So I got this old RB......

[JSnover]

Made by Remington with no other markings besides "Remington Arms" with patent dates thru 1874 on the tang and a U on some barrel bands.
It's a rifle, not a carbine. Missing the cleaning rod, this model was not made with the sling swivel mounted through the trigger guard and I don't see any provision or evidence of a bayonet mount.
The rear sight is intact and undamaged, it folds forward for 0-500 yards; back and up for 600-1000, with a sliding U-notch. Front sight is a very small, rounded blade.
No cartouches, discs or markings on the stock. The wood is in very bad shape.
I haven't cast the chamber (looks like 45-70 or bigger) but the bore is pretty rough. Might be salvageable as a plinker but I think leading would be too much at any velocity.
Exterior rust could be cleaned up, barrel bands are pretty badly pitted. All moving parts are tight and smooth with only slight rust. This model has a pivoting extractor, not the sliding type.
What's the action worth, if it's mechanically sound with no pits? I'll get some pictures up tonight.

[Gussy]

I have sold a couple for around $250-300. Sounds like you might have a 43 spanish.

[JSnover]

Thanks Gussy.
Like I said, there are almost no markings aside from Remington Arms, Ilion NY" and two lines' worth of patent numbers ranging from 1864-1874. Here's a couple of pictures, for what they're worth......

[MtGun44]

I bought a complete, reblued .43 Spanish for $275 last year, FWIW. Bore is
good to very good, action tight. Brass is amazingly expensive!

Bill

[JSnover]

Thanks. The more I hear about the 43 Spanish the more I'd like to try one. I'm on the fence for now....... sell this one for parts or clean it up for a wall-hanger, since good shooters seem easy enough to get.

[StrawHat]

A quick way to smooth out the bore, once you have brass, is to shoot some paper jacketed bullets through it.

Have you figured out what cartridge it is chambered for?

[JSnover]

Haven't figured that out yet. I plan to make some ingots tomorrow so I may just make a chamber cast while I'm at it. My best guess (based on other members here and some web searching) is it may be an 1878 in 43 Spanish. I've got some pure lead Lee trapdoor boolits, may try slugging the bore while I'm at it. 43 Span sounds likely but the bore looks bigger than that. 50-70?

[Frank46]

Is it me or does the rear sight appear to be on backwards?. Frank

[Buckshot]

................The 4 most common chamberings seen for old military #1 actioned Rem RB is the .43 Spanish Reformando 11.5x57R, .43 Spanish-Remington 11.15x58R (basicly the Remington 44-77), the Danish 11.7x51R, and the .43 Egyptian 11.3x50R. There is a 5th commonly seen chambering, it being the 7x57, however yours is definately NOT that :-).

The rear sight looks exactly like that found on the .43 Egyptian. It also has no band springs like yours, but yours is missing the side mounted bayonet lug found on the right up at the muzzle. The other thing missing is the usual copious Egyptian markings that seemed to be liberally scattered all over!

However, the first shipment slated for Egypt was diverted to France as they were currently fighting the Germans during the 1871 war. Remington completed the delivery to Egypt by 1876. Possibly you have one of the former (missing all the Egyptian stampings)?

As you plan, a chamber casting will tell the tale for sure.

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

[JSnover]

Thanks Buckshot!