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Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor 45-70
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12-01-2010 10:19 PM
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The lock plate with a date is not correct for the rest of the rifle which is a much later date. By installing the correct plate, you will have a collectible rifle.
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With the wrong lock plate, could it be a Bannerman?
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It could be a Bannerman. you would have to compare the cartouches and determine if the barrel is three groove or 5 groove. Look for a paper filler in the barrel channel. Bannerman's have a circle R at the wrist instead of the circle P. CB
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They're all "Bannermans."
Outside of the lock plate it's a bog standard 1884. The "Bannerman" guns were typically low (high arch) serial receivers and blocks. That one is late (low arch) so it's unlikely to be anything other than what it appears to be - an 1884 with an earlier lock plate. The stock is short wrist whereas the "Bannerman" guns were recovered musket stocks - long wrist. The "Bannerman" guns had shaved CW lock plates - typically marked with 1880s dates. That is an 1873 trapdoor lock plate. So I see absolutely nothing "Bannerman" about it. It appears to be a bog standard 1884 with an earlier (trapdoor, not recovered CW) lock plate. The "Bannerman" also tended to have musket hammers - that one has a late (correct for 1884) hammer.
Leave it be. The guns were made of interchangeable parts for a reason and your rifle just shows that parts were in fact interchangeable. If you insist on changing the lock plate for the later (no date) edition ensure you use a ton of lemon oil and let it soak in so as to not chip the wood in removing that one. The tolerances were very tight and many trapdoors show the chipping of metal removed from the stocks without careful preparation.
Nice rifle. The lock plate bothers me not at all.
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Thanks 5, The rifle has been in our family at least 90 years in this condition, and I plan on keeping it that way. Thanks again Merry Christmas
2B1ASK1
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945
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No problem. The guns were in the hands of the national guard/militia and I don't think they'd have gotten highly upset if the gun received an earlier lock plate as spare parts. The guns were tools.
Merry Christmas.
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Thanks for sharing. Don't change a thing...Heirlooms are not meant to be messed with...Enjoy...