trapdoor carbine: real or fake?

[HenryG]

Hey im trying to identify my new purchase.

US Springfield carbine model 1873 kal. 45
S/N: 166793
Totallenght: 105 cm. Pipelenght: 57 cm

According to the S/N, ive figured it was made in the 1881 or 1882, although there are alot of small things i think is weird about the rifle.

- the front sight looks like a sportirized version of the rifle, i dont know if it is originbal or not
- the 2 lockling screw on the left side do not have the cutout and/or have the missing famouse carbine saddle ring fixture.
- the barrel band as well as the rear end of the stock and the trigger gaurd all have sling swivels. (I geuss they are compensating for the missing saddlering)

Although, something which goes against it not being a cut down rifle is its rear sight which i think is a M1878 rear sight, with a stamped "C" on it for carbine, not a "R" stamped one for the rifle one ...

let me know if you guys can help me find out more, thanks.

- Henry

[warguy]

I am far from an expert but did own a trapdoor carbine once. The barrel looks too long to me, I am thinking a

converted rifle. I know many of these were converted, sporterized and used to hunt with. I would start by looking for the proper barrel length for the carbine and compare that to yours. 

[ScottN]

Hi. Not an expert either but looking at front sight, sling swivels & lack of saddle ring/bar ( or inlet) I’d say definitely a modified rifle. (Does it have a 22” barrel? Just curious)

[HenryG]

Its 22"  yea, or to be exact 22.44" 

[HenryG]

Also just found out that the S/N: 166793, should be in the year 1881 or 82, although, they only made 501 carbines in 81. 

[thorin6]

I believe this is a cut-down rifle, the barrel should be almost exactly (plus or minus .1 inch) 22 inches.  The rest of the "carbine" points to a cut-down rifle as well.

[HenryG]

Okay finally i did some more digging and found a book called 

"The .45-70 Springfield" by Frasca, Albert J

 

 

This Armory-assembled firearm incorporates components from both the early 1873–1877 period and the later 1879–1882 production, forming a configuration unique to FY1881–82 rebuilds.

 

Early Parts (Reused from Returned Service Arms):

 

MODEL 1873 high-arch breechblock

Early 1873–77 hammer (flat face, non-beveled contour)

Cut-down Model 1873 rifle stock

Rifle pattern trigger guard

Cadet-pattern stacking swivel upper band (Model 1874 Cadet)

 

Later Parts (New Manufacture ca. 1880–1882):

 

Fourth-type Model 1879 rear sight (introduced mid-1880)

1880–82 carbine barrel

1881–82 receiver

Later-pattern lockplate (“U.S. / SPRINGFIELD” with refined eagle)

This mixture is precisely what the Armory’s own letters describe:

 

“Arms repaired and reassembled during Fiscal Year 1882 will show a variety of early and late parts. New barrels and receivers were fitted to stocks cut down from rifles, and older hammers and breechlocks reused.”
 

This carbine could have served with infantry companies, state militias, frontier garrisons, or cavalry units transitioning away from mounted service.

 

The carbine offered here, bearing the serial number 166793, stands as a remarkably authentic survivor of that transitional era. Its configuration is not the product of modern assembly or field alteration, but rather a fully documented example of Springfield Armory’s Fiscal Year 1881–1882 rebuild program, a time when the Armory was tasked with producing serviceable carbines from whatever suitable parts could be salvaged or manufactured.

 

Historical records show that, throughout 1880–82, large numbers of carbines were returned to Springfield from frontier duty in worn, incomplete, or broken condition. Instead of building all-new arms, the Ordnance Department authorized the Armory to reassemble carbines from mixed inventories of parts, combining early components from the 1873–77 production run with newer barrels, receivers, and lock parts manufactured in 1879–82. The Armory’s internal correspondence from this period—many letters reproduced in Frasca & Hill’s 45–70 Springfield—describes in detail the reuse of older high-arch breechblocks, early hammers, and surplus cadet hardware, as well as the frequent cutting down of rifle stocks to serve as carbine stocks when carbine stocks were in short supply. This historical context aligns perfectly with the physical characteristics of this particular firearm.

 

This carbine features a late 1881–82 receiver, which falls squarely into the serial range used for rebuilt and repaired carbines during that fiscal year. Mated to it is an early high-arch “MODEL 1873” breechblock and a first-pattern 1873 hammer, both components commonly reused during the rebuild program. The stock is a cut-down Model 1873 rifle stock, recognizable by its fuller wrist profile and, significantly, its total lack of any inlet for a saddle ring bar—clear evidence that this stock was never configured as a cavalry carbine stock after the rebuild. This is entirely consistent with documented Armory practice: many rebuilt carbines were issued to infantry companies, state militias, or training detachments, none of which required a saddle ring.

 

The barrel is a later 22-inch carbine barrel, fitted with the fourth pattern Model 1879 rear sight, introduced in mid-1880. This type of sight, with its semicircular buckhorn notch and distinct base profile, confirms that the sight and barrel assembly could not have been installed before the summer of 1880, further reinforcing the FY1881–82 rebuild timeframe. The most unusual and most telling feature of this carbine, however, is its upper barrel band. Rather than the standard carbine band, or even the rifle band commonly found on cut-down stocks, this example is fitted with the Model 1874 Cadet band, identifiable by its stacking swivel. Springfield retained large quantities of these cadet bands in storage, and Armory letters from 1881 and 1882 specifically note the use of cadet-pattern hardware on rebuilt rifles and carbines when standard bands were not available. Surviving examples with cadet bands are distinctly uncommon today, and their presence is a hallmark of genuine Armory assembly rather than later civilian modification.

 

Taken as a whole, this carbine embodies the very essence of the Armory’s resourcefulness during a period when the U.S. Army’s needs outpaced its manufacturing capacity. Its combination of early and late parts is not a defect, but rather a defining characteristic of the rebuild program. The mixture of an early hammer and breechblock with a late lockplate and 1879-pattern rear sight reflects precisely the conditions described in Springfield’s own letters, in which older components were saved and reused whenever possible. The cut-down rifle stock, the absence of a saddle ring, and the unexpected cadet band all reinforce its identity as an Armory-rebuilt service carbine issued late in the Indian Wars era.

 

 

- Henry