New remington

[ORNERY OAF]

Gang, I need a little help. I just gormt a great deal on a beautiful remington rolling block . I think,lol....I've no experiance with these but I've been doing n some research and apparently they come in a plethora of calibers. No idea what this one is. It does not take a 50-70 or a 45-90  but it seems to fit a 45-70 cartridge. I can not find any caliber on the rifle, even under handguards. Gonna slug the barrel, that should get me close. Posting couple pics to see if you guys can educate me a little. Half octagon half round heavy barrel, got some serious weight. And I have the front sight, just need to tap the dovetail a bit.

[ORNERY OAF]

I've taken off the handguards,  it has east street and 6 1/2 stamped on the barrel and that's it, no idea what that means also took off the rear sight no caliber just winchester stuff 

[J-BAR #18287]

Is there a serial number somewhere?  A gun without a serial number can be problematic these days.

 

Do a search for "Remington serial number lookup".  I got several hits.

 

Good luck!

[ORNERY OAF]

45-70 seems diameter right buy also seems a tad long, I will see what I can find on serial

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

Do a chamber cast ,    then go from there 

 

 given the pics , I suspect 43 Spanish 

 

   CB 

[ORNERY OAF]

Those are the only markings, it's a super nice rifle and it came with a globe front sight with a level...so I know it was at one time a competition shooter or long range gun

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Might have some luck here:

 

https://www.remingtonsociety.org/

[J-BAR #18287]

"LO"would have been made in Feb., 1977, according to this table:

 

https://www.oldguns.net/sn_php/remdates.php
 

 

 I know nothing about rollers; I don't know if Remington was making them then.  1977 seems too recent.  Probably getting acquainted on a Remington Collector's forum would be helpful.

 

 

 

[ORNERY OAF]

43 spanish I know nothing about but I've started reading, I guess it's a great cartridge....just wish I had one to see if it seats. Never chamber casted but I may try it. Wonder if I could get a decent gun smith to ream to 50-70,I already shoot that

[J-BAR #18287]

Thinking about it, the number is probably L zero 429, not "LO", but I haven't found a list with just one letter.  Sorry.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

what is the DIA. of the ID of the barrel ? 

 

  as to 50-70 , that would cost a bunch IMO for drilling and rifling 

 

  CB 

[ORNERY OAF]

Gonna slug the barrel this afternoon when I get home

[ORNERY OAF]

Slugged 451-452 with a lead ball, so I still have no clue, but it did drop in the camber so I would think bottleneck 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

given that , I am now pretty sure it be a 43 Spanish 

 

 that seems to be what I recall from sorting one out some time back 

 

time for a chamber cast and a bit of looking to get it right , 

 

there are several close to the measurement , as I recall , not having a reference book in hand 

 

  CB 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

Please get the base DIA and the rim dia 

 

 I will pull out a couple of referance books , as soom as I get back in , have to deal with an issue that just cropped up 

 

  Chickasaw 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

43 Spanish uses .439 bullets.  That rifle looks like a sporting model rather than a military gun.  44-77 is a close cousin to .43 Spanish but may use larger bullets. It would be best to make a chamber cast if you can.

Horace

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

From the pics that's a real sweetheart.  Good luck...and let us know what happens.

[Texas Joker]

Could it be a worn .43 Egyptian?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.43_Egyptian

 

 

 

 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

43 Spanish Reformado  bullet dia .454 base dia ,525 , rim dia .631 

 

  the other option , is a 11.4mm Brazilian Comblain bullet dia  .452 base dia .588 . rim dia .682 

 

  taken from Crgs of the world , published 1965 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Ornery, welcome to the world of "Rabbit Hole Remington" owners!  

 

A couple of interesting Remington information tidbits: 

 

First, the military Rolling Blocks were rarely, if ever, given serial numbers.  The fact that yours has what appears to be a serial number on the lower tang might indicate that it was manufactured for the civilian market - possibly as a target model.  Not a bad thing at all!

 

Also, Remington, for some mysterious reason, rarely, if ever, stamped a caliber on the Rolling Blocks.  And this in itself is your ticket into the "Remington Rabbit Hole," as they were factory produced in at least two dozen chamberings.  Of these, there are perhaps a half-dozen that could be for the bore diameter you measured - especially considering that their tolerances were not so great back then.  Some of these possibilities might include:

 

.43 Spanish

.43 Spanish "Reformado*"

.43 Egyptian

.44-77 Sharps/(Remington)

.45-70 (not likely, if your chamber is too short)

11 mm Danish

11X59 mm Gras

... any "custom" calibers (perhaps .45-60?)

 

*On the subject of "Spanish .43 Reformado," the cartridge actually took an 11.5mm (.453) bullet.  Don't ask me where they got .43; again, some of the dimensions of the period were pretty imprecise - especially with military chamberings.

 

The "true" .43 Spanish shot a .439 bullet; ostensibly much too small for your bore, but who knows...?  

 

As suggested above, get yourself a block o' Cerrosafe and do a chamber casting.  If you have a copy of "Cartridges Of the World" you should be able to find a match; if you don't, just post the dimensions here and you'll get a bunch o' lookups!  

 

In the meantime, here are a few pictures that might pique your interests - or perhaps ignite a migraine!  

 

 

 

.44-77 Sharps (Remington)

 

 

.43 Spanish                                                                                           .43 Spanish Reformado

 

   

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Forgot to ask - when you slugged the barrel, did it have an even or odd number of lands/grooves?  And I assume your measurements were groove diameter...?

 

And by the way ~ that is a right handsome rifle ya gots there!!    

[ORNERY OAF]

Has 5 lands and grooves and this front sight with a level, so I think it was a competition or someone who knew what they were doing. And holy crap, what a rabbit hole, I couldn't have picked a harder gun to solve the mystery.....

Gonna order some stuff to cast the chamber

[Barry Sloe]

From the Blue Book of Gun Values, 39th edition:

The L code is for the following years; 1942, 1964, 1990, and 2015.

Another caliber is 45-75.  Short, bottle neck, and packs a punch.  And also currently obsolete. 

 

BS

[ORNERY OAF]

Dang it Barry, ya threw another dang caliber in there!!!! Seriously, thanks and thanks to all the pards on here, you guys are a great resource!

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Ornery, you're probably safe on the .45-75.  Initially developed for the 1876 Winchester; pretty much limited to that rifle and a few other special "Winchester" commemorative type runs.  Now, it's possible that someone chambered a Remington Roller for it, but not overly likely.   

 

But it would be cool if it was!  

                    1876 Winchester      

[ORNERY OAF]

I could handle 45-75, always wanted one of the Canadian winchesters that came in it, like the one Tom Selleck had in crossfire trail

 

Rcmp version maybe?

[Alpo]

2 hours ago, Barry Sloe said:

From the Blue Book of Gun Values, 39th edition:

The L code is for the following years; 1942, 1964, 1990, and 2015.

Another caliber is 45-75.  Short, bottle neck, and packs a punch.  And also currently obsolete. 

 

BS

The Remington year codes - that's black powder, right? - didn't start until the late 1920s. So if your gun was made in 1892 (for example), there won't be a year code on it.

 

I seriously doubt that L has anything to do with the year it was made.

[Barry Sloe]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

The Remington year codes - that's black powder, right? - didn't start until the late 1920s. So if your gun was made in 1892 (for example), there won't be a year code on it.

 

I seriously doubt that L has anything to do with the year it was made.

Black powder had a letter and a number.  Letter for year and number for month (1-12).

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

When I purchased my Remington #1 Rolling Block years ago for $125 at a gunshow, I bought a few rounds of .43 Reformado (has a brass or brass plated bullet).  That was not the correct cartridge. It was .43 Spanish.  I was able to buy dies from Lee and brass (made from .348 Winchester) and .439 cast bullets from Buffalo Arms.  All of these antique Remingtons should be using black powder cartridges except the #5 action which is steel rather than iron.

Horace

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

 

1 hour ago, Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 said:

When I purchased my Remington #1 Rolling Block years ago for $125 at a gunshow, I bought a few rounds of .43 Reformado (has a brass or brass plated bullet).  That was not the correct cartridge. It was .43 Spanish.  I was able to buy dies from Lee and brass (made from .348 Winchester) and .439 cast bullets from Buffalo Arms.  All of these antique Remingtons should be using black powder cartridges except the #5 action which is steel rather than iron.

Horace

 

I've done that.  

 

Just this afternoon I opened my digital calipers case and smiled when I saw the .348 pin gauge nestled inside - a 2" long steel rod exactly .348" in diameter.  This was a leftover from my .43 Spanish from .348 WInchester forming project.  

 

The ..348 Winchester is a good "parent case," except the case diameter at the web is .553" (just forward of the rim).  The .43 Spanish is .525" - that's .0028" too big.  As the case is really thick there, I found it easier to turn the case down than try to cram it into a die.  So... the pin gauge?  Well, I'd just slip it into the case mouth, chuck it up in the drill press and a few seconds with a file did the trick.  The pin gauge aligned the case, and prevented the chuck from crushing the neck. 

 

Worked well!  

 

                 .43 Spanish

           

 

 

[Horace Patootie, SASS #35798]

Luckily, Buffalo Arms reformed the .348 cases that I bought from them. I also lucked into an almost complete box of original .43 Spanish ammo (not to shoot) at a gunshow. Pic is with my reloads also.

Horace

[ORNERY OAF]

Ok, gotta love Amazon....incoming Cerasafe and Cartridges of the World 17th Edition .

 

Gonna cast the chamber and compare to the cartridges ya'll threw at me!!! Should get us in the ballpark. Will report back when it comes in

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Were they chambered in .45-60?

 

The Rolling Block is a strange beast...   

 

More to come...

[ORNERY OAF]

Actually it's a bottleneck so it sure may be..

[watab kid]

looks a fun rifle ,