Trapdoor

[Angel_Eyes]

Help,,,,, can anyone identify for me the trapdoor rifle that Long Higgins shoots at Orrins girl/fiance/wife in 'The Sackets' 

My eyes hurt  and my brains are starting to overheat

AE

[Dirty Brass]

Haven't seen the movie (or at least I don't remember it). If you can grab a screen shot of it maybe I could help?

[Angel_Eyes]

Don't know how to get a screen shot from a DVD, and any way the damn thing aint still long enough for me (the uninformed) to be able to get a good look at it.
The only things I can pick out is :- side hammer, a 2"-3" loop or bar on the left side of the receiver with a ring on it, and a single barrel band. The bore is at least .50cal.
I thought it might be a Smith, (Spenser at first until I thought about the trapdoor.)

Any help 

AE

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[Dirty Brass]

Sounds more like a 45/70 Trapdoor Carbine - they had the bar and saddle rings. Caliber was 45/70. Single band in front of rear sight. Here's a pic of a TD Carbine - maybe that will help....it also could be a conversion gun from 50/70 caliber, but generally they didn't have a saddle ring mounted, as their is a lot of inletting to do when installing one....

[Angel_Eyes]

Thanks, your brass is shining more brightly now, looks as near to what I saw as can be. 
Name of maker

Can you imagine that the bullet would not have gone straight through the lady and into Tom Selleck (Orrin Sackett) as well, being shot from only about 10-15 yards???
Made of stern stuff, those frontier women!

Thanks again, Angel Eyes.

[Forty Rod]

All that whalebone in a corset would stop a cannonball.

[Dirty Brass]

If I recall correctly, those carbines would put a 500 gr. bullet through six 1" pine boards at 1000 yards, and then go another 5" - 6" into the sand! They did a lot of military testing on them to get the most out of the shorter barrel. Pretty impressive. Heck, just hitting a target at 1000 yards with opens sights impresses the axle grease outta me! 

[Angel_Eyes]

I think I have found the most likely contender.
Apparently the American Govt. converted a huge amount of Civil War .58cal Springfield's to trapdoor models.
They then found out that they were too large a bore and refitted .50-70 barrels and subsequently the .45-70 Carbine was born.
This is the same weapon issued to Custers troops at The Little Bighorn.
As you can imagine, a lot of these must have found their way into civilian hands.

So hopefully, mystery solved,
regards, Angel Eyes..............YEEEEEEEHAAAAAAA!!!

Forty Rod, you been hanging out in Ladies underwear again   

[Dirty Brass]

Yup - converting the old musket Springfields was the beginning. There is a pretty good article at the link below on the history of these guns. It was awhile before they finally created the "carbine" model, but that's where it all started....good read....


http://www.shootmagazine.com/articles/firearms/50-70_govt.htm

[Silver Creek Slim]

I just watched it. It is a Springfield "trapdoor" carbine.

Slim