.44 Mag Rolling block rifle?

[curator]

I have several .44 Magnum rifles that do not shoot accurately with boolits over 240 grains due to their 1 in 38" rifling twist rates. I have wanted a nice single shot .44 Magnum rifle with a faster twist barrel for 280 and 310 grain boolits. I have considered finding an old rolling block action and rebarreling it for .44 Magnum to fill this niche, but costs of well over $1000 for action, barrel and gunsmithing have kept me from acting. Pedersoli makes replica rollers for pistol caliber cartridges for around $1250 but no .44 magnum.

A friend turned me on to the Tippmann Armory rolling block rifles. Made entirely in the U.S.A, they offer Rolling block rifles in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45-70 Government chambering for around $900. I called and talked to their representative and they do rifle their .44 Magnum barrels with a 1 in 20 twist rate. I missed my chance to order one when Lone Star was still making their rolling block rifles since I couldn't come up with the $1500 down payment (and a one-year waiting period) on a $3000+ rifle.

At $899, the Tippmann roller seems like a real bargain especially if made here in the U.S. so I bought it. I realize I should have posted questions about Tippmann Armory rolling block rifles on this forum for feed-back before ordering, but he who hesitates is lost. Anyone on this forum have any experience with their rifles?

[GARD72977]

I read negative stuff from people that have never touched one. I like the looks of the gun myself. I'm betting its a fine shooting single shot. Post a review of the gun After you get some shots down range. Can't wait to hear how it does.

[kenton]

Unfortunately my experience was very negative. I purchased a .357 version used, but looked almost unfired. I soon found out why, it shot 38 spl fine but when you fired full power .357 it would suffer case head separations on every round. I realized that the hammer spring pushed the block closed but if you pulled back on the block with the hammer down you could slide a .025" thickness gage into the chamber area. Which I'm guessing is why the 38 spl cases survived but the .357s did not.

When I disassembled the rifle I found the 2 pins measured .370, the holes in the action and the block measured .376-.377, but the pivot hole for the hammer measured .394. I contacted Tippmann and after getting to speak to a few different people and sending pictures of the 2 piece cases and my measurements to an engineer I was told to send my rifle in for service (they paid shipping).

When I received my rifle back I found that the had fitted a thicker plate to the breech face of the block to take up the slack in the lockup mechanism but had not replace the hammer. When I test fired it I found that the cases stayed in one piece but now had the case head at a 5 to 10 deg angle to the body of the case. It also put a rather severe crease about half way up the case wall. And it would puncture primers due to an excessively long firing pin.

I contacted Tippmann again and they put me in contact with the "tech" that had worked on my rifle and he had me send back the to be looked at again. About a week later I got a call back from the "tech" saying that he had sent my rifle back to me. He said that the case angle wasn't really that bad but he had shortened the firing pin and thrown in a second firing pin just in case. Which I did think was a nice thing to do.

When I asked about the creases in the cases he said he found a deep scratch in the chamber but that he had "buffed it out" When I inquired what exactly he had done, he said he just took some emery cloth and "polished" it till he couldn't see the scratch any more. When test firing after reviving the rifle back I found that there was now only a slight crease in the now bloated area of the case.

After that repair I decided that I really didn't want them working on my rifle any more and stuck it in the back of the safe with a bitter taste in my mouth. Where it still waits for me to find the motivation to take it on as a project or sell it to someone I really don't like.

This all took place last year so maybe they've gotten their ducks in a row in the mean time. Hopefully your rifle is great from the start, I really wanted to like mine but now i get frustrated every time I look at it.

[john.k]

My question would be ...do these guys actually know anything about making guns,or is it a "niche market startup" with little or unsuitable equiptment,and employing a bunch of eager kids who also know nothing about guns.........the company motto..."How hard can it be.....to make a 1860 rifle?.....hey we have even got electricity connected.....maybe they should go back to making reality TV shows........"how to fix yer guns".........or more to the point..."how to fix our guns"

[17nut]

Two things strike me looking at this pic:
1) Long odd hammer spur
2) Strange hammer spring arrengement.

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[John Taylor]

I have a customer that bought one and I'm making another barrel for it so he can switch calibers. I decided to get one for myself and ended up with two to get the dealer price. While the action looks good I'm not sold on a few things. The hammer can be bobbed to make it look better. The main spring transfer bar is very heavy which will slow down lock time. The face of the breach block is held on with two screws and the firing pin is a bit on the large side ( no problem with BP cartridges). The barrel shoulder is on the inside of the frame instead of the face of the frame, thread diameter is 1.125". Biggest concern is that they did away with one of the Remington safety features. The "locking lug" on a Remington holds the breach block closed but also keeps the trigger from being pulled when the breach is open. On the Tippmann it does not extend back under the trigger and allows the trigger to be pulled which will drop the hammer down till it rest on the breach block. Then when the breach is closed the hammer drops to the half cock. The trigger is a strong heavy one but if it fails the gun goes off.
The action is drilled on top for one scope base screw. While I'm pleased that someone is making rollers at a reasonable price I think they should have followed the Remington a bit closer. The frame is made from 4140 steel and is said to be able to hold 52,000 psi which would make it as strong as the #5 action. Breach block and hammer pins are smaller diameter than the Remington.

[marlinman93]

I'd rather buy an old surplus Rolling Block military and build up a Rolling Block myself. The Tippman does nothing for me in looks or function.

[curator]

Thanks kenton, John Taylor et al. I will keep all this in mind when I get the gun and try it out. I will report back to the forum with a "range report" and my impressions. I expected to "bob" the hammer and possibly add a vernier rear sight. I want to be able to accurately shoot my "Ruger-level" .44 magnum loads with 280 and 310 grain boolits in something other than my SBH revolvers. Tippmann's reputation on all their other products is top notch. All will be revealed in time.

[rfd]

i've also been toying with buying a tippmann action and building a .45-70 off it using a custom hoyt barrel. i think the longhorn hammer ear is dumb and needs bobbing. i kinda like the replaceable coil spring instead of a lever. the barrel threads are 1-1/8x24. speaking with tippmann, i'm told the single trigger is only surface hardened and comes with a 3.5# to 4# pull, which is unacceptable for any target game and could be a deal breaker.

[Jedman]

Reading this " Kills Me " ! I own a bunch of rolling blocks all but one that is made in Spain ( Star ) were built pre 1898 antiques. Why someone cannot build a quality rolling block..... is just being to cheap a$$ed.
I am not saying a gun maker can't build a plastic stocked bolt action that will easily shoot MOA for less but with today's investment casting and machine abilities I don't understand why we cant make something equal or better than was being made 130 years ago ?
Without cutting corners can't a US company build a $ 1000 rolling block that someone would be proud to own ?

Jedman

[Jedman]

Thinking more about this. Until just recently with some looking around online I could still find a new Ruger # 1 for sale for $ 1000 or less. Looking at exploded views of a Remington # 1 rolling block action there are 26 parts that make it up, A Ruger # 1 has 53 parts. Have you ever seen a Ruger # 1 with a cheap hardwood stock ?
They all have Walnut stocks, nice checkering, polished metal with a good blue finish a gun most would be proud to own. Would it not cost more to make 53 action parts and assemble them than 26 ?
A rolling block can be assembled very easy, almost without tools.
I would guess that a new US made rolling block rifle would not sell in large enough numbers to be worth the investment to build them.

Jedman

[rfd]

there's just no talk, no demand, and clearly no mainstream love for rolling block rifles. it's clearly all about sharps, and make it USA built. until some USA company offers a solid 19th century roller rifle, i'll stick with my pedersoli rolling blocks.

[oldred]

When I disassembled the rifle I found the 2 pins measured .370, the holes in the action and the block measured .376-.377, but the pivot hole for the hammer measured .394


The problem is obvious here, that's just plain sloppy tolerances and there's simply no excuse for that in a firearm! Then the "fix" you describe would make Bubba proud, they never even addressed the problem but opted instead to try and compensate for it resulting in trading one problem for another (the angled case heads), there's a lot of truth to the old adage that two wrongs don't make a right! The real fix would be to deal with the slop in the hammer/breech block lockup which should not have been all that hard to do but even if it was the so-called "fix" they used is simply inexcusable and says a lot about their quality control and how they perceive after sales support.


Besides the above problems that hammer is just plain UGLY!

[skeettx]

Watching

[ndnchf]

there's just no talk, no demand, and clearly no mainstream love for rolling block rifles. it's clearly all about sharps, and make it USA built. until some USA company offers a solid 19th century roller rifle, i'll stick with my pedersoli rolling blocks.

Lone Star made extremely high quality rolling blocks, on par with Shiloh and CSA. They were very successful. Sadly, the business died with the owner. I'm surprised that no one has taken over that operation.

[rfd]

yes, dave higginbotham created some wonderful rollers using real remington actions. with his departure, i'm relegated to pedersoli rollers, which i can find no fault with as they are truly excellent guns that just have that offshore stigma they can't seem to shake.

[rfd]

i'll put in a boost for pedersoli, a .45-70 roller, match grade barrel, double set triggers, american walnut pistol grip stock, for $1200 @ DGW. this gun sells elsewhere for $1750. if you can get over the offshore branding, THIS is the roller to get over any tippmann. you can down load a .45-70 to accurate 200 yard mouse f@rt greaser levels with smokeless trail boss, or run full tilt boogie with a virtual .45-90 PPB black powder cartridge, or anything in between.

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/9548/category_id/314/product_name/SCR1306+Remington+Rolling+BLock+Target+Rifle

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/common/images/main/CR3250.JPG

[Remmy4477]

Still happy with an original!
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