Remington rolling block Transformed rifles

[ndnchf]

Does anyone else shoot a RRB Transformed rifle? If you are unfamiliar with them, they were rifles built on early large actions using surplus. 58 cal Springfield musket barrels, stocks and small parts. I've been shooting one for about 3 years now, they are a lot of fun. They are not hard to find either. Usually there is one or two on gunbroker all the time. They were chambered for several different 58 cal cartridges. Mine is in 58 roberts.


Here is one of my 58 Roberts cartridges next to a 22 short for comparison:



So who else plays with these big boys? Or who else wants to?

[MIEagle]

Man, I have one just like it but it was .43 Spanish or something. I had no desire to load/shoot that and I already have several .45-70 rifles so I had Bobby Hoyt out of Pa. sleeve and chamber it to .38-56 Win., a bottle necked .45-70 case to .38 cal. I had a musket front sight affixed to the front and silver soldered a peep sight metal piece to the original rear sight (I'm a N-SSA skirmisher) and it really cracks! Lots of fun!

[ndnchf]

Sounds like you have a great at shooter now. They are neat rifles. The big. 58 cartridges get people's attention at the range!

[jugulater]

a rolling block in one of the .58 cartridges is on my want list, but for now ill make do with my 50-70 roller.

[skeettx]

I have RBs in 11 Mannlicher, 11.7 Danish, and 43 Spanish, have had them in 11mm Egyptian and 7mm Mauser.
Sure are fun to play with
Mike

[ndnchf]

This one has a very early action with concave breech block under the barrel and a breech face that was modified to be wide enough to support the width of the cartridge. It uses original springfield musket forend and buttstock too. It had an awful trigger pull. So I took it apart yesterday and replaced to trigger spring with one made from a hacksaw blade. This made a big improvement. I loaded up another 20 rounds and hope to get to the range this week.

[plourbag]

I regularly shoot a 12.7x44R Swedish rolling block. It's great fun although it was darn challenging to get reasonable groups until I found bullet weight that it liked. I haven't seen a .58 roller in Oz and I guess there's not much chance of any dealer importing any. Shame! it sounds like fun - enjoy.

[lobowolf761]

This one has a very early action with concave breech block under the barrel and a breech face that was modified to be wide enough to support the width of the cartridge. It uses original springfield musket forend and buttstock too. It had an awful trigger pull. So I took it apart yesterday and replaced to trigger spring with one made from a hacksaw blade. This made a big improvement. I loaded up another 20 rounds and hope to get to the range this week.

What size of brass do you use for your cases?

[ndnchf]

What size of brass do you use for your cases?

They are lathe turned cases from Rocky Mountain Cartridge company. But they come fairly thick, so I reamed the case mouth.



Here it is next to a .56-50 Spencer. This shows the case mouth before reaming.

[Lead pot]

ndnchf.
A word of caution.
Weakening the trigger is not the thing to do on a roller. That spring also puts tension on the block to lock it in tight so it don't blow open when the powder is lit. It has happen before.

[lobowolf761]

Looks good. I have to cut down 50-70 or 50-90 brass to make cases to reload for my original 56-56 Spencer carbine using heeled bullets. How do your cases cost since they are custom made? Looks like it would make a real nice squirrel rifle. That's what I told my wife I was getting when I ordered my 45-110 Quigley Sharps. Your rifle looks real sweet. It's a beaut.

[ndnchf]

ndnchf.
A word of caution.
Weakening the trigger is not the thing to do on a roller. That spring also puts tension on the block to lock it in tight so it don't blow open when the powder is lit. It has happen before.

A valid caution. That is the case for the #2 and #4 rolling blocks, they use a common spring for both purposes. But on the #1 action there are two separate springs. Look at the lower left parts photo in this link:

http://www.rollingblockparts.com/no-1.html

Spring 1N is the trigger spring, that's the one I replaced. Spring 1H is the one that maintains block tension. I did not modify that one.

[ndnchf]

Looks good. I have to cut down 50-70 or 50-90 brass to make cases to reload for my original 56-56 Spencer carbine using heeled bullets. How do your cases cost since they are custom made? Looks like it would make a real nice squirrel rifle. That's what I told my wife I was getting when I ordered my 45-110 Quigley Sharps. Your rifle looks real sweet. It's a beaut.

I don't know the case cost. They came with the rifle when I bought it. Check out RMC's website for details. I just reamed the cases so they would work. I make .56-50 brass for my original M1871 Springfield Spencer from .50-70 brass. That rifle as a longer chamber than typical Spencer carbines and the action requires a longer case to function properly. That is what's shown in the above photo.

[lobowolf761]

Mine is an original m1860 in 56-56. Bullet diameter after lube sizing is .546. I use a Rapine mould and another custom brass mould for it. What's nice about them is I can also use them in my m1859 Sharps Infantry Rifle in .54 and my .54cal Plains rifle. When I cut down 50-90 brass I notice that it is a bit thicker than the 50-70 brass and have to chamfer a bit.

[Lead pot]

ndnchf.
Yes I'm aware some had the trigger and lever springs but if you weaken the trigger spring or the main spring the hammer can retract under recoil and unlock the block. This is more prone to happen with the common spring setup.
Midway USA had a segment on the outdoor channel softening the trigger pull on the roller and he suggested doing it by stoning the sear and not working with the springs. I have softened a few roller triggers but I did it stoning the sear. And I might add, went to far on a couple

[ndnchf]

Lead Pot - I have read and re-read your post trying to understand how this could happen. You say "the hammer can retract under recoil and unlock the block". I've looked at the diagrams and pulled out the de Hass book on single shot rifles and actions, and re-read the #1 rolling block chapter. The trigger spring and trigger/sear are independent of the main spring and the spring and lock lever that keep tension on the block. Under recoil, my finger will still be holding the trigger back so the sear tip is clear of the hammer and the hammer has fallen. The trigger/sear and trigger spring have no physical contact with any other parts. The hammer is still held forward against the block by the unaltered mainspring, and the lock lever and lock lever spring are unaffected. So from everything I can tell, the trigger/sear and trigger spring are completely independent and have no effect on keeping the hammer down and the breech locked. Please look closely at this diagram.

Maybe I'm missing something, I'm always open to learning something new. If I'm wrong, please explain in detail how what you describe could happen as a result of my weaker trigger spring. BTW, Ken Womack (Remington rolling block parts) sells a piano wire replacement trigger spring for the #1 action, which does the same thing my spring does, simply lighten the trigger pull.

[smkummer]

Looks like fun, I picked up an Egyptian rolling block that looks like it rode on a camels back for years, but the bore is pristine and it shoots very well with a smokeless load of unique and a downsized 457124 Lyman cast bullet. I am clanging a 200 yard steel plate with it. Lots of fun for cheap. And I bought the gun for $200 about 3 years ago.

[ndnchf]

That Egyptian was a bargain! I haven't seen one at that price in quite a while. These oddball calibers are not all that hard to get shooting. It just takes a little effort and ingenuity. Congrats!

[trap4570]

I happened across a 50-45 Navy barrel on Gun Parts about 10 years ago. Paid 30.00 then. Screwed it onto an old .43 Spanish action I had. I had to do a bit of lathe work. Made brass from 50-70 and I love shooting that little carbine. I had a hard time locating a rear sight and found that the 1861 musket flip sight worked perfect. I have a roller in 7mm that shoots great with cast.

[ndnchf]

The. 50-45 is one I've not had a chance to play with. But I think it is actually very close to the. 56-50 cartridges that my M1871 Springfield Spencer conversion uses. Those are made from cut down. 50-70 brass. My cases are 1.356", a bit longer than normal 56-50 brass. How long are your 50-45 cases? The Springfield Spencer uses a M1868 trapdoor barrel, cut, threaded and rechambered. I've found it to be very accurate. I suspect that these two rounds are very similar.