Remington Rolling Block Restoration Project
I have a pre-1868 Remington Rolling Block that I believe is a Model 1. The only visible markings are on the top of the octagon barrel in front of the rear buckhorn/harpoon sight, E. Remington & Sons. Ilion, N.Y., a number of Patent dates,May 3 1864, May 2, May 12, June 11, Dec 24, Dec 3 1872, Sept 9 1873 appear on the side of the receiver, and the number 10483 stamped into the underside of the octagon barrel just forward of the receiver and on the lower tang between two screws, one of which extends from the tang above through the stock. There is a "38" stamped on the underside of the barrel near a dovetail with a threaded hole in the center of it. The centerline of the hole is 14" from the front edge of the receiver. The barrel is 28-3/4" long from the muzzle to the front edge of the receiver. The front sight blade seems to have been replaced with one made out of a copper coin. The octagon barrel tapers from 1" across the flats at the receiver to 3/4" at the muzzle. It has a sliding bar ejector for rimmed cartridges on the left side just below the breech centerline. Overall length is 45-1/2". Here is a photo of an identical rifle, except that mine is missing the original forestock. I have a new repro forestock cap too.
http://www.floop.com/RRBRifle.jpg
There is a dimple on the bottom edge of the breech bore, which matches up with a hole in the breech block about 1/8" in diameter. The firing pin protrudes through a second hole in the breech block and lines up with the center of the breech bore. The firing pin itself is bent into a curve to reach the new hole. Obviously this rifle was converted from .38 rimfire to .38 centerfire at some point, most likely .38-55. The receiver is 1-3/16" wide.
The overall finish is a uniform brown patina with no rust or pitting. The barrel looks somewhat rough, but there is still visible rifling. I doubt it's shootable though. I'm interested in having a barrel liner installed as part of a restoration project to make this a shooter again. I was thinking that this rifle could probably be rechambered for .357 magnum cartridges if the correct liner was installed. Would this be possible? I also like the idea of lining it and rechambering for .38-55. Would a whole new barrel chambered for a modern cartridge be a better answer? Right now I'm actually leaning more toward the .38-55 option, but most barrel liners come in .379 or .375 and factory Winchester ammo comes with .377 bullets, so I'm a little confused as to which liner size would be best. Is it better to have a little too much clearance or have a larger bullet than bore?
I have reproduction semi-inletted wood for this rifle from Treebone Carving, and I have or can make the other minor pieces of hardware that need to be replaced. The barrel and possibly the breech block are the major items I need some advice on.
I plan to reblue the barrel, hammer, and breech block, and color case harden the receiver and butt plate. Some minor issues I'll have to deal with include a missing forestock mounting screw and a galled rear tang screw, which I believe I'll have to drill out.
I understand that this rifle will never be worth what it would take to restore it, but it was my grandfather's rifle and it has sentimental value.
