Why no Trapdoor customs?

[jlwilliams]

  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?

[BUGEYE]

there should be no problem with pistol calibers.  but if folks start pushing the envelope with rifle calibers. KABLOOEY!!!!!!
nothing left but the slow walking and sad singing.

[Swampman]

Here's a .45-90

http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1245696456/22

[S.E.Ak]

To me there is no gain into going with a pistol caliber as the 45/70 has it covered as a shooter.

[Frank46]

I believe that an old time gunsmith by the name of gemmer or something similar to that used to do conversions on the trapdoor springfield. Google is your friend. Or try the assra.com website as pics of conversions have been posted there from time to time. I think one reason you do not see new conversions of trapdoors is that the price of good ones has risen to the point that most folks do not even consider doing it. Frank

[.22-5-40]

Hello. JLwilliams.  Have you ever seen an original Officers Model .45-70?  Very nice & $$$$!  There have been several modern-made sporters out of these rifles.  The strangest one is from a Michigan gunsmith, who wanting to take part in the .22 L.R. long range side matches held at the NRA range in Ratone, N.M. during the BPCR Silhouette matches.  He used a full sized 1884 Trapdoor rifle, rebarreled to .22 L.R. using same brl. length & contour of original.  He said he had to make up a three pronged firing pin to soak up some of that huge hammer blow!  Heck, the clunk of that big hammer would probably drown out the sound of the .22!

[jlwilliams]

  Thanks for all the replies so far.

  Maybe I'll keep my eyes peeled for Trapdoor parts as they pop up.  No reason not to put a mixed numbers action together for a shooter.  Will I put it together in 45-70 or try something different (just to be different)?  That depends on if I find a good barrel in my search.  I certainly wouldn't pull a good barrel to make a piece of history into a Frankengun.  I would, however, replace a rotted sewer pipe with something usable but not original.

  I see the point that 45-70 covers the bases as well as any pistol round, give the ability to load it whatever way you want.  On the other hand there were other guns that were available in 45-70 that were also available in pistol calibers.  The Remington Rolling Block comes to mind.  For some people the economy of owning a rifle in the same 38-40 or 44-40 as their revolver was a huge factor in choosing their guns.  Today, there isn't much point in it.  A hundred years back it was more practical.  That again is why I'm surprised that conversions like that aren't all over the place.  It just surprises me that some entrepeneur in the old days wasn't buying surplus rifles and offering them as shortened ranch carbines.

  If I decide to do any sort of conversion I'll likely go with something other than 45lc.  There just isn't much reason to do it in the same bore with half the power.  I'd look at something like 32-20 or 22 Hornet.  That would make the rifle into a completely different platform.  Small bore, small game.