Cost was going to be a consideration in the development of any new system as the Union had poured vast amounts of money into the war effort and the rebuilding of a nation left limited funds for the re-equipping of a peacetime army, albeit much smaller in size than had been needed in the previous four years. During the American Civil War cartridge arms had proved their worth and at the end of the conflict it became obvious that this was the way forward for military small arms. Some years ago I owned an original infantry version of this rifle and it was not hard to see why this action was chosen by the United States military as their standard breech loading rifle for so many years. If they eventually do come up with the goods they will have to be at the top of their game to compete with the Pedersoli which is, as usual for their products, a quality piece of kit. To my knowledge the only people making a copy of this gun today are Pedersoli of Italy, although some time ago I did hear that Uberti had one on the blocks, but as yet it has not materialised. I usually have one single shot rifle in my cupboard – at the moment it’s a Sharps repro – but I’ll have to see if I can justify adding one of these carbines to the fold. Recent research for an illustrated talk on the Battle of the Little Big Horn caused me to re-acquaint myself with one of my favourite firearms actions: the Springfield Trapdoor.
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