Remington rolling block

[Andrew Wyatt]

I have a remington rolling block saddle ring carbine in .50-70.

the bore is horribly pitted, and i'm in the middle of rebarrelling it in .45-70.

my question concerns the strength of the action. with a good modern steel barrel, am i limited to using the springflield trapdoor loads or can i go ahead and use garrett ammunition?

What is the weakest part of the action on a remington rolling block?

 

[fal308]

I've got a rebarrelled Rolling Block myself and I limit myself to original-style loadings and don't shoot anything hotter as the metallurgy of the day was not near its present standards or quality. I'd just so soon not have another firearm blow up in my face.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Yes, stick with Trapdoor loads!

The barrel may be new, but the action, block, and hammer are all old.

Later versions of the Rolling Block did chamber some relatively powerful cartridges, but the action was redesigned to take cartridges like the .30-40 Krag and 7mm Mauser.

 

[Jim Watson]

The Remington Rolling Block was one of the strongest actions of its day. But that day was 1870. Ken Waters groups the RB with the Trapdoor. Frank deHaas rates them as stronger than a Trapdoor, but not up to a Martini.

The real problem with heavy loads in a Rolling Block is that it does not handle gas well. I have seen pictures of kaBoomed RBs due to overloads, blown caseheads, and poorly fitted barrels. They came all to pieces in all directions. An overloaded Trapdoor cracked the breechblock hinge and receiver ring but did not fragment.

DeHaas says even a pierced primer can be dangerous, and a .50-70 is going to have a large firing pin and hole not well suited to high pressure.

I would stick to Trapdoor rated loads.