1870 Navy Rolling Block

[ehull]

Bob- The few Type II rifles sent to France in 1871 apparently did not have inspectors' markings, nor did the Type I (except for the few hundred which had been accepted by the Navy and then withdrawn from service and sold). The contract for those sold to France stipulated 10,000 rifles, and Type I rifles were "defective" and thus were sold out of Springfield. Not all of the first Type I rifles that were made could be recalled from the ships of the Navy so it appears that some Type II rifles were made to complete this order. Your rifle's lack of markings seems to confirm this fact. Ed

[ehull]

I have no record of overruns, and Springfield didn't do that--strict government accounting. The barrel markings were Navy inspectors' marks, and since these rifles to France were not Navy issue they didn't need Navy inspection. However, as an official Springfield Armory product, they did get Army (i.e. Allin) inspection.

[ehull]

Bob-
I'm a military RB collector and know very little about the sporters.