1867 Rolling Block pistol

[marlinman93]

At our collector show last Sunday a friend told me of two Rolling Block pistols he saw for sale at a local gun shop. He said he wanted one, but the seller didn't want to sell them separately, so he was bummed about it. I asked about details, condition, price, what model? He couldn't answer all the questions, but said the bores were perfect and they were .50 caliber CF chamberings! I told him I'd help him with his dilemma and if they were as described "a perfect match condition wise" I'd let him have first choice on which he wanted. He went back yesterday and offered them $200 less for the pair, and they accepted! Their price was already a bargain I thought, so less was even better! And he let me choose which I wanted first. Not easy to do, as they were as described, a perfect match and in wonderful tight condition, and excellent bores. One had just a slightly better serial number, that was easier to read, so I chose it.
From some data I found online it appears I got a little lucky in choosing this one of the two we bought. There were 4 inspectors who stamped the barrels with their initials during production of these Model 1867's.

EB-Edward Barrett
JMBC-JMC Clitz
HE-Henry Erban
WDW-WD Whiting

Of the four, only 8% were inspected by Edward Barrett, and his EB is the rarest of the four. Mine is EB inspected, and has the Navy anchor rollstamp.



Of the 6500 first Model 1865's built, 6358 of those were sent back to Remington to be reworked to centerfire .50 cartridges. It took 6 years to get those guns back from all over the world on Navy ships, or ports and get them reworked. As part of the rework Rem. installed new triggers, and trigger guards, plus a CF breech block. The previous Model 1865's had no trigger guard at all. Barrels were 8.5" on the 1865, and were shortened to 7" at the same time.





All these actions are marked FCW and a P by Remington employee Frank C Warner. The P means it was proof tested.




I will begin the process of making up some cartridges by shortening .50-70 down to .86" case length, and trying to find some correct weight 290-300 grain .512" bullets. In hopes of at least making up enough to shoot it a little.
I've wanted one of the Rolling Block military Army or Navy handguns for a very long time! So this is one I'm really happy to finally add to my collection of old Remingtons!

[BP Dave]

Nice score on a good-looking pistol, and they are fun to shoot.

I made some brass from .50-70 (either Dixie or Bell--don't recall which) and some from .348 Winchester, but the necks were pretty thick on both. Maybe a different brand of .50-70 might work better. But I settled on Starline .56-50 Spencer brass, because that was just "trim and shoot" for mine.

[Mk42gunner]

That pistol looks like a lot of fun to be had in the future.

Robert

[Ajohns]

Old West bullet molds carries them (boolits). I think either ones that are made, or the mold.
Don't know the current situation if they're available.
I've had my eye on these for awhile also, I hope you have some fun with it!

[Nobade]

What a great find! Enjoy!

[marlinman93]

One dummy cartridge I made up from a damaged .50-140 case. Shortened to .86" and turned inside and outside above the base to fit. I also turned down a 450 gr. bullet to make it shorter and fit the pistol chamber. Not what I'll do to make actual cases I'd fire.



I found a youtube video Larry Potterfield did on milling down a cheap Lee aluminum mold to take it from a 450 gr. to a 299 gr. mold. Looks pretty easy.
The brass case I used needed inside and outside turning, so wont use those. Just used one damaged case to build this one.

[Jedman]

Very Cool ! I see YouTube videos of guns like this coming into pawn shops and the seller gets a terrible low price. I only check out pawn shops when I’m out of town or vacationing and old antique guns are what I look for. I still have never found a deal on something a nice as rolling block pistols but I am always ready to buy if I find what I like at a good price. Enjoy your Christmas present to yourself !
Jedman

[Gtrubicon]

I have a fascination with the rolling block rifles, now the pistols! I’ve never seen or heard of these. Thank you for sharing this.

[BobT]

I have been looking for a shootable Navy roller for a long time, congrats on a great find!

[Abert Rim]

Vall, could you make cases from Starline .56-50 brass?
Bill

[marlinman93]

Vall, could you make cases from Starline .56-50 brass?
Bill

That seems to be the easiest route to make these as I've read it only requires a short trim and they're ready to go. Starline shows them in stock, but wont sell less than 250 pcs. at $268. Not a bad price, but far more than I'll ever need as I don't plan on long shooting sessions with this pistol, but do want to shoot it.
Track of the Wolf had it, but show "out of stock" now. I'll do some searching for smaller 50 rd. quantities for sale.

I tore the Roller down to basic parts today and appears it hasn't been oiled in many decades as it was bone dry! Not any dirt, and very little dried oil, so I oiled things up and reassembled the pistol.
All the internals are like new, and appears this gun is as issued internally. Finest bore I've ever seen on a BP era handgun. My friend who got the other one is a retired tool and die maker. I told him I'd buy an aluminum Lee mold and cast us bullets if he'd mill the mold down to make the bullets weigh around 290-300 grs. He said he'd take care of the mold mods, so I can cast us both bullets.

[Mk42gunner]

Something tells me that once you start shooting that pistol, it will be like potato chips-- you can't stop at one.

By the time you and your buddy with this pistols mate split a batch of brass from Starline...

Robert, aka The Enabler.

[marlinman93]

Something tells me that once you start shooting that pistol, it will be like potato chips-- you can't stop at one.

By the time you and your buddy with this pistols mate split a batch of brass from Starline...

Robert, aka The Enabler.

Maybe, but not sure how I'll find time to shoot it a lot? I have trouble shooting all of them now, so I likely will have to make time for this one too, and that's never easy.
I did find RCBS has die sets very cheap. I found 3 die sets at around $60.

[ericp]

Very cool! A friend of my grandfather had one that was relined to 44 Russian. He was extremely generous in letting me shoot up his ammo as a kid. It was the first big bore hand gun I ever shot.

Eric

[marlinman93]

Very cool! A friend of my grandfather had one that was relined to 44 Russian. He was extremely generous in letting me shoot up his ammo as a kid. It was the first big bore hand gun I ever shot.

Eric

I've seen more of these relined to a different cartridge than I have still original. I think they were once pretty cheap used, but ammo being impossible to find, and many folks not wanting to make it, resulted in people changing the chambering by lining or fitting a new barrel.

[uscra112]

I seem to remember a video of a guy who could fire-reload-fire one of these in just 4-5 seconds. Practicing for that would use up ammo fast!

[marlinman93]

I seem to remember a video of a guy who could fire-reload-fire one of these in just 4-5 seconds. Practicing for that would use up ammo fast!

I read an old article that said the military reports said a trained soldier could fire 15 rounds aimed in one minute. That's about the same 4 sec. per round you mentioned. Not sure how accurately you could aim, but then it is a pistol designed to stop another ship from boarding yours, so likely point blank aiming.

[Milky Duck]

now that is one of the most unique and interesting guns Ive seen photos of in a long time..a real piece of history in itself...PLEASE make sure to ensure it stays around in good condition and is named in your will to go to someone else who will continue to do so.

[popper]

I remember a RB pistol a friend's dad had, back in the '50s. Very well made with 'cowboy revolver' styled grip. Seems like the barrel was flat sided and it was a large caliber. Was a very heavy pistol. Used to go to his house and watch film reel cowboy movies. Don't remember what his dad did for a living and they moved after GS.

[marlinman93]

I remember a RB pistol a friend's dad had, back in the '50s. Very well made with 'cowboy revolver' styled grip. Seems like the barrel was flat sided and it was a large caliber. Was a very heavy pistol. Used to go to his house and watch film reel cowboy movies. Don't remember what his dad did for a living and they moved after GS.

There were some other single shot, single action handguns made in the late 1800's and early 1900's, but can't remember seeing one with a fllat sided barrel myself? S&W made a beautiful single shot pistol in .22LR and they're highly collectible these days! H&R made one also, but don't think it was as refined as the S&W? It maybe had a flat sided barrel, but not sure?