I've been looking at guns, as I'm inclined to do. I'm getting ready to rebarrel a Martini so it seems like a good idea to look at other peoples' work along the same lines. Looking at all sorts of 19th and 20th century single shot breach loader actions and the rifles people build out of them.
It has struck me before and now again the the Trapdoor Springfield is almost always seen as original or maybe in a sporterised stock. I don't think I've ever seen a Trapdoor Springfield rifle in a caliber other then 45-70. Why? I know that they have historical significance and shouldn't be butchered for the fun of it, but the value hasn't always been so high. A couple decades back they were pretty affordable. You can still put a miss matched action together for pretty reasonable money, which would be fine for a project. I also understand that the Trapdoor action isn't the strongest rifle action of all time, or even the strongest of it's time. Again, why would that stop anybody from making a pistol cal carbine or a light varminter. I don't see why you couldn't put a 44-40 or 45lc barrel into one; or maybe a 22 Hornet or 218 Bee. As much as there has always been a market for guns being improved by rebuilding military rifles into more powerfull hunting guns, there are also no end of examples of people building a small game gun or a low recoil target gun out of a gun that started in a heavier caliber (like all the Martinis barreled to 22 Hornet or the Mausers converted to 22-250)
Am I missing something? Are there tons of these out there, but people hide them or pull them off their web sights when they see me coming so they can snicker behind my back? Is there a compelling mechanical reason not to put a different cartridge into one?