Here is a model 1870 in original condition with the cleaning rod and all the barrel bands. The gun is a true survivor looks to be a complete great example of a Model1870 . The gun even has the sling mounts and rear sight. The firearms was converted from a springfield model 1863 starting .58 caliber rifled musket manufactured by the Springfield Armory and converted in 1870 to a 50-70 caliber rifle becoming a model 1870.
The trapdoor Springfields had originally been designed as an inexpensive method of converting Springfield Model 1861 and Springfield Model 18963 rifled musket into breech-loading rifles, which dramatically improved their rate of fire from about 2 to 3 shots per minute to about 8 to 10 shots per minute.The original trapdoor Springfields had replaced only the firing mechanism, and had used a barrel liner to reduce the caliber from .58 to .50. This barrel liner proved to be unreliable in the field, and later trapdoor Springfields, like the Model 1870, abandoned the barrel liner method and used newly manufactured barrels instead
General of the Army William T. Sherman was a vocal opponent of the Trapdoor design and used his considerable influence to have a number of rifles of the Remington “Rolling Block” pattern chambered for .50-70 Gov’t manufactured at Springfield Armory in order to evaluate their effectiveness against the Trapdoor. At the same time, Springfield was directed to manufacture a slightly modified variant of the M1868 rifle to be issued concurrently with the Rolling Blocks for field trial and testing.
The new pattern, adopted as the “Model of 1870,” was quite similar to the M1868, except for the length of the receiver, which was 0.68” shorter. The M1870’s cleaning rod also had a double shoulder rather than the single shoulder of the M1868 rod.
The M1870’s breechblock was marked either “1870” or “Model 1870” in addition to the same eaglehead and crossed arrows found on M1868 breechblocks. The M1870 was not serially numbered, and just over 11,500 were made. The M1870 rifle was issued to several U.S. Army infantry units, and they saw use during field trials and some combat action. Although some units preferred the Rolling Block, the overall assessment of the latest Trapdoor was generally favorable.
The trapdoor Springfields had originally been designed as an inexpensive method of converting Springfield Model 1861 and Springfield Model 18963 rifled musket into breech-loading rifles, which dramatically improved their rate of fire from about 2 to 3 shots per minute to about 8 to 10 shots per minute.The original trapdoor Springfields had replaced only the firing mechanism, and had used a barrel liner to reduce the caliber from .58 to .50. This barrel liner proved to be unreliable in the field, and later trapdoor Springfields, like the Model 1870, abandoned the barrel liner method and used newly manufactured barrels instead
General of the Army William T. Sherman was a vocal opponent of the Trapdoor design and used his considerable influence to have a number of rifles of the Remington “Rolling Block” pattern chambered for .50-70 Gov’t manufactured at Springfield Armory in order to evaluate their effectiveness against the Trapdoor. At the same time, Springfield was directed to manufacture a slightly modified variant of the M1868 rifle to be issued concurrently with the Rolling Blocks for field trial and testing.
The new pattern, adopted as the “Model of 1870,” was quite similar to the M1868, except for the length of the receiver, which was 0.68” shorter. The M1870’s cleaning rod also had a double shoulder rather than the single shoulder of the M1868 rod.
The M1870’s breechblock was marked either “1870” or “Model 1870” in addition to the same eaglehead and crossed arrows found on M1868 breechblocks. The M1870 was not serially numbered, and just over 11,500 were made. The M1870 rifle was issued to several U.S. Army infantry units, and they saw use during field trials and some combat action. Although some units preferred the Rolling Block, the overall assessment of the latest Trapdoor was generally favorable.
