Remington modello 1879 rolling block

weatherby

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I picked this up today as it was in pretty remarkable condition.
Chambered for 43 Spanish.
The tinning was pretty intact with no pitting and the bore is bright and shiny.
 

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Oh it "will" get shot.
You think 11mm big enough to try for a bear ? 😀
Well if it’s anything like these modern bears you read about. Or even worse the armored whitetail that can’t be killed with anything short of a 300 RUM.

If it’s not a space alien bear I think you’ll shoot through it end to end with that old girl.
 
Congrats on your new rifle,I have found the Rolling Block to be a fun gun to shoot with a very strong action.
I have four of them in 22,7mm,20 gauge,and 43 Spanish.Some how the Argentino models have not had much
use,and are in very good condition.
 
Love reading how antiques are making a comeback. The 20-something young adults that only shoot a blinged out Del-ton AR carbine at 50 yds are just missing such an awesome and nostalgic shooting experience. Shame it is ! Ive let a few young AR guys send a few BP 45-70 shots from my Sharps and the huge grin reaction from them is awesome .
 
The 43 Spanish should be fine for bear. The caliber is almost identical to the 44/77 Sharps. I load for one made by E Remington and Sons. Will you load black powder or smokeless? I've loaded both and it was a bit of work to find a smokeless load that would shoot well.
 
What bullets? 43 Spanish bullets are supposed to be .439 but most bores are larger than that. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Remington made that rifle in 44/77 Sharps as well. The 2 cartridges are almost identical. The 44/77 uses a slightly larger diameter bullet. This may not matter if you use soft bullets and black powder because the black powder charge will bump up the undersized bullet. Smokeless powder, while much more powerful will not bump up a bullet. If you use smokeless powder you may have to use a 43 Mauser bullet or paper patch. (which is what I did).
 
I wish .439 would work in mine with smokeless. It would make things so much easier. Brass is expensive and not easy to find so I don't resize it. Do you already have dies? I don't know why but I have an extra set. I load on a Dillon and use a 348 Winchester shell plate and a 444 Marlin powder funnel. Works fine.
 
Thank you sir.
Yes I do already have the dies.
Actually everything right now except the bullets and I think a friend will be sending some of those.
The brass I got from track of the wolf.
Yeah it's pretty expensive about 4 each.
I did try it and it chambers perfectly
 

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If you need more brass, try Buffalo Arms, Dixie Gun Works and Huntington Die Specialists. All my brass is Bertram but I think Buffalo Arms makes it out of 348 Winchester.
 
Your correct on the Buffalo arms brass.
The ones I got have the correct rim thickness which I think the 348 formed ones is thinner and can be problematic.

It will be an interesting gun to reload for ,I've heard that the throats can be long also ?
A chamber cast would probably be best but of the bat I'm just going to try a loosely seated bullet
 
Yes the throats can be so long that you can't seat the bullet out far enough to reach the rifling and still be in the case. I guess there are several smokeless powders that work but I've been using 5744 with good results. The Lee 2nd edition manual has 43 Spanish load data.
 
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