[fred cook]

These rifles were built at the Springfield Armory. They are known as the Model of 1871 but were made in 1872. There is a small mechanical difference from the Remington Rolling Block rifles in that when the breech block is closed, the hammer automatically drops to the safety position. To fire, the hammer has to be brought back to the firing notch. Also, when not in the cocked condition, the hammer ear blocks the sights. I think Springfield paid Remington a small royalty (about $1.00) for each rifle made. Just another small step in the transition from muzzle loading rifles/muskets to centerfire breach loading rifles. Rifles are chambered for the 50-70 cartridge, the earliest being rimfire, then inside primed center fire and finally outside primed as we know it today. All of the Model 1870/1871 rifles used centerfire cartridges. Also, there was an Army version and a slightly different Navy version. The Navy is known as the Model of 1870. These rifles were made concurrently with the Springfield Trapdoor rifles. There were 10,001 of these (Army version) made with the military buying about 9,000. The rest were sold on the civilian market but without any military proofs or cartouches. I believe this is one of the civilian guns. I bought this rifle in 1972, about 47 years ago!