.43 Spanish Rolling Block - Worn Barrel

[Uncle R.]

Okay guys - this one's been on my "get around to it" project list for a long time but I'm not quite sure what to do with it.
Among the old single shots clustered above the fireplace is a .43 Spanish rolling block. I picked it up at an estate auction a few years ago. The exterior is grey, the stock carries hundreds of dings - but the bore looks pretty good and the action is tight. I had high hopes that I was buying a SHOOTER. I bought a box of custom loaded smokeless ammo with reformed .348 cases and cast bullets. A short range session gave me little encouragement - I couldn't group them into two feet at 50 yards - and some of the few that hit the target went through sideways. :(
I took it home, scrubbed considerable leading from the throat, and drove a soft lead ball through from the breech to slug the bore. There were alternating tight and loose spots as it went down the bore - and when it got to the last eight inches or so at the muzzle it FELL out. Groan! Driving a slug into the muzzle found it to be roughly 5 thousandths bigger than the rest of the bore. (It's hard to say exactly, since there's no exact anything anywhere in that barrel.) I'm guessing that I'm looking at massive cleaning rod wear - although why they didn't clean it from the breech I don't know.
I'd like to make it a shooter some day. I'm wondering if it can be bored and relined, or maybe "freshed out" into a 45/43 wildcat - or a standard cartridge that won't require alteration of the extractor. The bullets in those commercial loads were HARD so I'm also wondering if a soft lead bullet would "slug up" into that oversize muzzle on the way through - especially over a charge of 2F black. I have a set of RCBS dies and 20 (reformed .348) cases - and new brass is available from Midway as well as others. I don't have a mould or size dies and I'm in no hurry to spend the money on 'em. Even if I do try the soft bullets I'd rather just buy a few boolits for loading until I find out if there's any hope at all for this barrel. Any advice or suggestions? Maybe a source for some soft boolits? Anyone know a smith who does reboring / relining? Anyone been here before?

[Buckshot]

...............The barrel is too thinwalled to be bored and have a liner fitted, even for it's original cartridge. You probably (maybe) could have a 40 cal of some description done though. It'd be heavy with that 36" barrel and little 40cal hole :-)

If it was mine and in that condition I'd just have it rebarreled and then sporterize the stock. The fun part would be trying to decide that to have it chambered to. You could do it in 30-30, 30-40, 32-40, 38-55, 38-56, 40-50 Sharps, 40-60 Maynard (30-40 Krag blown out to 40), 40-65, 40-70 SS, 45-70 or 45-90.

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

[jh45gun]

I had my 7x57 Remington Roller that had a worn out barrel rebarreled to 45/70 using a Green Mountain barrel. It is worth the effort. 45/70 is nice because the brass is easier to get than some of the others of the large black powder cartridges and so is the reloading info. Also the 45/70 is considered safe for any of the number 1 rolling block actions.

[Bob S]

It would be ill-advised to build a rifle for a "smokeless powder" cartridge on any black powder action such as the .43 Spanish, particularly if it is an Oveido-made. It would be an excellent candidate for 45-70 or any of the other "exotic" BP cartridges. The other option is to look for an original barrel to replace the worn/damaged one. They do turn up occasionally, and the .43 Spanish is an excellent cartridge for hunting, silhouettes, or long-range target shooting.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[wills]

It appears you can get a barrel chambered in 43 Spanish
http://www.montanarifleman.com/barreltechinfo.htm

[Uncle R.]

I kinda hate to rebarrel the old war horse, although using an original barrel probably wouldn't be too bad. The rifle LOOKS like it's been through two wars - and maybe it has. :) Even though it has little collector value it seems almost sacreligious to sporterize or seriously modify it.
Bob - it's not a "Spanish" 43 Spanish - the tang has the E Remington rollmarks.
It usually just hangs over the fireplace. There are several other military single shots hanging along with it - most well over one hundred years old. (The newest one is my Martini cadet - a mere youngster at 95!) They're old, they're interesting to look at, and they're non-threatening to casual visitors and "Guns are ICKY" friends of the wife and kids. It's a matter of quiet pride to me (and something of a private joke on those "OOoooo - Icky" types) that every one of them is a shooter - that I've fired them all and they all shoot very well. All, that is, except this rolling block. :(
Anyway, that's why I'd lean more towards sleeving or reboring or "freshing out" than rebarreling.
Maybe the smartest course would be to just let her go to another home, and find a different one with a better bore.:(

[wills]

You might email Dave Higginbotham and see what he suggests.

[HTRN]

Well, you could send your old barrel to a barrel maker and have him copy the barrel. Krieger makes a .438 bore size barrel, close enough to the 43's nominal of .439... In fact, you might be better off with a slightly tighter bore if your shooting cast.


HTRN

[felix]

Actually, Krieger will make any barrel dimension you want. He would be my pick. ... felix

[Buckshot]

...............I sent Montana Rifleman a Trapdoor barreled action with a barrel that was toast. They traced the old one, D&T'd for the rear sight, chambered and fitted it to the action. When I got it back it dropped right into the stock and the barrel bands slipped on. No problems.

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

[gzig5]

I don't know how it would work on the big area at the muzzle, but I am pretty sure that firelapping would even out the rest of the barrel. Doesn't sound like you have too much to loose by trying.