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Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1880 TRAPDOOR EXPERIMENTAL .45-70 SN# 156951
Maker/Manufacturer:	ALLIN, ERSKINE S.
Date of Manufacture:	1881
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 5790
Measurements:	OL:131.4CM 51 3/4" BL: 82.5CM 32 1/2"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1880 TRAPDOOR EXPERIMENTAL .45-70 SN# 156951
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1881 - Modified. First Allin system arm to be fitted with a sliding triangular ramrod bayonet. Rod-bayonet is 35 9/16". Eleven deeply cut finger grooves were milled into bayonet of both flats. Catch button was depressed with the thumb and fore finger to release bayonet. Except for the ramrod bayonet, weapon similar in all respects to the M1873/79 service rifle as then being manufactured. Well in buttplate for tools. Approximately 1014 manufactured in 1880-1881. These were issued for field trial on March 5, 1881.

Markings:
Lock: Eagle. U.S./SPRINGFIELD.
Breechblock: U.S./MODEL/1873.
Receiver: 156951.
Barrel: V/P/Eaglehead/P.
Buttplate: US.
Stock: P in circle. D below triggerguard.
Bands: U.

1909 Catalog #0350 - "Rifle. Sp'f'd Breech Loading Rifle. Cal..45 Mod. 1873. Experimental rod bayonet. No. 1569517."

Notes: "In May of 1880 an Ordnance Memorandum once again indicated that the stock of bayonets, angular types, were being used up very rapidly and it would be financially unfeasible to manufacture new ones. Thus, someone somewhere in the Ordnance Department dug up the atrocious idea first dreamed up in 1833 for the Hall ramrod bayonet Dragoon carbine and modified one of the new 1879 rifles to use this lovely contraption. We may laugh at this change, as we have seen that it failed several times in the past, however, the reaction of the Chief of Ordnance was startling. Acting with immediate dispatch General Benet ordered 1000 of these new style rifles to be made and issued to the troops in the Western depots, Ft. Kearney, etc. These new style rod bayonet rifles not only incorporated the rod bayonets, but all major and minor design changes...including the butt trap which carried a headless shell extractor as well as combination tool. Those of you who wish to read the horrible details see Ord. Memorandum and notes for the calender year 1882 as to how these rifles fared. However, the Ord. Dept. did manage to lovely thing to go with these new rod bayonet rifles, the 1880 hunting knife, which, although the first rod bayonet rifle was dumped continued to be produced over a period of 10 years, over 12,000 being produced in all." - Robert G. Pins

"MODEL 1880 TRIANGULAR ROD BAYONET RIFLE - Because the Armory was depleting its stock of left over Civil War socket bayonets it was thought appropriate to introduce a new style bayonet and drop the Civil War pattern. Several types were considered, but since the rod bayonet could be used as a ramrod as well as a bayonet, it appeared to be a correct choice. This also eliminated the bayonet scabbard and reduced the overall weight of the soldier. All of these reasons were considered in the development of the first rod bayonet: the arguments and justifications are explained in these letters:
'National Armory.
Springfield Mass. May 29, 1880

Chief of Ordnance, U.S. Army
Washington, D.C.

Sir:
I send to your address by today's express a Springfield rifle with a ramrod bayonet attached to it, after the manner shown in the old Hall's carbine. The length of this particular bayonet beyond the muzzle of the barrel is fifteen inches. The small end of the wiping-rod portion has a screw thread for attaching the wiper, which will be found along with the headless shell extractor and the screw drive in the receptacle in the butt of the stock. The butt-plate for this purpose is similar to that now used on the carbine.
A careful estimate shows that the costs of the rifle with a ramrod bayonet like this sample is practically the same as the present service rifle, including its triangular bayonet.
The cost of new tools, fixtures, and gauges necessary to manufacture the rifle with ramrod bayonet is estimated to be $1,775. The weight of the rifle with ramrod bayonet, including the new buttplate, screw driver, headless shell extractor, and wiper is about two ounces less than the service rifle and triangular bayonet.
As the ramrod bayonet dispenses with Very respectfully, your obd. sert.
(signed) J.G. Benton
Col of Ordnance Commanding
------------------------------------------------------------
Ordnance Office, War Department
Washington, June 3, 1880
Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War.
The arrangement reduces the weight carried by the soldier by ten ounces and reduces the cost by ninety-one cents, as it dispenses with the scabbard.
As this ramrod bayonet has been prepared at the suggestion of the General of the Armory, and has his approval to be tested by the troops, the manufacture of 1000 rifles and this ramrod bayonet is recommended.
S.V. Benet
Brigadier General
Chief of Ordnance

Approved:
Alex Ramsey
Secretary of War
June 3, 1880
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Ordnance Office, War Department
Washington, D.C., June 3, 1880

Respectfully returned to the commanding officer, National Armory, inviting his attention to first indorsement and its approval by the Secretary of War.
These 1000 rifles will be made as soon as convenient without materially interfering with other operations, and when completed, will be reported to this office for instructions.
S.V. Benet
Brigadier General Chief of Ordnance

-----------------------------------------------
National Armory
Springfield, Mass., February 28, 1881

Respectfully returned to the Chief of Ordnance, U.S. Army. The 1000 rifles with rod bayonets called for in the second indorsement will be ready for issue from this Armory on the 5th of March, proximo.
The better to secure the bayonet in place I have added to the original model a sliding key, which can be pressed under the locking spring and cause it to keep its place. This change is shown in the rifle this day forwarded to the Ordnance Office.
I enclose herewith two copies of a printed description of the rod-bayonet attachment and the mode of using it. It is proposed to issue five copies of this paper with each chest of arms.
J.G. Benton
Col. of Ordnance
Commanding'
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The triangular ramrod bayonet is very much like the standard issue rifle except for the bayonet and its attaching mechanism.
Triangular rod bayonet rifles are known that have the following serial numbers and issue dates:
SERIAL NUMBER STOCK DATE
154139 1881
154703 1881
155169
156603 1881
156634 1881
156648
156824
156833 1881
156927 *1881
156988
156951
157038 1881
157748 1881
157816
157825 1881
157874 1881
* Large 'C' stamped into lockplate" - Frasca & Hill

The report from the field on the performance of the M1880 Experimental Trapdoor Rifle was written by Captain S.E. Blunt, Chief Ordnance Officer, Military Department of the Dakota, on June 30, 1882. Blunt, who would later serve as CO of the Springfield Armory, wrote:
"The trials of these guns have been continued during the year in one company of each of the Third, Seventh, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-fifth Infantry. The defect in the sighting of the guns, mentioned in my report of last year, is reported upon again this year by the company commanders. The guns give general dissatisfactions at target practice; in but few cases can the rifle be aimed with the sight adjusted to the absolute distance, but a special adjustment which varies with different guns, and apparently according to no fixed law of varying distances, has to be adopted. Accurate rifle shooting, with such an arm is, of course, impossible. In addition to the above mentioned defect, the colonel of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, in an endorsement forwarding a report on these guns from Company I of that regiment, states: 'My experience in inspecting these arms confirms the opinion of the writer thatse guns have received sufficient trial, and should be replaced - if it is desired to continue the experiment - by the ram-rod gun of improved pattern, which I understand has lately been fabricated, or should be entirely withdrawn from service."

"MODEL 1880 RIFLE - Approved on 3rd June, 1980, after extensive trials had been undertaken with an 1879-vintage prototype, this was the first Allin-type rifle to feature a triangular-section rod bayonet under the barrel. The adoption of the rod-bayonet - allegedly approved to lessen the infantryman's burden - simply avoided producing new socket bayonets; those serving in 1880 had all been made before 1865, then altered for the 1873-type rifles by cold-forging the sockets to reduce their diameter. About 1014 M1880 rifles were made in Springfield in 1881. They were essentially similar to the 1873 pattern, but had a special nose cap and two barrel bands." - Walter

"The ,45 Rifled Model 1880 was the first to be fitted with a triangular-section rod bayonet, sliding in a channel under the barrel where the ramrod would normally be carried. Though often defended in Ordnance correspondence as a means of reducing the soldier's burden - by a whole ten ounces - and saving the US Treasury about 91 cents per man, it was actually a way of avoiding manufacture of socket bayonets. Those in service in 1880 had all been made before 1865.
No socket bayonets had been made in North America for some years, whereas rod bayonets could be created by modifying machinery on which ramrods were made. Colonel James Benton, commanding Springfield Armory, sent a prototype rifle to the Chief of Ordnance, Brigadier General Stephen Benet, on 29 May 1880. It elicited sufficient enthusiasm for manufacture of a thousand guns to be approved on 3 June. A total of 1,014 was made in 1881.
Though otherwise essentially similar to the improved Model 1873, 1880-type rifles were easily distinguished by the special nose cap. Their full-length barrels were held by two bands." - Walter

Upon completion of field trials, and with more negative comments coming from the field, the rifles were returned to the Springfield Armory.

See, Waite & Ernst, TRAPDOOR SPRINGFIELD, pg. 81.

References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...AND THEIR VALUES. 6th Ed. DBI Books, Northbrook, Il. 1994.
Frasca, Albert J. & Robert H. Hill. 1909 CATALOG OF THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY MUSEUM ARMS & ACCOUTERMENTS. Revised. Springfield Publishing Co. Carson City, Nv. 1995.
Frasca, Albert J. & Robert H. Hill. THE .45-70 SPRINGFIELD. Springfield Publishing Co. Northridge, Ca. 1980.
Frasca, Albert J. THE .45-70 SPRINGFIELD BOOK II. 1865-1893. Frasca Publishing Co. Springfield, Oh. 1997.
Waite, M.D. & B.D. Ernst. TRAPDOOR SPRINGFIELD, Beinfeld Publishing Co. North Hollywood, Ca. 1980.
Walther, John. RIFLES OF THE WORLD. 2nd Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.
Walter, John. THE GUNS THAT WON THE WEST: FIREARMS ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, 1848-1898. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, Pa. 1999.