A Springfield Armory Model 1888 trapdoor rifle in .45-70 Government, built between July and September 1892 according to its serial number. The 32.5-inch round barrel still has strong rifling, though the grooves show some frost. The metal keeps its original finish, now thinning toward a brown patina, and the rifle retains the ramrod bayonet that defines the 1888 pattern. The stock is very good with few impressions; it carries New York National Guard markings on the right side and a clear 1892 cartouche on the left.

Rifles of this issue were in service through the Spanish-American War period, and that is the appeal here: a dated, unit-marked single-shot rather than a modern hunting rifle. For a Montana buyer it is a collector's trapdoor first. Montana FWP sets no caliber limit for game animals, so nothing stops a shooter carrying one in the Oct. 24 to Nov. 29 general season, with the required 400 square inches of hunter orange above the waist.

Key features

• .45-70 Government, 32.5-inch round barrel
• Made July to September 1892, Springfield Armory
• Model 1888 ramrod bayonet fitted
• New York National Guard stock markings
• 1892 cartouche on left side of stock

Choose a Montana dealer at checkout; the rifle goes to that shop and you pick it up there once the check clears.