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Old April 25, 2013, 03:12 PM   #3
James K
Member In Memoriam
 
Join Date: March 17, 1999
Posts: 24,383
It is a Model 1888 rod-bayonet rifle, made in 1891. SWP is Samuel W. Porter, the (civilian) Master Armorer at Springfield.

The numbers stamped into the stock were applied after the rifle left U.S. service; they might have been put on by some state or local organization or some military academy.

The last picture shows a rather odd shape to the buttstock, as if it had been sanded down to meet a non-standard butt plate.

The rod bayonet was adopted as a way to lighten the soldier's load, eliminating the bayonet scabbard and combining the bayonet and cleaning rod; it worked well enough (though seldom used in the Indian Wars) when it was of a size to fit the .45 bore. It was not a success when the same idea was applied to the original Model 1903 rifle, which had a smaller .30 bore and so a much thinner rod bayonet.

Jim
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