My Springfield Trapdoor

[evilbunny]

So earlier this year I bought a Springfield Trapdoor on a whim for $600 from a local gun show. I had no idea what I was looking for, I just knew I had seen them in videos and thought they were cool, and the price seemed good. The seller as it turns out, also had no idea what he was doing either as the gun was in an unfireable condition. Once I got it home and started to look it over I ran into the main issue of a stuck firing pin, along with a few missing screws. Thanks to some help I got here and over at trapdoorcollector.com I was able to get the parts and advice I needed. Everything came together well and now the rifle fires great. It's really a joy to shoot, now I am looking into getting into reloading for it.

Everything is original, except the cleaning rod. I did purchase a reproduction, since I'm just a fan of cleaning rods. At some point someone did put on some sort of glossy varnish on the stock, as you can see. I don't know what it is, or if its removable, but its fine for now. Overall I think its in good shape.

Here are a few pictures of the rifle as it is now, and my first report card from 50 feet. Sights are very fine, but my 20 something eyes don't mind too much.

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[Fred]

Cool!!

[kj47]

Nice shooter you have evilbunny. be careful though they are very contagus, they just seen to multiply.

[bruce]

Congratulations! Wonderful rifle! Distance to target? Load? Sincerely. bruce.

[Tkacook]

Nice looker! They are VERY addictive!

Andy

[evilbunny]

Nice shooter you have evilbunny. be careful though they are very contagus, they just seen to multiply.

Yes they are! This is my first black powder, and I am already looking at getting another! I really like the experience of black powder, trying different loading's and such. Looking at getting a musket this time around.

Congratulations! Wonderful rifle! Distance to target? Load? Sincerely. bruce.

50 feet. Load was a very light load my friend uses in his trapdoor. He gave me 20 rounds and let me keep the brass, which I have been since loading with a more traditional 405gr bullet with 70gr of blackpowder.

Nice looker! They are VERY addictive!

Thank you, I think it turned out looking good, a bit ugly at first but cleaned up great!

[jon_norstog]

Whatever it is on the stock, it sure is ugly! Could be varathane, could be thick BLO or an oil-based varnish, maybe shellac. Put some warm water on it and see if it turns white - that's shellac, comes off pretty easy. If it doesn't turn white, try a solvent like MEK. If that takes it off it's probably BLO or spar varnish. If that doesn't dent it, maybe it's a synthetic resin, paint remover will probably do the trick. Good luck.

I like shooting my 1884 rifle, but it's a little too long for dragging through the woods. I've got an old Argy rolling block rebarreled to 45-70 and 24" barrel for that. It is fun shooting those things.

jn

[evilbunny]

yea the whole stock is coated in this slick shiny coating. id like to remove it, but really, i don't know if its quite worth the effort. i did take a bit of scotch-bright pad and lightly rubbed right below the toe of the stock, to see if it would knock the shine down, and it did right away. thank you for the methods to find out what it is, i might have a weekend project set for me!