The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - I'm buying a Springfield Trapdoor Model 1884. What should I know?

ckpj99 · October 20, 2014, 01:32 PM

Thanks for the tips. I've done some more reading on other sites as well, and I went ahead an purchased the rifle. We (as in the gunshop owner and myself) believe that the gun was rebarreled at some point and we think the door itself may have been replaced as well. The parts all lock up tight. The hammer and trigger mechanism seem just about perfect. Cosmetically, the gun it's going to win any awards, but I wanted a shooter anyway.

Someone installed a tang peep rear sight and a modern-looking globe front sight on it at some point, so that may help with adjusting for different loads.

I do plan to reload 405 lead eventually, but I need to get all the components and dies together. That will take a bit. I plan to buy brass at some point, but for the time being I got some Remington jacketed ammo. It's only pushing 1300 fps, so I can't imagine it being too damaging, especially if I only plan to shoot a box or two for the brass. It says on the box that it's safe for all rifles, so it must be true, lol!

I plan to use 4198 powder and get a load that's running around 1200 fps. 4198 keeps the pressures pretty low, like under 20,000cup.

The only thing that I want to work on with the rifle is that I don't think the front sight insert is the proper size. It shakes around slightly. And I'd like to get a set of inserts to have different options like a post and different size circles. Once I get that sorted, I may try to find a different size peep disk for the rear sight. It's a little too large a hole for my liking. All that being said, I have no clue what type/brand any of those parts are, so finding replacements may be difficult.

October 20, 2014, 01:32 PM	#8
ckpj99 Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2011 Posts: 386	Thanks for the tips. I've done some more reading on other sites as well, and I went ahead an purchased the rifle. We (as in the gunshop owner and myself) believe that the gun was rebarreled at some point and we think the door itself may have been replaced as well. The parts all lock up tight. The hammer and trigger mechanism seem just about perfect. Cosmetically, the gun it's going to win any awards, but I wanted a shooter anyway. Someone installed a tang peep rear sight and a modern-looking globe front sight on it at some point, so that may help with adjusting for different loads. I do plan to reload 405 lead eventually, but I need to get all the components and dies together. That will take a bit. I plan to buy brass at some point, but for the time being I got some Remington jacketed ammo. It's only pushing 1300 fps, so I can't imagine it being too damaging, especially if I only plan to shoot a box or two for the brass. It says on the box that it's safe for all rifles, so it must be true, lol! I plan to use 4198 powder and get a load that's running around 1200 fps. 4198 keeps the pressures pretty low, like under 20,000cup. The only thing that I want to work on with the rifle is that I don't think the front sight insert is the proper size. It shakes around slightly. And I'd like to get a set of inserts to have different options like a post and different size circles. Once I get that sorted, I may try to find a different size peep disk for the rear sight. It's a little too large a hole for my liking. All that being said, I have no clue what type/brand any of those parts are, so finding replacements may be difficult.