Pedersoli Trapdoor Springfield Carbine

The procurement of military weapons has usually been done by those who don’t use them. Bean counters or bureaucrats call them what you will; but providing soldiers with the right kit has never been high on their list of priorities. Ease of manufacture and economy probably being truer motives. As risible as it might seem this is one of the reasons we British waited for so long to adopt a self-loading rifle after WW11 to replace our No 4 Enfields - the troops would doubtless shoot a lot more ammo and waste money.

COSMETIC SURGER

Another prime example was the US military’s evolution from muzzle-loading to breech-loading rifles. In the American Civil War there were many repeaters and breech-loaders used on both sides in small amounts. The Henry lever-action, Spencer and Sharps are good examples. The majority of the fighting was done with rifled muskets like the Springfield and British Enfield. After the war the Union still had the 1863 Springfield rifled musket in .58” and it was decided to turn them to breechloaders using a conversion by Erskine S. Allin.

The .58” barrels were re-lined for a new .50” cal cartridge and a simple, flip-up breech system (trapdoor) was engineered for the rear, though still using a side-hammer. Called the 1866 it saw limited service on the frontier and was gradually modified with the fifth variation showing the new 45-70 chambering.

Between 1872-1873 the US Ordnance held trails to determine a new rifle with the Springfield, Sharps, Peabody, Whitney, Spencer, Remington, and Winchester all being tested. Some were single shot, others were magazine-fed. Unsurprisingly the 1873 Trapdoor Springfield was picked as the board decided that reliability was preferable to capacity. I believe it was always a one horse race and as the gun and ammunition had already been developed, so why waste it? After all the decision makers would not be the ones to use it!

AMMUNITION ISSUES

That is not to say the 1873 was a bad rifle, but it initially had problems with its ammunition as the original cartridges were copper, which could swell in the breech and cause extraction problems. Latter the change was made to brass. It’s interesting to note that Custer’s 7th Cavalry were one of the first units to be issued with the 1873 Carbine when they rode into history in 1876 at the Little Bighorn!

The 1873 was issued as an Infantry Rifle with full forend and 32 ½” barrel firing a 405-grain lead bullet at 1350 fps using 70-grains of Blackpowder; hence the calibre name 45-70 Government. The Cavalry Carbine showed a shorter 22” barrel and half-length forend with a bar and ring on the left that was supported by a cross body leather sling. This allowed the empty gun to be dropped without losing it and access to sabre or pistol. Carbines were carried in a socket when on the saddle, though still attached by the sling.

Given the lighter weight of the carbine the standard cartridge proved unpleasant to shoot. A reduced (Carbine) load was issued using 55-grains of Blackpowder, which gave a velocity of 1100 fps. The Trapdoor was further modified in 1884 with a new (Buffington) rear sight that gave windage correction and the rifle soldiered on until replaced by the bolt-action 30/40 Krag-Jørgensen in 1892, which was the US’ first smokeless cartridge. However the Trapdoor saw service in the Spanish/American war in Cuba by reservists.

NEW FOR YOU

The Trapdoor, mainly the Cavalry Carbine, is an iconic gun and one that has been reproduced more than once. Back in the 1970s Harrington & Richardson (H&R) offered it - the standard with a modern, fold-down rear sight, an 1873 and the Officers Model with better sights and longer 26” barrel. As the name suggest this was made for private purchase by officers that gave them a similar rifle of the same calibre that could also be used for hunting.

H&R no longer makes them but I’m glad to say that Pedersoli does and on test is their standard Cavalry Carbine. They also make the Infantry and Officer’s models and a Long Range target version (Infantry Model with improved sighting and butt grip).

SUBTLE RE-DESIGN

The trapdoor hinges at the front and the breech block lifts up and swings forward and over to open. Locking is by a single lug at the rear of the block that engages with a cut-out in the rear face of the barrel extension, which is operated by a push-up lug on the right. This has always been a weak point of the design and the axial it rotates around was prone to cracking on the H&R repros.

When Pedersoli decided to recreate the Trapdoor they subtly altered the breech block’s geometry so that in the unlikely event of a breakage of the axial the block stays shut! A friend of mine has their Officers’ Model and has shot a few thousand rounds through it with no problems at all, some of which have been 500-grain long range loads in smokeless.

To open the breech; pull the hammer back to full cock, lift the locking latch and push the block open. You will hear a click, which is the blade-type extractor firing. This propels the case out of the chamber, which strikes an angled lug in the base of the barrel extension and the empty bounces off and is ejected. To load slide a round into the chamber and shut the breech until the latch engages, and you are ready. The trigger is basic but offers a reasonable 5-6 lb pull.

FURNITURE AND FITTINGS

The Trapdoor is well presented, this the basic model shows a reasonable piece of walnut with a straight-hand stock and curved metal butt plate. All the metal work is blued and includes a barrel band on the forend and the aforementioned Carbine bar on the left. Sights are issue with a 4-position step going out to 400 yards and a flip-up ladder with sliding V-notch taking you out further. At 100 yards with a load of 28-grains of H4198 and a 405-grain lead bullet I had the slider up on the 200 yard setting for point of aim. The Carbine is more short range, though the Officer’s, Infantry and Long Range models will easily go to 600 yards, possibly more!

Up front the foresight is basic being a fixed ½-D blade. It’s thick enough to stand a bit of filing to alter the windage a little, but I would not recommend bending it! The best way to get a zero is by aiming off as required. Like most people I reload for my 45-70, though there is some factory, flat-nosed lead bullet ammo from MagTech from their Cowboy range, which is aimed at BPCRs and repros of this era. Reloading data is in three bands from weakest to strongest action-types; the Trapdoor along with the Sharps and Remington Rolling Block is in the lowest!

The Trapdoor is Nitro proofed, which is what I use as it’s cleaner and simpler to load than Blackpowder and I feel more efficient too. As with the originals the lighter Carbine will kick a lot more with a 500-grain long range load I would use in my Pedersoli 1874 Sharps Silhouette and it’s best to use the 405-grain bullet with a powder charge commensurate with the original 55-grain Blackpowder loading.

RELOADING

Along with the rifle importers Henry Krank & Co Ltd provided some of their hard-cast, 405-grain round nose flat point lead bullets, Starline 45-70 cases and Lee Precision dies as they import and distribute these brands too. Two good powder choices are Hodgdon H4198; 27-grains produces around 1200 fps up to a maximum of 31-grains giving 1400 fps. This can still be a bit punchy in the Carbine. If so 12 to 13-grains of Hodgdon’s IMR Trail Boss gives 900 to 1000 fps and is more comfortable. I would say with low loads like this some form of case filler is used to stabilise the charge. I use Pedersoli .45” felt wads to take up the space, others might use tissue or similar.

Another useful item to consider is the leather butt boot that Kranks offer. This just slides over the butt plate, inside is a foam pad to reduce recoil and also increase the length of pull too. It does not look out of place and is a quick solution. With the right loads the old Trapdoor Carbine shoots well enough, prone at 100 yards you can expect 4” groups. Operation is easy and I would say enjoyable. Too many people go straight to the Sharps, over looking in my opinion another serious piece of military hardware that has a far more significant place in firearms history!