Just finished my Rolling Block project

[Member 38805]

This has been a long haul. Mainly because of stumbling blocks along the way with a cracked receiver, and bad parts. But after almost two years of fooling around, I just finished assembling my Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle!
It is made up of various genuine Remington parts from over 100 years span. The action is a 1870's military receiver that I thinned the top tang on, and D&T for a long range tang sight. The sight is from the run of Rem. Rollers built in the late 1990's. The buttstock and forearm are also from Rem. Custom Shop, and the same late 1990's run. I fitted one of Rem.'s pistol grip lower tangs to it also, and then fitted the late model Rem. wood to the action.
The barrel is a Green Mountain .40 caliber with 1:16" twist rate, and is a heavy No. 3.5 weight cut at 34" and full octagon. It's fitted with a Baldwin globe front, with spirit level. The barrel is chambered in .40-50 Sharps Straight. With a very gentle lead into the rifling, for use with heavier bullets if I want. My normal bullet for this caliber is the RCBS CSA cast lead 350 gr. bullet.
I built this along the dimensions and characteristics of the original Remington Creedmoor Sporting Rifles. Except for the caliber. I really like the little .40-50SS caliber, as it lends itself to very light recoil, and yet also shoots smokeless powders quite well if I want to push the velocities slightly higher for long range work.

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[11Charlie]

DAMN that is BEAUTIFUL!!! Nice work I am a lot jealous right now!!!

 

[Timbertodd]

Wow you did a great job!

 

[Member 38805]

Thanks!
With surplus parts from Numrich Gun Parts, and a cheap military action reworked, it came in much cheaper than one of the Italian made Rolling Blocks. Al Springer at Snowy Mountain Blue did the color case and rust bluing.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

WOW!...
Beautiful rifle....Always good to see a wrecked rifle getting a new lease on life.
Andy

 

[No_Regerts]

You did a great job on that! Do I smell a BPCR get together?

 

[KKG]

Just wondering if you have any "Before" Pictures?

You did an outstanding job!!!

 

[ZigZagZeke]

This has been a long haul. Mainly because of stumbling blocks along the way with a cracked receiver, and bad parts. But after almost two years of fooling around, I just finished assembling my Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle!
It is made up of various genuine Remington parts from over 100 years span. The action is a 1870's military receiver that I thinned the top tang on, and D&T for a long range tang sight. The sight is from the run of Rem. Rollers built in the late 1990's. The buttstock and forearm are also from Rem. Custom Shop, and the same late 1990's run. I fitted one of Rem.'s pistol grip lower tangs to it also, and then fitted the late model Rem. wood to the action.
The barrel is a Green Mountain .40 caliber with 1:16" twist rate, and is a heavy No. 3.5 weight cut at 34" and full octagon. It's fitted with a Baldwin globe front, with spirit level. The barrel is chambered in .40-50 Sharps Straight. With a very gentle lead into the rifling, for use with heavier bullets if I want. My normal bullet for this caliber is the RCBS CSA cast lead 350 gr. bullet.
I built this along the dimensions and characteristics of the original Remington Creedmoor Sporting Rifles. Except for the caliber. I really like the little .40-50SS caliber, as it lends itself to very light recoil, and yet also shoots smokeless powders quite well if I want to push the velocities slightly higher for long range work.

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Absolutely gorgeous!!! Great work! I want to keep track of your sources for things like barrels. I have documented my rolling block here, and some of the suppliers are no longer findable. I don't know if TJ's barrel liners is still in business. I can't seem to find them anymore and that's what I used on mine.

Mine started out in life as a #1 sporter in .38 cal. I spent about $3000 on it. I got repro wood from Treebone Carving. They are still in business, but the fellow who did most of the machine work, Jim Dubell, a master gun maker, has passed away. I wanted to save the original tapered octagon barrel so we lined it and chambered it for .357 Mag. I normally shoot .38 spc in it. I came close to deciding on .45-70 and just having Jim bore it and recut the rifling for that, but availability of ammo swayed me to .38/.357.

Anyway, here's mine for comparison. I've included some shots of the original wood as it came to me. You'll notice the biggest difference is the octagonal receiver top.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

This has been a long haul. Mainly because of stumbling blocks along the way with a cracked receiver, and bad parts. But after almost two years of fooling around, I just finished assembling my Remington Rolling Block Sporting Rifle!
It is made up of various genuine Remington parts from over 100 years span. The action is a 1870's military receiver that I thinned the top tang on, and D&T for a long range tang sight. The sight is from the run of Rem. Rollers built in the late 1990's. The buttstock and forearm are also from Rem. Custom Shop, and the same late 1990's run. I fitted one of Rem.'s pistol grip lower tangs to it also, and then fitted the late model Rem. wood to the action.
The barrel is a Green Mountain .40 caliber with 1:16" twist rate, and is a heavy No. 3.5 weight cut at 34" and full octagon. It's fitted with a Baldwin globe front, with spirit level. The barrel is chambered in .40-50 Sharps Straight. With a very gentle lead into the rifling, for use with heavier bullets if I want. My normal bullet for this caliber is the RCBS CSA cast lead 350 gr. bullet.
I built this along the dimensions and characteristics of the original Remington Creedmoor Sporting Rifles. Except for the caliber. I really like the little .40-50SS caliber, as it lends itself to very light recoil, and yet also shoots smokeless powders quite well if I want to push the velocities slightly higher for long range work.

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Is your barrel tapered like the originals? Mine is 1-1/8" at the receiver and just under an inch at the muzzle. All I could ever find were straight cut octagon barrels. That's another reason for lining the old barrel.

 

[KKG]

Again, some truly amazing work! You are an excellent vintage Gunsmith. And I don't say that about many people.

 

[Member 38805]

Just wondering if you have any "Before" Pictures?

You did an outstanding job!!!

Yes, but you'll chuckle. Here's the before pictures.



Actually this was after I started with just an action, and had added the pistol grip lower tang, and thinned and shaped the upper tang to Sporting Rifle configuration. I also had already reshaped the military hammer and block spurs to Sporting shape.
And the first test fit of the Remington wood.



Wod and trigger plate that came from Numrich Gun Parts. I bought the last set of Rem. Custom Shop wood they had.





That's really all there is to show. This is my typical parts gun, Frankenstein that usually starts as just a receiver. I've got two more receivers, and enough spare Rolling Block parts to build another gun. But need stocks and barrels, which are usually the most expensive part of the build. I'd have bought more stock sets from Numrich at the price of only $165 for finished custom wood with buttplate and forearm attached. That's less than I'd usually pay for just a chunk of walnut before it's shaped and inletted.

 

[Member 38805]

Absolutely gorgeous!!! Great work! I want to keep track of your sources for things like barrels. I have documented my rolling block here, and some of the suppliers are no longer findable. I don't know if TJ's barrel liners is still in business. I can't seem to find them anymore and that's what I used on mine.

Mine started out in life as a #1 sporter in .38 cal. I spent about $3000 on it. I got repro wood from Treebone Carving. They are still in business, but the fellow who did most of the machine work, Jim Dubell, a master gun maker, has passed away. I wanted to save the original tapered octagon barrel so we lined it and chambered it for .357 Mag. I normally shoot .38 spc in it. I came close to deciding on .45-70 and just having Jim bore it and recut the rifling for that, but availability of ammo swayed me to .38/.357.

Nice work Zigzag Zeke! That turned out very nice.
I usually get my barrels from Green Mountain, but this last GM barrel came from a friend who purchased it over 10 years ago, and never used it. He gave it to me for the same $210 he paid back in 2008. I don't have the equipment or expertise to fit and chamber a barrel, so I had Pat at C. Sharps Rifle Co. fit and chamber it. He's very reasonable in his pricing. I do as much metal and stock work as possible, and the grunt work of shaping and polishing metal I can handle. I still let Al Springer go over my work before he does the color case and rust bluing, as I trust his eye, and know he'll make things perfect.
I paid $80 for this action, and bought a few more internal parts and the pistol grip lower tang. I have less than $200 in the action, and another $130 for the tang sight from Numrich. So $400 in barrel and action. $165 in the wood, and $175 for the barrel to be fitted. $350 for Al's color case and rust bluing, and some shipping costs both ways for sending parts both ways. Well under $1,000 at the end, which is several hundred less than I usually spend building a Rolling Block Sporting Rifle.

I have another complete Sporting Rifle in the same .40-50SS in a 30" half octagon, and a spare pistol grip lower tang. I'm trying presently to negotiate a price to buy an original 1870's Remington pistol grip buttstock. If that goes through I'll fit the lower tang and buttstock to the barreled action, and send it off to Al for color case. It will be a pretty cheap build too, and a lot less work.

 

[DB is Here]

These are works of art, well done Gentlemen.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Nice work Zigzag Pete! That turned out very nice.
I usually get my barrels from Green Mountain, but this last GM barrel came from a friend who purchased it over 10 years ago, and never used it. He gave it to me for the same $210 he paid back in 2008. I don't have the equipment or expertise to fit and chamber a barrel, so I had Pat at C. Sharps Rifle Co. fit and chamber it. He's very reasonable in his pricing. I do as much metal and stock work as possible, and the grunt work of shaping and polishing metal I can handle. I still let Al Springer go over my work before he does the color case and rust bluing, as I trust his eye, and know he'll make things perfect.
I paid $80 for this action, and bought a few more internal parts and the pistol grip lower tang. I have less than $200 in the action, and another $130 for the tang sight from Numrich. So $400 in barrel and action. $165 in the wood, and $175 for the barrel to be fitted. $350 for Al's color case and rust bluing, and some shipping costs both ways for sending parts both ways. Well under $1,000 at the end, which is several hundred less than I usually spend building a Rolling Block Sporting Rifle.

I have another complete Sporting Rifle in the same .40-50SS in a 30" half octagon, and a spare pistol grip lower tang. I'm trying presently to negotiate a price to buy an original 1870's Remington pistol grip buttstock. If that goes through I'll fit the lower tang and buttstock to the barreled action, and send it off to Al for color case. It will be a pretty cheap build too, and a lot less work.

If that buttstock deal doesn't come through consider calling Treebone Carving. The owner is an expert on old rolling block stocks (and other old rifles). He has a pattern specifically for the sporter action, which has slightly different dimensions than the military action (he can also provide hardware like butt plates and forestock caps). I ordered my stocks in standard American walnut, but I could have gotten a real deal if I'd ordered mesquite. Treebone makes stocks in all kinds of wood. The width of my receiver actually mic'ed somewhere between a #1 military and a #1-1/2. This was puzzling until I figured out that the true sporter actually seems to have a different set of dimensions. Treebone actually tipped me off to that fact.

Jim Dubell went over my whole rifle with a draw file to remove any minor pitting and to sharpen the corners, which had been worn down over the years. He did so without affecting any of the markings on the barrel or action. I was happy to let him be the one to do that. He did the bluing himself, but he sent the rifle off to somewhere east of the Mississippi be re-heat treated and case colored.

My rifle has been in the family since it was bought in 1873. It reportedly went up the Rosebud River on a paddle wheeler with my grandfather's uncle about the time that Custer met his demise. It came back to Ohio along with a set of buffalo horns and a Sioux headdress. I've never seen the headdress, but I have the buffalo horns in my possession. It went through a cabin fire around 1910, and the wood was either gone or scorched badly as you can see in the pictures. The old forestock was carved out of hickory sometime around 1945. The action had been converted from .38 rimfire to .38 center fire by drilling a new hole in the breech block and bending the firing pin to follow it. Jim filled both holes and manufactured a modern, high pressure firing pin for it. Apparently somebody had run a tap into the chamber to knurl the walls to fit a Colt .38 Long, or a .38-40 centerfire cartridge. The ridges left by the tap made a cerro-safe casting impossible. I believe all of this was done about 1945 because the ammunition manufacturers stopped making .38 rimfire ammo at the start of WWII.

Then at some point after WWII somebody decided that they would refinish the metal. They diligently removed almost all of the case color and bluing. When I acquired the rifle it had a uniform brown patina, and the inside of the barrel looked like the inside of a sewer pipe. That, along with the shade tree gunsmithing, and the burnt and/or home made wood made the rifle either an unshootable wall hanger, or a candidate for restoration. I chose restoration. The work took about 2 years, and as I said, all told it cost about $3000 for all the parts and labor. But my aim was to restore it to as close to new condition as possible.

Because I wanted to preserve the tapered full octagon barrel, and due to the sorry condition of the bore, a barrel liner or a larger caliber were the only options if I wanted a shooter. A liner allowed us to keep the rifle at .38 caliber, and if we were doing that, then chambering for .38/.357 made a lot of sense.

I'm very happy with the outcome. The rifle is a pleasure to shoot and with .357 delivers almost .30-30 ballistics. What it has done is given me the rolling block bug. I have my eye out now for other rolling block opportunities.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Yes, but you'll chuckle. Here's the before pictures.

View attachment 549644

Actually this was after I started with just an action, and had added the pistol grip lower tang, and thinned and shaped the upper tang to Sporting Rifle configuration. I also had already reshaped the military hammer and block spurs to Sporting shape.
And the first test fit of the Remington wood.

View attachment 549645

Wod and trigger plate that came from Numrich Gun Parts. I bought the last set of Rem. Custom Shop wood they had.

View attachment 549646

View attachment 549647

That's really all there is to show. This is my typical parts gun, Frankenstein that usually starts as just a receiver. I've got two more receivers, and enough spare Rolling Block parts to build another gun. But need stocks and barrels, which are usually the most expensive part of the build. I'd have bought more stock sets from Numrich at the price of only $165 for finished custom wood with buttplate and forearm attached. That's less than I'd usually pay for just a chunk of walnut before it's shaped and inletted.

Treebone carving might be your answer for stocks and stock hardware...Remington Rolling Block Stocks

 

[Member 38805]

I've known George Peterson since back when he lived close enough to attend most of the big gun shows here in Portland, Or. I loaned George stocks to make some of his blanks for duplicating. When he expanded into doing 1881 Marlin stocks I sent George the buttstock off my 1881 to use as a pattern.
George has always been a huge fan of Rolling Block rifles, and that's sort of his specialty. I normally buy almost all my semi inletted stocks from Crossno's Gun Shop in Oklahoma in the past couple decades. Dave passed away a couple years ago, but Mike is still doing great work, so I've stuck with them for stocks.
For really inexpensive semi inletted stocks I go to Gunstocks Inc. His prices are crazy cheap, but he only offers straight grip stocks for Rolling Blocks. But at under $100 a set for pretty decent quality wood, I can't beat them if the stocks I need are meant to be more standard grade for a repair, or inexpensive replacement.

 

[Member 38805]

And I buy the steel forearm tips from John King in Montana. His are fairly well finished, and already D&T for the mounting screw. $22 ea.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

And I buy the steel forearm tips from John King in Montana. His are fairly well finished, and already D&T for the mounting screw. $22 ea.

That's about what George charges for them. I'm glad to hear that you know George. He has helped me out a lot with his extensive rolling block knowledge.

 

[Member 38805]

Yeah, a good guy. I just buy the tips from John King because they're farther finished, which saves me time.