Starting a new Remington Rolling Block project

[MOA]

This is a rotary extractor action. The circular part underneath the barrel stub with the vertical projection is the extractor.

I started out thinking that his would make a nice gun in .416 Rigby, but the general consensus among the respondents here is that is not a good choice, for two reasons: one, that is a high pressure cartridge and the action is not strong enough to handle heavy loads. And two, because it is a long cartridge, and because of the geometry of the hammer and the chamber, loading and unloading may be difficult. So now, I'm rethinking caliber, or maybe scrapping the project for now.

Ok, I fibbed, one more post. THerbert, get a dowell of wood abour 4 inches long, about the diameter of a 45-70 case. When you have your breach block and hammer in the action keep cutting the dowell down until it can enter the barrel stub like a loaded cartridge. That will give you an idea of the maximum length your cartridge can be to easily load. It might be longer than you think.

[marlinman93]

THerbert,
You might consider barreling it for the .40-70SS cartridge. Dies are cheap from Lyman, and lots of molds for the .40 caliber available. GM sells a nice barrel in full octagon for the .40 too. Plus you can have it chambered using a .405 Win. reamer, but leave it short by about .10" so .405 ammo wont chamber. Then you can get very reasonable .405 Hornady brass to cut down and fit.
John Taylor did this for my Hepburn in .40-70SS when he relined it, and it makes reloading cheap, and very easy. The caliber is also a good choice for the Rolling Block. I use the RCBS 300-CSA mold which drops about a 330 gr. bullet. It shoots extremely well in both of my .40-70SS chambered guns.

[THerbert]

THerbert,
You might consider barreling it for the .40-70SS cartridge. Dies are cheap from Lyman, and lots of molds for the .40 caliber available. GM sells a nice barrel in full octagon for the .40 too. Plus you can have it chambered using a .405 Win. reamer, but leave it short by about .10" so .405 ammo wont chamber. Then you can get very reasonable .405 Hornady brass to cut down and fit.
John Taylor did this for my Hepburn in .40-70SS when he relined it, and it makes reloading cheap, and very easy. The caliber is also a good choice for the Rolling Block. I use the RCBS 300-CSA mold which drops about a 330 gr. bullet. It shoots extremely well in both of my .40-70SS chambered guns.

I was looking at GM barrels last night, and saw the .40 barrel they have for sale. After the suggestion of the .40-50 SS, I looked at what other .40's were available, and came across the .40-65 WCF, but I think I like your suggestion of the .40-70 SS better. It's a more traditional caliber for an American rolling block, and will be inexpensive to reload for. I don't know why I even care about that after this morning's range session, when I went and shot the .50-95 for the first time. Now I have to buy the dies...

I'm going to put the African caliber rifle aside for now.

What bore diameter are you running in your .40-70SS?

[marlinman93]

I'm going to put the African caliber rifle aside for now.

What bore diameter are you running in your .40-70SS?

I have two different bore diameters. The relined Hepburn is a .408" groove that is a TJ's liner. My GM barreled Rolling Block is a bit larger. I think it's a .410" diameter if a recall correctly.
I'm building another Roller that's a #3.5 weight GM barrel in .40 caliber, and will be a .40-50SS in that one. Also have a Roller with a GM full round 3.5 weight barrel that's in .40-65 caliber. I'm a big fan of the old .40 caliber single shots! Have 5 Ballard rifles in various .40 caliber cartridges too.
Al Springer did the case colors on the .40-65 Rolling Block. I built it on an original Sporting Rifle action I traded into years ago.:

[THerbert]

That is a beautiful rifle. I hope mine turns out as nice.

[John Taylor]

Getting to the age that I don't care for recoil. Took the barrel off my 45-70 roller and installed a 38-55. Have a few actions and thinking 32-40 for one just because GM had some long octagon barrels on sale and I ended up with 4. Was thinking the 40-50 Sharps would be fun so might do one of those. I must have 9 or 10 different 40 cal. chamber reamers. Just need some time to get to the range and try the 38-55 and 40-65 out that have not been shot yet. Also trying to figure out what to do with a Phoenix that has been on the shelf for the last ten years. Still have not finished the 8X72R that was started years ago. Been to busy working on every one ells guns.

[kokomokid]

Getting to the age that I don't care for recoil. Took the barrel off my 45-70 roller and installed a 38-55. Have a few actions and thinking 32-40 for one just because GM had some long octagon barrels on sale and I ended up with 4. Was thinking the 40-50 Sharps would be fun so might do one of those. I must have 9 or 10 different 40 cal. chamber reamers. Just need some time to get to the range and try the 38-55 and 40-65 out that have not been shot yet. Also trying to figure out what to do with a Phoenix that has been on the shelf for the last ten years. Still have not finished the 8X72R that was started years ago. Been to busy working on every one ells guns.

A good mechanic never gets to work on his own auto. Thank you sir for your expert post. I would like to know what your favorite method of shipping is? I ask because I had UPS almost ruin an antique action.

[John Taylor]

A good mechanic never gets to work on his own auto. Thank you sir for your expert post. I would like to know what your favorite method of shipping is? I ask because I had UPS almost ruin an antique action.

I use UPS only because they have cost me the least in damages so far. Fed-ex destroyed a $2400 stock that was double boxed and told me it was not their fault. USPS tore a box in half and lost a $3,500 action, told me I needed to prove it was in the box. While UPS will refuse to pay for damage they will pay when something is lost. The last item they lost was a new 1885 receiver. I didn't have enough insurance to cover replacement so it cost me $700 out of pocket. Just one of those things that you run into when your in business. The action that was lost was in a small box so it seemed heavy and most likely someone thought it was a pistol. Guns that are lost in shipment are reported to ATF the same as a stolen firearm. If they ever turn up I should get them back.

[marlinman93]

A good mechanic never gets to work on his own auto. Thank you sir for your expert post. I would like to know what your favorite method of shipping is? I ask because I had UPS almost ruin an antique action.

I've used them all and had issues with them all. FeEx will NEVER get my gun shipping business again as they're gorillas! The Rolling Block I pictured above had the tangs bent and those gorgeous stocks broken by FedEx! I built a custom wood shipping crate and fitted the insides to the gun. All sorts of foam packing to keep it from shifting, and it was hanging out the end of the box when delivered by FedEx!
UPS has done damage also, and USPS too. But I've had the best results with USPS, and they're the easiest to pay when they've damaged or lost items.
One thing I'd highly recommend when shipping any rifle. Do not ever ship, or receive a rifle that the buttstock is not removed from if it has two piece stocks!!! Removing the buttstock and packing it beside the barreled action will eliminate 90% or more of possible damage. It will also reduce the length of the box, which will reduce the cost immensely!

[shafer44]

UPS paid off on a damaged gun of mine, the guy that shipped it should be shot. Full length hiwall with a put together box covering the whole thing and newspaper packed around it. I feel lucky that they paid off on it.