»Home » 1870-1898 » Hand Guns » #1402 Springfield 1888 “Trapdoor” rifle, SN 525XXX (1892), caliber 45/70/500

#1402 Springfield 1888 “Trapdoor” rifle, SN 525XXX (1892), caliber 45/70/500 with VG bore and tight action. Standard military configuration with 32-1/2” barrel and all correct parts for this last model of the Trapdoor series. This final variation differs in that it has a cleaning rod trap in the buttstock and what most collectors refer to as the “ram-rod bayonet” (which eliminated the need of a separate bayonet). It also has a one-piece triggerguard and a few other minor changes from the 1884 series. The metal is basically nice smooth metal with fine markings, good ammounts of plum brown remaining, and only the minimal ammount of scattered light pitting on the lockplate and just many years of dust, dirt, and grime build-up and an overall “attic appearance”. The wood is solid, decent wood with no deficits of mention and only the usual bumps and bruises from 120+ years of use and storage and it has only a HINT of a cartouche, but you better have a good imagination to see it. These rugged and very reliable Trapdoor Springfields were the mainstay military longarm from the end of the Civil War up to the mid-1890s when they were phased out by the Springfield-Krag bolt action repeater. Even then, they were used in both the Spanish-American War and also as secondary and training weapons as late as World War 1 …and to this day, they are still great shooting and very accurate rifles with a very hard-hitting black-powder round. They very rarely have mechanical problems, and on the rare chance that they do break some small part in the action, most parts are very easily obtained from several parts dealers. Consequently, they make a fine rifle for the beginning shooter of Big-Bore black powder competitions. About VG as described. $845

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