Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyj
Question:
Which came out first: Springfield Trapdoor or Remington Rolling Block ?
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The first Springfield trapdoor conversion came out as a .58 caliber rimfire in 1865. This was the Model 1865, or first Allin conversion. It was patented by Irskine Allin in September, 1865. About 5,000 were produced on a trial basis to test the concept. A number of needed changes were implemented, and the result was the centerfire Model 1866, which is the subject of this post.
The Rolling Block was based on patents held by one Leonard M. Geiger. The split-breech Geiger carbine was used in limited numbers by the North in the Civil War. An improved design resulted in some prototypes by Geiger and Remington plant supervisor Joseph Rider that were presented (unsuccessfully) to the U.S. Army for consideration in early 1865. Rider went back to the drawing board to improve the design. In the winter of 1865-1866, the first Remington Rolling Block rifle was produced.
The Rolling Block's action was far stronger than the trapdoors, but RBs had to be made from scratch. The trapdoors could use a lot of material from Civil War muzzleloaders. Hence, the Army chose the trapdoors to save a LOT of money in the process of giving them a useful breechloader.
Take your pick as to which was first. In my opinion, it's pretty much a tie.
John