kamaharr letycia laulanie
Berk Boyraz
Not to long ago my father in law passed and to say that he was an avid gun collector would be an understatement. His collection ranges from the revolution era up to the current decade, often with duplicate examples of the same piece. We all live in Gettysburg, Pa so I thought I could get some opinions from people in the area concerning this particular carbine. Instead it was like watching Ray Charles trying to throw darts....kinda funny and scary at the same time.
Now I have done some research and understand that these "Custer" carbines are far and few in between. This one was obtained by my father in law about 30 years ago and I probably walked past it a thousand times without a second look as there are firearms of all types all over the house. A friend of mine and myself have basically traced this serial number back to Fort Abraham Lincoln and from there as being issued to either Benteen or Reno during the Battle of Little Bighorn. I am almost positive however that it was not at the center of that battle.
Plus everything in between. I have many pictures that I would have to resize in order to post here as they were all 10 - 12 mb's in size so I will work on that. In the meantime please feel free to comment or squash this post till I have the pics ready....thanks!
Hey there. If you want help the first thing would be to authenticate the firearm and make sure it is not a cut down long rifle. That means pictures of the muzzle, and the front of the stock. It looks like yours has the right rear sight for the time period.
There are lots of fellows who specialized specifically in 1873 trapdoor carbines. They can spot a fake a mile off, and can save a lot of time. I would recommend hiring someone like that to research your gun especially if it has the potential to be worth so much... And its confidential and not on the open web.
I would like to say that I am not much interested in it's possible value as I am interested in the story that may come with the piece. I would assume that back in the day on the spot repairs were made as the local Amazon drop box wasn't available back then for replacement parts. It would be cool to have something special but as it is a family piece it will always be priceless.
I have about 50 hi rez pics done by a close friend of mine that specializes in photographing fine blown glass and miniture items. That's why the originals are at about 12mb. He is an awesome photographer but he was called in at the last minute and had a limited field to work with.
On your "Custer " Springfield as others have noted more pictures will confirm what it is. With what you have shown I can guess it may well be a parts gun. The serial number is in the correct range, however most Custer guns fall into two other different ranges. The first thing I saw was the rear sight is wrong, you have a M1879 type rather then the 73. Here are a number of other items to check. The knurling on the hammer should be coarse. No holes in the buttlplates for cleaning rods. The stock will be of the "long wrist" variety. The lock will have three clicks on the tumbler rather than two because of the serial range. On the barrel near the breech on the left hand side there should be no letters. The breechblock itself will have the date and an eagle and arrows with the block being of the high arch type. These are the most common items to check for it being a real early 73, I have a serial number base not with me at this location will check later. The two trapdoors sites listed are great references, If these points do not check out then the odds are this is a parts gun.
In addtion to 73's I have collected Custer material for 50 years and currently have a library of about 1000 volumes on the man and the fight. Very interesting subject but I finally decided to move on to the Spanish American War period.
Similar to the carbines carried by General Custer's troopers,this carbine is a single shot arm. Although there is no officialdesignation for the Model 1879, certain features, such as aslightly different breech from those used on earlier models, anotably thicker and wider receiver, as well as its serial number,identify this carbine as one produced between 1879 and 1885. SN131991
U.S./Springfield Armory Model 1873 Trapdoor" Carbine(single-shot/ breech-loading/ black powder/ cartridgeammunition)
During the Civil War, General George A. Custer led U.S. Cavalry,armed with Spencer repeating carbines, in many charges againstConfederate forces. After the war, however, the Army selected newguns. Strangely, single-shot Springfield "trapdoors" prevailed.Custer, who by then was fighting Natives, was continuing to enjoysuccess with his Spencers. He objected to the single-shot guns, buthis argument did not prevail. Later, armed with "trapdoors,"Custer, though out-numbered, led his troops in an attack at theLittle Big Horn against Natives armed with repeaters. He lost bothhis command and his life. This specimen attests to Army logic ofthat period, which thought repeaters to be wasteful of ammunition.Losses such as Custer's eventually convinced U.S. military thinkersthat repeating arms should be adopted."
- Dr. William L. Roberts, THE AMERICAN LIBERTY COLLECTION; #88
The town of Springfield, Massachusetts, located on the banks ofthe Connecticut River, was settled in 1636 by emigrants fromRoxbury. The town was nearly destroyed during King Philip's War in1675, but it was quickly rebuilt. As early as 1776, ContinentalArmy colonel and future Secretary of War Henry Knox recommended theestablishment of public laboratories, magazines, arsenals andfoundries in secure locations for the production and repair ofarms, ammunition, and other ordnance stores.
Both George Washington and the Continental Congress concurred withthis recommendation, under which an ordnance depot was establishedat Springfield in 1777. The town's access to raw materials, sourcesof water power, and transportation, as well as its inland locationwhich provided security against seaborne attack, made Springfieldan ideal location. Over the following year, buildings were rentedor erected for use as barracks and storehouses. In addition toordnance stores, the depot at Springfield also handled otheraspects of army supply, including equipment, uniforms, tents, food,and fuel.
The end of the War for Independence also brought a decline inmilitary activities at Springfield. In 1794, an Act of Congressdirected that national armories be established for the fabricationof small arms. President Washington selected Springfield andHarpers Ferry, which was then located in Virginia, as the sites forthese facilities. In addition to the advantages that contributed tothe presence of a Revolutionary War depot in the town, many skilledarmory workers were still living nearby. The government acquirednearly 300 acres and constructed a dam to furnish power to thearmory complex, as well as shops, offices, and storehouses. Thefirst permanent structure to be constructed on the site was a brickpowder magazine, which was torn down in 1842. Additional buildingshave been constructed as necessary over the yearssince.
Production of arms at Springfield began in 1795, with 245 musketsmanufactured during that year, and approximately 80,000 were turnedout before production was discontinued in 1814. The Model 1795muskets were the first standardized U.S. martial arms to beproduced and were patterned after the French Model 1763 Charlevillemusket. Harpers Ferry Armory also produced a Model 1795 musket, butthese were distinctly different from those manufactured atSpringfield. The first known Springfield Armory-marked specimenswere manufactured in 1799, and feature dated lockplates which bearan eagle stamp and the word "Springfield." The Model 1816 was firststandardized U.S. martial arm to be manufactured at bothSpringfield and Harpers Ferry.
These arms enjoyed the longest production run in U.S. history,lasting until 1844, with nearly 700,000 muskets turned out duringthis period. Both armories also produced the Model 1842 percussionmusket and Model 1855 percussion rifle-musket. These arms aresignificant in that the Model 1842 was the last U.S. regulation .69caliber smoothbore, as well as the first to be made at botharmories with completely interchangeable parts, while the Model1855 rifle-musket was the first rifle-musket to be produced by theUnited States, the first to be produced in the new regulation .58caliber, and the last arm to be produced at both governmentarmories.
In addition to commonly produced arms, each armory was the soleproducer of certain other designs, such as the Model 1855percussion pistol-carbine and various musketoons and cadet musketsthat were produced solely at Springfield, or the Model 1803flintlock rifle, and the Model 1841 percussion, or "Mississippi"rifles, both of which were produced only at Harpers Ferry. Model1861 and 1863 rifle-muskets, which were based on a modification ofthe earlier Model 1855, were produced in great quantitiesthroughout the Civil War. These were the last muzzle loading, papercartridge percussion arms to be produced by the U.S. Erskine S.Allin, Springfield's Master Armorer, designed a method forconverting many of these into metallic cartridge breech loaders.This conversion consisted of a modification to the breech to permitthe installation of a "trap door" breechblock with a self-containedfiring pin. The famous .45-70 government caliber "trap door"Springfield rifles and carbines of the Plains Indian Wars werebased on Allin's work, and these accounted for much of the Armory'sproduction during the 1870s and 1880s.
Springfield Armory was also involved in improving the state of theart in military rifle design, and toward this end,limited-production long arms including the Ward-Burton, LeeVertical Action, Hotchkiss, and Chaffee-Reese rifles weremanufactured there. These efforts culminated in the 1890s with theArmy's adoption of the smokeless powder Krag-Jorgensen bolt-actionrepeating rifle as its standard longarm. These rifles, as well ascarbine versions, were manufactured at the Armory through the turnof the century. The Spanish-American War proved the superiority ofthe German-designed Mauser, and the .30-'06 caliber U.S. Model 1903bolt-action rifle, which was built at Springfield Armory and RockIsland Arsenal under a license from Mauser, replaced theKrag-Jorgensen as the Army's new standard rifle.