Excellent Springfield Model 1875 Trapdoor Officer's Rifle with Unique Bull Wind Gauge Rear Sight This is an excellent example of a U.S. Springfield Model 1875 Officer's rifle that was manufactured in 1877. This rifle has the low arch breech block found on Type II Model 1875 Officer's rifles but lacks the detachable pistol grip fitted on most of the Type II rifles. In addition, the rifle has a rare Bull wind gauge rear sight. "THE 45-70 SPRINGFIELD BOOK II" by Albert J. Frasca (pages 184-189) contains a list of Springfield Sporting and Officer's Rifles sales. The list shows that "Capt. Geo. Shorkley" purchased an Officer's rifle on January 31, 1877. The checkered wooden pistol grip found on most Type II Officer's rifles was approved in April 1877. Thirteen Officer's rifles were sold between January 31 and March 30, 1877. These rifles were probably not fitted with the detachable pistol grips found on the 239 Type II Officer's rifles manufactured between April 1877 and December 1881. More significantly, the "List of Sporting & Special Rifles Mentioned in Official Correspondence" on page 127 of "THE 45-70 SPRINGFIELD BOOK II" shows that "Capt. Geo. Shorkley" purchased "Bull front and rear vernier windgauge" sights on February 17, 1882. Captain Shorkley also is listed as purchasing a "Off. Rifle M77, O.M. Trigger guard, Rear sight" and "Pistol grip" on September 31, 1877". It is very possible that this rifle was purchased by Capt. Shorkley on January 31, 1877 and the Bull rear sight purchased by Shorkley in February 1882 was subsequently installed on this rifle. Aside from the Bull rear sight and lack of detachable pistol grip, the rifle has the standard Type II Officer's rifle features which include: (1) low arch breech lock, (2) engraved, German silver, nose cap, (3) Beach folding combination front sight, (4) 26-inch barrel with single cleaning rod pipe and cleaning rod stud at the muzzle, (5) hickory cleaning rod with nickel-plated tips, (6) carbine style trigger guard without sling swivel, (7) single set-trigger and (8) walnut half-stock with checkered panels on the wrist and forearm. The nose cap, barrel band, receiver top and tang, breechblock, hammer, cam latch, lock plate, bottom of the trigger guard and top of the buttplate heel are all engraved with well-executed open scrollwork with punch-dot accents. The engraving is more detailed than that used on Type III Officer's rifle's. The vernier rear sight has an oval base which has a slightly different configuration from the typical oval base on Type II and Type III Officer's rifles. The left side of the barrel is stamped with the standard Springfield "V/P/Eagle Head/P" proof marks. The top of the breech block is roll-stamped: "U.S./MODEL/1873" in tree lines. The lock plate is roll-stomped with the Springfield Eagle and Shield motif and "U.S./SPRINGFIELD" ahead of the hammer. "U.S." is stamped on the top of the buttplate heel. The right side of the barrel band is stamped with "U" facing the muzzle. An encircled, script, "P' proof mark is stamped on the underside of the stock behind the wrist checkering. The rifle is correctly not serial numbered or stamped with an Ordnance inspection mark of date on the left stock wrist. The rifle has a blued barrel and ramrod pipe. The upper barrel band, receiver, breech block, receiver tang, cam latch, hammer, trigger guard and buttplate are color casehardened. The stock has a low luster oil finish. The Model 1875 Officer's rifle was designed to provide Army officers with a high quality sporting rifle that utilized the regulation .45-70 cartridge. Springfield Armory manufactured a total of 477 Trapdoor Officer's rifles between 1875 and 1885. Manufacturer: Springfield Armory U.S. Model: 1875 BBL: 26 Inch Stock: walnut checkered Gauge: 45-70 Government Finish: blue/casehardened Grips: Serial Number: NSN Class: Antique Condition: Excellent. The barrel and Bull rear sight retain 97% plus of the original blue finish. The proof and inspection marks are crisp. The casehardened components have 98% of the subdued case colors. The colors on the lock plate have started to silver and there is some finish wear and light pitting on the heel and toe of the buttplate. There is a small amount of flaking on the right side of the nose cap. The well executed scroll engraving is crisp. The stock is in excellent condition and retains almost all of the original oil finish. The checkering is very sharp. Wear is limited to a few very insignificant handling marks. This is an excellent example of a scarce and very desirable Type II Springfield Model 1875 Officer's rifle. The lack of pistol grip and rare Bull wind gauge rear sight probably indicate that the rifle was purchased by "Capt. Geo. Shorkley in January 1877. This rifle would be the centerpiece of any top notch collection of U.S. martial arms.

  • Condition: See Description

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We will arrange for packing and shipping at our earliest possible convenience. We will attempt to ship as soon as possible, however, due to the huge volume of absentee bidders, delays in shipping of seven days after full payment is received by us is typical. In the case of crating or any exceptional packaging, the buyer will be charged our cost from outside agents. Buyer pays all shipping and insurance charges.

by Rock Island Auction Company
April 26, 2015 9:00 AM CDT
7819 42nd Street West
Rock Island, IL, US 61201

Rock Island Auction Company

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20.5% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000