Once fired repeat the opening process and this time the empty case will be flicked out of the chamber to strike the ejector stud in the barrel trough and be kicked out of the action. Unlike the Cavalry and Infantry guns the OM offers the user a single set trigger, which is pushed forward to set.
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Then pull then hammer back to full cock (second click) and you’re ready to go. To load pull the hammer back one click (half-cock) open the breech and slide a round into the chamber and with the muzzle pointing slightly down (to retain the cartridge) close the breech. This exposes the chamber and loading trough. Operating the Trapdoor is simple – just in front of the hammer is a latch, which pulls up to unlock the breech block, which swings up and over the barrel. Before I moved onto a Sharps for Quigley events I took the standard tang sight off and fitted a more sophisticated unit, which to a degree solved these problems. Sounds good, but with no marking on the slider it’s very hard to adjust and even harder to return to a setting. Instead the eyepiece is locked by friction and unscrewed then moved up/down, left/right, then re-tightened.
Unlike the more sophisticated BCPR sights, like Pedersoli’s USA 430 and 431, this one does not use a micrometer adjuster to set elevation and windage. The OM’s tang sight is pretty faithful to the original, which is nice for the purists but bloody annoying for shooters. Certainly in comparison to my example, where you had to live with the rear tang or get something else fitted on. This new addition to the sighting system does make the rifle good for short-range use. This last distance is a little ambitious for a rifle of this type. The barrel-mounted unit is of the Service pattern and offers step elevator V-notch from 100 – 400 yards and a flip-up ladder with sliding notch from 500-1100. Sights consist of a tall/brass-tipped front blade and a flip-up, friction tang on the wrist of the stock. Regrettably Pedersoli don’t include a set of brushes or jags with it. Underneath the barrel is a cleaning rod that slides into the forend and is held by a ferrule. The barrel and hammer are blued with the lock plate, breechblock, nose cap, barrel band and butt plate colour case hardened. This time round I took the opportunity to borrow a few accessories to see if they offered any real improvement to performance.įrom the box the OM comes with a straight-hand walnut stock, which is chequered at the wrist and forend. Pedersoli have changed the OM a little since I owned one, with the addition of a barrel-mounted step/ladder rear sight and a change from a German silver end cap to a colour casehardened version. However, in comparison with the Sharps and Remington Rolling Block BPCRs, which we in the UK are most familiar with, the OM does have its limitations… It differs considerably from these two pure Service guns by its sighting systems and accessories and to me strikes a nice balance between handling and shootability, not often found in reproduction guns of this period. The OM is very much an intermediate design, sitting as it does with its 26” barrel between the 22” Cavalry carbine and the 32” Infantry rifle. History tells us that Tom Custer (George Custer’s younger brother) carried an OM at the Little Big Horn. The idea was a hunting gun that was chambered for the Service cartridge (45-70 Government) that could be taken on campaign and at a pinch used to fight with. The Officer’s Model is no ordinary Trapdoor and as the name suggests it was intended to be a private purchase by officers of the US Cavalry, as opposed to an issue firearm like the Cavalry Carbine and full length Infantry Rifle. This month it’s the turn of a classic and rather unusual BPCR that I can honestly say I know inside out, as I owned and shot one over three years. Recently I tested Pedersoli’s John Bodine Rolling Block BPCR and I have to say that I really enjoyed myself and would certainly consider having a go at Quigley or something similar again. Over this last year I seem to have more than just a technical interest in some of the guns that have landed on my desk.