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I've got an 1866 Springfield trapdoor 2nd Allin conversion that doesn't fit the usual specs. It matches all the specifications I've read in research books except for the fact that instead of the barrel being resized to .50 cal it remains a .58 caliber CENTERFIRE! It could have been okay if it was a .58 rim fire, but no one has ever heard of this rifle with the receiver and barrel being a .58 centerfire rifle.
Anyone ever heard of this?
Chapter 18 of "The .45-70 Springfield" by Frasca and Hill describes how the appearance on the commercial market of "home-brew" Springfields led to an official decision to ban the sale of stocks of obsolete parts, and such parts were thereafter scrapped rather than sold.
It seems that commercial operators had been mixing and adapting anything they could get - even musket stocks! - to make up imitation Trapdoors. You may have got such a beast. If so, it will take a hands-on examination by a Springfield expert to sort out what's what.
Of course, you may have got an unique experimental model. But, alas, the previous explanation is statistically more probable.
:wave:
Take some pictures and e-mail them to trapdoorcollector.com and get Al's opinion.
It's actually not mine. I let a co-worker post it in my name. I'll see if he has any pics. Thank you for your replies.