Springfield Model 1884. 45×70 Government (post 1884)

The Springfield model 1884 was one of the “Trapdoor Springfield” rifles. It was an improved replacement for the previous longarm of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Springfield model 1873.

The most dramatic change to the rifle design, which is often considered to be the identifying feature of the model 1884, was a new rear sight which had been designed by Lieutenant Colonel Adelbert R. Buffington of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. This sight however was not perfected until 1885.

The principal feature of this new sight was a rack and pinion style windage adjustment. Unlike previous sights, the base was not used for any position other than point blank. The raised leaf had graduations from 200 to 1400 yards. A new barrel band was also designed to accommodate this new sight so that it could lie flat in the point blank position.