Help Identifying musket

[Cowen]

Hi all,

I have a US Springfield 18xx, I am just not sure exactly which model.

The lock plate only has US SPRINGFIELD on it. It has two spring locked barrel bands with "U"s on them.
Whenever I look at 1841's, 1846's, and such there are items that are similar but not the full composite.
Any information on it would be tremendous.

 

[UCVRelics]

I believe what you have is a model 1861 but the barrel is not original to the gun as the bolster is not correct. What if any markings are on the barrel opposite the bolster? There should be some markings there. Also I believe the sight is incorrect. paging @johan_steele

 

[captaindrew]

It looks like an Enfield rear sight and a very strange bolster. Looks like a hammer and a holster from a M63 but looks like someone added a clean out to it. Did some of the early contract Springfields have some of these features?

 

[tbuckley]

Welcome from eastern Ohio.
It looks to me that this isn't the original barrel and maybe a modern replacement. Can you measure the bore? It looks smaller than .58 and the original rifling was three grooves.

 

[Larryh86GT]

Welcome from WNY

 

[James Brenner]

Someone took a .45-70 Springfield (1873-1889) and converted it to percussion. The stock, lock plate, rammer, barrel bands, and sling swivels are all typical of a trapdoor. The hammer, barrel, and sight are not original to the gun.

 

[johan_steele]

James Brenner is spot on. A trapdoor Springfield converted to a percussion arm.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

Back some 50 or so years ago Numrich Arms Co. (NAC) offered their new made replacement barrel and an original Springfield 1863/4 hammer as a package deal so that you could convert your Trapdoor .45-70 into a percussion rifle. These were very popular at that time because muzzle loading club matches were growing by leaps and bounds and these patched ball rifles were allowed to compete with the Kentucky Rifles, Hawkens, etc. Another thing that made these conversions so popular is that it was a non-destructive alteration. If you wanted to convert your percussion rifle back to the original .45-70 Trapdoor Springfield configuration all you had to do was exchange the parts. You had to provide the rear sight for the NAC percussion barrel, and it looks as if the person who had this one used the original Model 1873 rear sight for his NAC percussion rifle. It would be in the best interests of the owner of this rifle to look for a M-1873 barreled action and hammer to restore it back to the original military configuration. I say this because it is worth far more as a complete M-1873 Springfield than it is as the percussion rifle it is now.
J.

 

[Cowen]

Back some 50 or so years ago Numrich Arms Co. (NAC) offered their new made replacement barrel and an original Springfield 1863/4 hammer as a package deal so that you could convert your Trapdoor .45-70 into a percussion rifle. These were very popular at that time because muzzle loading club matches were growing by leaps and bounds and these patched ball rifles were allowed to compete with the Kentucky Rifles, Hawkens, etc. Another thing that made these conversions so popular is that it was a non-destructive alteration. If you wanted to convert your percussion rifle back to the original .45-70 Trapdoor Springfield configuration all you had to do was exchange the parts. You had to provide the rear sight for the NAC percussion barrel, and it looks as if the person who had this one used the original Model 1873 rear sight for his NAC percussion rifle. It would be in the best interests of the owner of this rifle to look for a M-1873 barreled action and hammer to restore it back to the original military configuration. I say this because it is worth far more as a complete M-1873 Springfield than it is as the percussion rifle it is now.
J.

Thank you for this. No wonder I was having difficulty defining what this was.
It was my Step-Father's and he had lots of stuff sitting around in various stages of completeness. I will try and locate the original parts.

 

[Cowen]

Thank you again for all the information on this gun. Here are a couple of additional pictures of it.
I will try and locate the original parts for this and hopefully bring it back to original.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

I think you will have a pretty nice Trapdoor when you get it put back together. From what you said, I wouldn't be surprised if the parts had still been in your step-father's basement!
J.

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina. Just jump right in and enjoy.

 

[JOHN42768]

Welcome, enjoy