at 4:53pm by »

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Joe_S Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1080 Joined: Jun 29^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #7 - Mar 14^th, 2005 at 9:12pm	Print Post
	Hi Kaintuck! If you managed to get the lock off without chipping the stock you either already knew that you should put the lock on half cock before removing the lock. Another thing to be carefull of is the fact that trapdoor rifle stocks can be very brittle, a friend of mine took his barrel out and the stock fell and broke in two. If you have the barrel out for any lenght of time I would put a wooden dowell in the barrel channel and secure it with rubber bands to reinforce it against breakage. In my opinion the trapdoors are great shooters, original parts are plentiful and most are interchangeable. The rifles are all well made and strong enough for appropriate smokeless loads. I have fired quite a few rounds through mine and never had a failure of any kind. On the other hand, I have replace several firing pins, extractors and lever springs on my Sharps rifles. Have fun! Joe S


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trapdoor1888 Participating Member Offline Posts: 33 Location: winchester virginia Joined: Mar 23^rd, 2005	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #8 - Mar 23^rd, 2005 at 2:09pm	Print Post
	1888 Trapdoor is a fun one to shoot. Have been playing w/ mine for several yrs. Have found that Swiss 1 1/2 at 62-65 grs w/ a heavy bullett is good for 200 yrd matches. SPG lube w/ Fed 215 primers. Compress load . Gets Wolf book. Believe that she has moved to West Coast.


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boats Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 7722 Location: Virginia Joined: Apr 23^rd, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #9 - Mar 25^th, 2005 at 4:29pm	Print Post
	Kaintuck. Give you a couple of lock tips. To get one out of the stock back the lock screws out just a little and tap them from the screw slot side with a brass hammer. That way it gets it moving a measured amount without having it jump off center or cockeyed. And have the hammer on half cock when you do it. A little go easy around the lock inleting never hurts. I use Ballistol but any penetrating lube that won't stain the stock will do. Also to dissamble the lock once removed. you need a lock tool to hold the mainspring in place. Old aresanal tools are not hard to find they have many types but all hold the spring in a half depressed stage so the tumbler can be removed without any preassure on the screw. The locks are real simple and well finished inside. Almost always all they need is cleaning. Keep that file away from it unless you truly know what you are doing. I will file a trigger spring a little bit to lighten pull if I have a couple of spares in case I mess up. Never change the tumbler - sear relationship. It's as good as it can be and every one I have ever seen is a smooth as can be anyway. But if you are new to stripping one and have a nice old trapdoor I would suggest you try it a few times on a repro import 58 musket. They are made exactly the same lock wise and little is lost if you make a mistake. The bands and all are set up the same way too. Boats


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leadball Ex Member	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #10 - Mar 25^th, 2005 at 6:26pm	Print Post
	A shooter friend has had me looking for a decent Trapdoor for a couple years, I bought him a nice 1884 last weed at the OGCA show in Wilmington, Ohio.Trapdoors have been going up in price recently but I got this one for $350--my friend was very pleased with the price. On closer inspection the firing pin was frozen, maybe thats why it was in really good condition [it wouldn't shoot] neverless it is now shooting, its not a bugholer but it shoots better than several other 45/70 he owns. I learned about the 1898 model which I must confess I didn't even know there was such a model, I understand it was re-issued for the Spanish- American War. leadball


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waterman Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2983 Location: Behind the Redwood Curtain Joined: Jun 9^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #11 - Mar 27^th, 2005 at 2:44am	Print Post
	The trapdoor was around for years after it was officially replaced. The Krag was supposed to be issued in 1894 or shortly thereafter, but in the Spanish-American War, almost all of the volunteer units were issued trapdoors. Also used in the post-1900 fighting in the Phillipines. My 1884 has 1890 assembly marks and also is marked Co. L, 1st battalion, 36th infantry. My research says that the 36th Inf. was disbanded in 1866 and was not formed again until 1916 as a Texas NG unit. I think my rifle went from storage to being a WW-1 training rifle. The unit went into the trenches in France (Lost Battalion, etc.), but not with trapdoors.


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Jim_Borton Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 449 Location: Tipp City Joined: Apr 9^th, 2004	Re: "NEW" 1888 trapdoor! Reply #12 - Jun 21^st, 2005 at 3:06pm	Print Post
	OK Fellows keep the for sale stuff on the for sale part of the forum Please!!!!! That why it`s there, don`t be using the whole forum for selling

	Hugs & Kisses ASSRA life NRA life NMLRA life
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