Remington Rolling Block conversion question

[Beowulf]

So, I've been on an old guns kick lately. I just picked up an 1885 Martini-Enfield .303 conversion (Citadel conversion 1905).

Anyway, I started looking at Remington Rolling Blocks. They seem to be a dime a dozen in .43 Spanish, a caliber you basically can't get anymore (unless you roll your own). Reproductions in .45-70 are running like $700+ and ones in sub-calibers are almost impossible to find. Meanwhile, the originals are can be found for a few hundred (in an obsolete caliber).

So, what I was wondering if what would anyone think about the cost and difficulty in either boring one of the .43s up to another caliber (maybe .45 Colt) or boring it out and sleeving it in a caliber like .357 mag (assuming that .357 wouldn't be too hot, but with a sleeve I would think it would be okay).

I throw this out to our motley collection of gunsmiths, both amateur and professional.

Now to head off where this thread might go, I don't really want to get into the discussion of whether a conversion like this harms the historic value of these guns. On one hand, yes, it does hurt it's historical value. But on the other hand, these guns are pretty common and guns are made to be shot, not live on a wall somewhere. I'm of the personal opinion that all guns in your collection should be shot at least occasionally, with only the exception of literally one of a kind guns (and guns that aren't safe to shoot anymore, of course).

 

[D.T.O.M.]

I also have one in 43 spanish and 1 in 7mm
43 spanish is close to 45/70
There is a guy in California that sales parts
For Remington Rolling Blocks.
He may be helpful his name is CW Womack
If you goggle Rem. Rolling blocks you
Should find his website.
I would like to convert mine to 45/70
Also look at Green Moutain barrels
You can buy barrel blanks from
Them. Good luck !

 

[indy1919a4]

Just a side note have you been able to shoot the Martini-Enfield.. ?? I think getting one in 303 is the way to go for cheaper shooting..

 

[CampingJosh]

Bullet diameter of the .43 Spanish is .439". Bullet diameter of the .45-70 is .458". Can't safely stuff a .458" bullet down a barrel made for .439", so it's not simply a matter of getting the chamber recut.

Really, the .439 is an unusual diameter. I doubt it would help you, but you could convert it to the 11.2x72mm Schuler. That's 50 years newer. But you're still rolling your own.

Best case may be just to see if you can get Profire Arms to do a custom run of .43 Spanish ammo. I'm sure they'd have a minimum to cover the cost of the dies, but I'm certain they're willing to do it at some price.

 

[Beowulf]

Just a side note have you been able to shoot the Martini-Enfield.. ?? I think getting one in 303 is the way to go for cheaper shooting..

Not yet. It just shipped on Thursday. It's supposed to arrive on Tuesday. I'll try to remember to post some pictures when I get it. I'm pretty excited to have a working Martini rifle. I had an old Greener shotgun back in the day, but it had issues (and you can't find the weird 12/14 gauge shells anyway).

Honestly, I was more leaning to converting a Remington RB to a pistol caliber rather than a rifle. It was more just for fun, not really looking for precision long distance shooting (though the Remingtons are good for that). That's why I was leaning .45 Colt or .357 mag with a reline (I guess you'd really need to reline anyway for a pistol caliber, given the chamber length different). I had a bid out on a BSA Martini Cadet that have been converted from .310 to .357, but that auction got way to rich for my blood.

I did find a guy on gunbroker selling his conversion services (in Ft. Wayne no less). He charges $175, but that doesn't include the new barrel or barrel liner if I understand his ad correctly.

single shot rebarreling rolling block smokless : Gunsmithing at GunBroker.com

Though, if I could find a Remington RB in 7mm Mauser for a price I could afford, I'd probably just leave it alone and keep it. Sometimes though, you can get a bargain price on one of the .43s, which is what led me to the idea of converting one.

 

[Leo]

Do not forget to watch pressures. I would not ask that old action to support modern pressures.

I had a really ratty .43 rolling block that the barrel looked like sewer pipe and I was not going to get involved in paper patch cartridge reloading. I rebarreled it in .44 spl. It was fun to shoot and I never worried about any safety issues. The .44 spl case rim was compatible with the extractor with only minimal fitting. The .429 bore kept the look and weight balance right. Good Luck

 

[Beowulf]

Just thought I would update everyone from what I got back from the smith.

Here's my original question:

I have considered picking up a .43 Rolling Block and getting it converted. Do you know how much it would run total to convert one to .357mag or .45 Colt if all I provided was just the gun itself?

His reply:

to rebarrel a black powder {43 spanish} using a douglas barrel total $485.00 plus shipping. suggest going with a 7mm 1901 smokless price to rebarrel a smokless $405.00 the $80.00 is to alter blackpowder action yuo could probably buy a 1901 or later for about the same price as the 43. most of the 43 are poor shape compared to the later 7mm 1901. NOT THE 1897 7MM. price included dovetails for sights amd forearm. round barrel polished not blued return postage not includded.

That was a lot more than I was thinking (and I'm not saying his prices are high, just that I think I underestimated the amount of work involved).

So, now I'm leaning toward picking up one of the 7mm RB's. I've seen a few out there and some are not that much more expensive than the lower range .43s.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

For .43 Spanish:

for .43 Spanish Remington Rolling Block - Track of the Wolf

 

[DownByTheTracks]

I've dealt with Ken Womack and Kurt Hardcastle. Hardcastle did some action work on a 45-70 we are building.

HardCastle Custom Machine - Specialty Gunsmith

 

[Beowulf]

I decided to say screw it and bought a 1907 7mm RB instead (it was $500, plus some shipping and a transfer fee). Hopefully that will prove to be a good decision. If nothing else, the 1907's are supposed to be better to convert than the older black powder ones.

 

[handmade]

I have a .43 Egyptian that I had bored to .510 and chambered for a 500 nitro express. I load 70g black fg and 145g black fg with a 450g cast bullet. the 70g is very accurate,the 145g not so but is fun to shoot if you don't mind the pain.