I've had a couple of Rolling Blocks, from an old military .43 Spanish to .22 LR #4's to a .32 rimfire in between. They're a lot of fun to shoot.
My son likes the #4 .22 LR.
I've had a couple of Rolling Blocks, from an old military .43 Spanish to .22 LR #4's to a .32 rimfire in between. They're a lot of fun to shoot.
My son likes the #4 .22 LR.
Whatever cannot be remedied, must be endured.
Very nice photos, David. Thanks for posting them.
I especially like the picture of your son with the singleshot. That rifle and a boy that age are just right for each other. Two thumbs up.
Chill Wills
What do you know of the 7mm mausers
Welcome to the Forum, Thood! A good place to be!
I'm afraid I can't tell you too much about the 7x57mm Rolling Blocks, only what I've read and heard. That is, that many of them seemed to have bad head space. Some say that the specifications for the 7 mm Mauser cartridge that they were made for changed after their production. I remember back in the '60s they were being imported from S. America, Venezuela I think, and many were in new condition. For some time there were a lot of them around, and you'd see them at every gun show. Some, however, were reported as being just fine, so about all I can tell you is to look into it some before buying one.
I’ve shot mine bout 20 times so far and doing good still my father in law said it was good to shoot factory 7mm Mauser thru it he gave it to me and does a lot of gun work but not much now he is 89 now
If I wanted to shoot a Rolling Block chambered in 7x57 I'd only do so with ammo I reloaded, and not use factory. Not saying it will blow up, but considering these guns often had headspace issues, and they are well over 100 yrs. old, I'd prefer reloading lighter loads. Plus any headspace issue one might have will not be an issue if you reload, and don't full length size the cases after the first firing. Just neck size them, and then load them again. Likely even more accurate also, plus increased case life by not full length sizing them.
I think it would be wise to check the headspace on an old gun like that before using factory ammo. Could be as simple as seeing how many disks of paper you can stick on the base of a factory cartridge and still get the action to close. Then measure the stack.
Since I would be reloading I would not worry about head space and I would fireform all my brass to the chamber with cast bullets seated to jam into the rifling with a reduced charge of fast powder. Then as others have said. I would neck sizer or partial full size being carful about how much I might push back the shoulder.
I think rolling blocks are a very handy and functional action but they are not as strong as a modern bolt action or even a vintage bolt action.
Tim
Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS
The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides
I use Scotch tape to estimate headspace. Scotch tape is @.003" thick, so most single shots can have 1 or 2 layers and not be considered excess headspace. But if you put 3 layers on the base of a cartridge and it closes there's too much headspace.
regarding the 7x57
I shoot mine with handloads both with Cast and J's. The J's I load to about 85% of maximum
the original loads were for a RN 175 Gr, so the free-bore is large on these rifles.
If a primer fails you can get gasses back through the firing pin hole in the rolling block. Safety/shooting glasses are a must.
I have not had issues with an off-square block face on the cartridge. You do have to check to make sure debris has not clogged the rolling block and prevented it from closing square on the cartridge.
I neck size to extend the life of the brass.
The only part that has ever broken was the main spring which was easy to replace.
I did have to spend a lot of time working on getting the barrel clean.
Death to every foe and traitor and hurrah, my boys, for freedom !
I've had more than a couple out of square breech blocks on old Rolling Block actions I bought to build up guns on. It's something every person who builds them needs to check. And any gunsmith you use to barrel a Rolling Block action should be a gunsmith who is aware of this and know how to check and adjust it before fitting a barrel to your action. It's an easy fix for a gunsmith, but I've seen more than one who barreled an action and didn't check the block to barrel angles, and ended up with a mess for the owner or gunsmith to fix later.
i have one, given to me by a friend, a remington 1-1/2 roller that probably started out as a "cadet rifle" that was maybe a .32 or .38, then it got reamed out to .45-70, hammer was replaced, and someone "sporterized" the stock. i need to get off my duff and ship it off to lee shaver for a proper check out, maybe reline or rebarrel, and to lighten the hefty 9# trigger pull. of course, as is it's black powder loads only.
My local gun shop has a really clean example of a 1902 Rolling block in 7 x 57mm Mauser. To me that would be a nice gun to start with, ammo (under normal circumstances) is easy to find and pleasant to shoot.
Whatever cannot be remedied, must be endured.
Since all #1 1/2 were Sporting Rifles, I don't think anyone sporterized the stocks on your gun. My guess is it might be the stocks are from another #1 rifle, and someone fitted them to your gun.
Your "1 1/2" is quite strange looking, as it has the hole in the trigger guard for a sling swivel, and the hammer and breech block spurs are not like any #1 1/2 I've ever seen? It has many features of a #1 rifle, other than the flat side frame. The "checkering" on the hammer spur appears to be recut, and not factory? I wonder if these two pieces were also fitted to this action when it was converted from .38 RF to the CF cartridge?
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |