Firearms appraisal?

[Mithras61]

I have inherited what I believe to be a rare rifle.

Does anyone know of someone in the Houston area that I can take it to have it appraised and valued, so that I can insure it properly?

[Mike1951]

Collectors Firearms comes to mind, although I have no idea what they would charge for the service.

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/

[bevans]

I have an old lever action 44-40 that was left to me that collectors looked at they called my insurance guy and told him a value to insure it for. I tried to pay them but they said that i have bought quite a bit from them lately so NO CHARGE. They will continue to get my buisness because they really go the extra mile, yes they are more expensive than some but there is alot to be said for being reconized when you walk in the door and asked hows the family.I used to buy from alamo firearms in bellaire till some scumbag shot the owner so i believe in supporting our small buisnessman.

[Mithras61]

Finally got down to Collectors' Firearms with this.

It's a Springfield Armory Model 1893 Trapdoor single-shot chambered in .45-70 Gov't.








We cleaned it up and it looks like it is in good condition. The barrel doesn't have any pits inside or out. I'm planning a trip to take it out for a test fire before much longer...

[T3hK1w1]

Ah, so THAT'S why they call it a "Trapdoor". Very interesting

[308nato]

That is a very nice looking rifle

[Lumberjack98]

What value did that give you on it?

I actually inherited one of these from my grandfather and have no idea what it's worth.

[Thane]

I'm planning a trip to take it out for a test fire before much longer...

Make SURE you're shooting loads acceptable for that old rifle! Modern smokeless .45-70 ammunition will take that gun apart, and possibly your hands/face with it. Use blackpowder or blackpowder substitutes ONLY.

The old Trapdoor design will NOT handle the pressure of modern smokeless powder!!!

However, with appropriate ammunition, the old blackpowder cartridge rifles can be quite fun to shoot - I've got an old Rolling Block I take out occasionally.

[Mithras61]

What value did that give you on it?

I actually inherited one of these from my grandfather and have no idea what it's worth.

They said it should be insured for about $1000, but I did some checking around, and depending on the condition of the rifle and if it is a carbine or not, Model 1873s can go for somewhere between $800 and $4000.

I think he may have undervalued it a little bit since the furniture is in excellent condition and the barrel had a (very) light patina of rust on it (it hadn't been cleaned in close to 50 years), but the rust can right off with Hoppes and a little 0000 steel wool, and there isn't any piutting on the outside or on any of the parts I can get to easily. I think it may be worth close to $1200 or $1500. Carbines are worth more than standard rifles, and Cadet rifles are worth more than that (this one is neither a carbine nor a Cadet model).

[Mithras61]

I'm planning a trip to take it out for a test fire before much longer...

Make SURE you're shooting loads acceptable for that old rifle! Modern smokeless .45-70 ammunition will take that gun apart, and possibly your hands/face with it. Use blackpowder or blackpowder substitutes ONLY.

The old Trapdoor design will NOT handle the pressure of modern smokeless powder!!!

However, with appropriate ammunition, the old blackpowder cartridge rifles can be quite fun to shoot - I've got an old Rolling Block I take out occasionally.

Everything I can find on the cartidges indicates that a standard 405g soft nose should be okay, but the lighter rounds (e.g. - 300g, 350g & 300g +P & 500g) are loaded to a much higher pressure.

Does this match up to what you know of it, or is there something I'm missing?

I would really like to shoot it, but I really don't want to blow it up.

[SC1903A3]

Don't take the cleaning to far. Part of the value of an antique is in the patina. I've seen some firearms that people cleaned up that caused the value to drop to less than half. +1 on what Thane said. The old trap doors will not handle smokless powder. Buy some reloading equipement and load black powder charges.

[Mithras61]

What about some of these for ammo?

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categorie ... tyleID=922

[SC1903A3]

The Goex looks good. Have a gunsmith check the rifle first though and go by his recommendation. I personally would not shoot it. I would treat as the treasure that it is.

[Tom]

What about some of these for ammo?

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categorie ... tyleID=922

Mithras61,

You have gotten some good advice about taking care of your new
acquisition, and some reasonable cautions about loads.

In addition, Speer maintains that you need to keep your loads below
21,000 PSI to be safe in the "M1873 Trapdoor Springfields, and modern
replicas, original 1874 Sharps, and all rolling block actions".

They provide a number of smokeless powder loads that do just that.

You do not need to go black powder only as long as the smokeless
load is below the 21,000 PSI limit.

I have a list of loads for Speer bullet #2482, 300 Gr. UCHP which
includes smokeless loads at all three power levels. They have since
included this data in their loading manual #14 and no longer have it
on their web site.

If you would like me to pass along some of these PM me. If you reload
you can safely load smokeless powder for your very fine looking antique.

BTW - the top loads in .45-70 can get up to 35,000 PSI and the middle
range loads max out at 28,000 PSI. So you are way down the curve at a
mere 21,000 PSI.

Kind Regards,

Tom

[Mithras61]

What about some of these for ammo?

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categorie ... tyleID=922

Mithras61,

You have gotten some good advice about taking care of your new
acquisition, and some reasonable cautions about loads.

In addition, Speer maintains that you need to keep your loads below
21,000 PSI to be safe in the "M1873 Trapdoor Springfields, and modern
replicas, original 1874 Sharps, and all rolling block actions".

They provide a number of smokeless powder loads that do just that.

You do not need to go black powder only as long as the smokeless
load is below the 21,000 PSI limit.

I have a list of loads for Speer bullet #2482, 300 Gr. UCHP which
includes smokeless loads at all three power levels. They have since
included this data in their loading manual #14 and no longer have it
on their web site.

If you would like me to pass along some of these PM me. If you reload
you can safely load smokeless powder for your very fine looking antique.

BTW - the top loads in .45-70 can get up to 35,000 PSI and the middle
range loads max out at 28,000 PSI. So you are way down the curve at a
mere 21,000 PSI.

Kind Regards,

Tom

Tom,

That's very kind of you, but I do not reload at this time. The way prices on ammo are going, I may have to start, but I don't at the present. Thank you for the info, though. It provides me with what I need to know. That 35K PSI sounds pretty dangerous in a breech rated for 21K...