I was steered in your direction in order to find out some details and
possible potential value of an 1873 Springfield, Trapdoor rifle. I'm unsure
of the markings and what they represent, other than the serial number, which
appears to date the firearm as either end of 1873 or early 1874 production.
The gun is 52' over all length, with a serial number of 22867, which is the
only marking on the receiver that I've found without disassembling the
rifle.

Markings on the forearm are
G
2
42

Below that, in front of the trigger guard are
K
42

Below that, behind the trigger assembly are
C L
P (P is in script lettering and is in a circle)

Any help or direction that you could offer would be greatly appreciated in
finding information about the firearm. Thank you in advance. Please reply to
<email>

hello,,being a trapdoor it should be dated on the top of the receiver just in front of the bolt when open,,that would tell us the year ,,i've seen alot of these that are very hard to see from age ,,as for values on them ,,i know i'll have someone say i'm wrong but from what i've seen at shows and auctions recently there bringing between 650-1000,,for decent examples ,,i was at an auction about a week ago and a conversion musket /trapdoor parade nickle plated example in g-vg condition sold for 900 and it was a nice example ,,we had one in our shop about 6-8 mo's agao and couldn't get a bid on gunbrokers starting it at 650,,the recent shows i've been to i've seen alot of them priced at around 850 and there just not selling at those numbers and these were not junk they were quite nice for trapdoors ,,i've owned rifles and carbines and the carbines seem to sell faster than the rifles but it seems ther just slow movers and people just are not buying for the prices they did a couple years ago,,this is just my opinion and what i'm seeing them for and yours could be worth more to the right collector or at a good auction where other trapdoors are present,,
bigcurt

Thank you for the info and your opinion.
I do not see any other markings. Are you saying that there should be a 4 digit year stamp in the receiver that cannot be seen when the 'trapdoor' is closed?

Can you or anyone else tell me, or steer me to a resource that can distinguish what the markings on the stock represent? I know from other guns that I own, that these markings or impressions are indicitive of where and who made the gun.

hello,,try this site they have alot of inspector proofs and markings http://armscollectors.com/sn/usmilookup.php?file=us_m1911gvt.dat
bigcurt

The first 50,000 model 1873 trapdoors had the 'narrow' breechblock and were supposed to be condemned. Many many were missed.

The markings on the butt are unit numbers. There is no known list and no way to make one as the 'national guard' didn't have unique designations.

G,2,42 could be company G, 2nd Indiana Infantry, trooper #42 but it could also be the 2nd Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, etc. Could be 2nd US Infantry. Could be anything.

The breech itself should have a marking on it. Your trapdoor is the early narrow breech/square joint edition and the later ones have breechblocks which won't fit an earlier action.

The part that opens up to insert a cartridge is marked. At least should be.

One picture would tell me much about the rifle. I could then tell you.

We also have a 1873 spring feld 45 70 trap door.
the nuber is 353010
We are trying to find info about selling it and the prices value
Plez contect us
<email>

your trapdoor was made in 1887.

value, as with anything. has to do with overall condition.

does the metal have a lot of original blue, little blue, no bluing left ??? Is the wood good, fair, poor ????
Is the bore clean, dark, pitted ???
Is it rusted anywhere, pitted ????

Trapdoors, depending on condition, can go anywhere from
$500 to $1500.

I realize this is an OLD thread, but it contains some pretty basic mis-information:

(1) The width change on the trapdoor action took place somewhere between 96,271 and 96,309 - NOT at 50,000, as reading the post would imply. All TDs below 50,000 were recalled by official order, but, as Joe said, more than a few were missed.

(2) The later blocks WILL, in the vast majority of cases, fit earlier receivers, but the profile below the hinge pin will not 'match', and the block will overhang the receiver by about 1/32' each side. This is NOT a mod that SA would have made, however!

I have a trapdoor also, I've found this site very informative: http://www.trapdoorcollector.com/

That is an excellent site - a lot of accumulated knowledge there, and, a very good source of pricing info. Al takes good pictures, gives excellent descriptions, and you can see what rifles, in various conditions, will actually sell for.