Historic Springfield 1866 .50-70 Caliber U.S. issue infantry rifle altered for frontier service. This outstanding example turned up some time ago right here in Bozeman, Montana and has been in a single collection since. Historically, Fort Ellis was founded on the edge of Bozeman, Montana in 1867. It was staffed to protect the town and travelers (passing through on their way to the gold fields of Virginia City and Nevada City, Montana) from hostile Indian attacks. As this area was being settled, Fort Ellis would give homesteaders .50-70 Springfields if they did not have firearms, or if they were armed with inferior muzzle loading weapons. As government issued, these Springfields had 36? barrels and full stocks. They were fine for infantry soldiers, but too unwieldy for civilians, especially civilians on horseback. Hence, many of these ?donated? rifles were immediately shortened in barrel and stock to better suit the needs of homesteaders, buffalo hunters, trappers, pioneers and market hunters. This fine example has had the barrel cut back to a more manageable length of 25 inches. The issue rear leaf sight in intact and the front sight is a blade whose base is dovetailed into the barrel. The stock shows normal frontier usage and handling, but is solid and has never been cleaned or sanded. It still retains a very faint outline of the inspector cartouche in the left side wrist area. The 1866 Springfield ?Trapdoor? is one of the most historical of U.S. Government issue arms because they are actually converted .58 Caliber muzzle loading Civil War Muskets. After the Civil War these obsolete arms were returned to Springfield where their breech sections were cut away and a ?trap door? added to facilitate a firing pin and loading of the new and powerful .50-70 Center Fire cartridge (.50 caliber loaded with 70 grains of black powder). The barrels were then reamed and fitted with a .50 caliber rifled liner to accommodate the smaller bullet diameter. Lastly, the hammer was changed from the percussion style of one that would strike the firing pin in the breech block. The rest of the parts remained unaltered. So, this rifle first went through the Civil War, then was converted to cartridge in the form of the Model 1866 and reissued for Indian War usage, and finally given to civilians for frontier service. It would be difficult to find a more historic firearm than this. Barrels were left ?in the white? at Springfield, meaning they were not blued and this example shows a nice aged sliver-gray/brown appearance. The lock plate correctly shows the date it was originally issued as a muzzle loading rifle of 1863 and further has the Eagle Motif stamping over ?U.S. Springfield.? The breech block is similarly stamped with ?1866? over the eagle. The action functions perfectly and the bore is still fairly bright with sharp rifling all he way through and was obviously well taken care of. The butt plate is also original and retains the ?U.S.? stamping on the top. The .50-70 round was very popular as it had the power to take down any game encountered on the Western Frontier and could be found and purchased or issued at all frontier posts. An outstanding example of the earliest cartridge guns that ?Won he West". The rifle weighs 7lbs 10oz. No Serial Number. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.

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