1867 Rolling Block

[Freightman]

Went to the range with one of my favorite rifles, it is a Danish copy of the 1867 Remington rolling Block made i 1882.
I was using some BP equivilant loads that were running 1400/1450 FPS for a LEE 405 HB soft boolit with LLA. got it sighted in at 100yds about 2.5" in the center of the target happy with that. Then i moved it out to 200 Yds set the sight to where I thought it should be, to high, got it down and the reason I love the 45/70 you can hear the boolit smaking te target. Looked in my scope and it is hitting a little low and right, adjust and shot 20 rds just to hear the smack. Went ahead with my other rifles and finished. I went at 9oAM and packed up at 3.30:PM what fun. Well it was time to pick up targets and put them up, went to the 200 first and I had a 4.5" group a little left of the bull, I was pleased to say the least.
here is a picture of the old rifle.

[kodiak1]

Freightman I got me one of them to like it a lot. They seem to shoot real good to.
I agree with you can't beat the sound of lead on steel.
Ken.

[MtGun44]

What brass are you using? I passed up one due to the
claimed mismatch of the rear portion of the chamber to the
size of .45-70 brass. I had read that the cases will split
after a couple of firings as they get massively overworked
with .45-70 dies for the Danish 11mm (??? or whatever it
originally was) chamber.

I'd love to hear that .45-70 brass fits just fine., I'd go and
look for one again.

Bill

[rhead]

The 11.7x51 R is described a similar to the 45 70 but not interchangable. The 45 70 govt. is longer and slightly smaller dia. Article in 1963 Gun Digest states that the 45 70 will chamber but is not safe to fire. It states that brass can be made from 348 winchester brass. (Center Fire Black Powder Military Cartridiges and Weapons by Frank C. Barns.

Aare modern replicas chambered for the 45 70?

[floodgate]

Freightman:

There was a two-part article on these in one of the single-shot magazines several months ago; I'd have to dig to find it. But as I recall, the author found that there were several different cartridges used at various times in the various Swedish and Danish RB's, and he found them nearly impossible to sort out. The best way would probably to run chamber casts and work from there, using the case dimensional tables in "Cartridges of the World".

Brownell provides a useful instruction sheet with their Cerrosafe ingots, and if you follow their directions, it is perfectly straightforward to use - despite some of the concerns raised recently on the subject. Key items are, oil the chamber, leede and an inch or so of the bore, wipe it nearly dry, plug with a cork stuffed down the throat and well into the rifling, and then warm the metal until is is barely comfortable to the touch, before pouring. The RB action should be especially easy to take casts from, being right out in the open (make a dam of modeling clay to fill the extractor groove; or, if you've got the barrel out, just wrap around the shank with heavy paper or light cardboard).

floodgate

[Freightman]

I guess someone has rechambered as the cast measures the same as a 45/70 that is slightley oversize, and I have used the same brass as I shoot it with many times. I do not size my brass just punch out the spent primer and re-prime. I also never load it with anything above trapdoor pressure. I use a LEE 405g HB boolit for most of its loading cast very soft, it casts at .462 and I do not resize.

[curator]

Great rifles! Mine can be a real tack-driver when properly loaded, Since the twist is a bit slow (1 in 26") I have found that bullets in the .400 grain size shoot best. I got correctly sized brass (11.7X51R Danish Remington) from Buffalo Arms. They are made from .348 Win brass and fit perfectly. Keep in mind that many of these rifles were re-chambered in Denmark for the 11.7X58R cartridge and may need slightly longer cases. A chamber cast is always a good idea. Bore sizes run a bit larger than our .45-70 (except trapdoors) to .462-.464.

I load mine with 25 grains of IMR4759, and the Lee .459/405HB bullet lubed with bees wax/lard. I have played with 400 grain paper patched bullets. I shoot the holy black sometimes whe I need extra punishment for havint=g too good of a time. It works good too with 60 grains of Goex FFg trickled down a 30 inch drop tube, a card wad and about 1/8" on compression.

[kodiak1]

MTGun I had to get mine from Buffalo Arms as well.
The 45-70 brass would chamber but when you dropped the hammer it wouldn't go off all the time. You could drop the hammer two or three time and it might go off it might not.
It looks to me as the rim of the 45-70 is a smig thicker than the 348 stuff revamped to fit.
Ken.

[muskeg13]

I have one of these Danish rolling blocks too, and it's in great condition for a gun so old. It is one of the transition models, made in Denmark, that can fire either rimfire or centerfire ammo. The only thing that has bothered me is that the barrel bands have been silver plated for some reason, and there are holes drilled through the bands and stock to make it a wall hanger.

I happened to be visiting a friend whose neighbor picked it up at a garage sale, and he asked how much it might be worth. I said that the action alone would be worth $200 (in 1996), and the (temp) owner said, "so you think I could get $100 for it?" I gave him $100 so fast that his head spun.

My barrel slugs .458, and 45-70 cases would fit except that the rim was too large. I ran a 45-70 reamer in by hand and recut the rim recess. I've only shot the rifle with black powder or BP substitutes and have had no problem with bulging cases. Even though "Cartridges of the World" lists the original as being 1/10 shorter than the 45-70, this rifle would accept a case even longer than the 45-70.

[Timbo]

These are excellent shooters. As Curator says, a chamber cast is almost mandatory however; you'll find two different chamber lengths for this.

I've been surprised at the accuracy I get with mine, considering that I'm using a Lee 405 gr. solid at .458; the bore in my great Dane measures .462. Four thousandths is asking a lot I think. Someday I'm going to valve-grind a mould to fit correctly. I do get some minor leading at the breech, but it seems to bump up well enough to get exceptional accuracy. I use mine for offhand work on an 8" steel plate at 200yds. There is something deeply satisfying about splattering steel using open sights with a solid, safe, excellently made old single shot.

Every Dane I've picked up have the same things in common; a smoooooth action, crisp let off, great fit and finish. They are a bit more narrow (more comfortable?) through the grip than a Remington and far narrower than an Oviedo.

The rear sight is a hoot! It looks like it's four feet long when you flip it up!

Great shooting rifle.

Regards,
Timbo

[vtv]

I'm new here .............so Hi to all .......... I also have one of these great shooters....... I bought it at a gun show and the guy told me it was a 45/70....... First thing I did was cast the chamber ,well, it turned out to be 11.7 x 56 ....... bought .461 bullets .348 brass , I blew out the cases...........Shoots great ......This was after alott of research .......I was told you could shoot 45/70 but, It's not recomended................ Anyway my question is .....does anyone know where I can get an original bayonete for it .............Thanks, VTV

[Buckshot]

..............vtv, welcome to the board! You might try: http://www.simpsonltd.com/
For starters anyway.

..................Buckshot