The Goose
NES Member
Let me start by thanking 1919Fan for selling me this wonderful rifle. It is a fascinating project.
This rifle was billed as a Remington Rolling Block in .43 Spanish, which it is (sort of). As is often the case there are a few twists and turns. No where on this rifle does it say Remington. So I took the markings that it does have and started digging. On the tang it is stamped A. Francotte, Liege. The rifle has Belgian proof marks and crossed cannons on the top of the receiver. On the top of the barrel is "Republica Oriental"
So here is the deal. "Republica Oriental" is the old name for Uruguay. This rifle is an Artillery Short Rifle (27.5" barrel) Auguste Francotte was a Liege, Belgium gunmaker and a member of the Petite Leige Syndicate. This was a group of Belgian gunmakers who were licensed by Remington to manufacture military model rolling blocks for various countries. Some of those countries included Uruguay, Egypt, the Papal State and several others. These rifles were of equal or better quality to actual Remingtons, they were not second rate at all.
So now I at least knew what it was, but it was still tricky. The following points out the importance of slugging the bore and doing a chamber cast of any older rifle that one intends to shoot. The assumption was that this rifle was chambered for the .43 Spanish cartridge (and it was). However the same model was very often chambered for the .43 Reformado round. The Reformado is essentially a straight walled version of the .43 Spanish, however, the .43 Spanish has a .439 groove diameter and the .43 Reformado has a .451 - .454 groove diameter. And just to complicate it even more some .43 Spanish rifles were converted to .43 Reformado, but the barrels remained a .439. This can be a real problem to load for. Luckily the bore slugged at .439 and the chamber cast revealed a bottle neck cartridge which makes it a .43 Spanish. The brass is pricey, but available.
In terms of this rifle it is in great condition. Nice patina on the metal and wood and a very good to excellent bore. I broke it down and cleaned it.
I cleaned the wood with some Kramers Antique restorer cleaner to get off the grime, but maintain the patina followed by an application of museum quality wax paste. The small metal parts I soaked in a container of Hoppe's #9 and wiped down the rest with the same. The bore had a good layer of rust and gunk, but with multiple applications of Breakfree soaking, brushing and swabbing over a few day period followed by several passes with tight lead free cloth patches it came very clean with sharp rifling.
I have loading dies, brass etc. on the way. Keep an eye out as I will be posting the results in the reloading section once I get things up and running.
This rifle was billed as a Remington Rolling Block in .43 Spanish, which it is (sort of). As is often the case there are a few twists and turns. No where on this rifle does it say Remington. So I took the markings that it does have and started digging. On the tang it is stamped A. Francotte, Liege. The rifle has Belgian proof marks and crossed cannons on the top of the receiver. On the top of the barrel is "Republica Oriental"
So here is the deal. "Republica Oriental" is the old name for Uruguay. This rifle is an Artillery Short Rifle (27.5" barrel) Auguste Francotte was a Liege, Belgium gunmaker and a member of the Petite Leige Syndicate. This was a group of Belgian gunmakers who were licensed by Remington to manufacture military model rolling blocks for various countries. Some of those countries included Uruguay, Egypt, the Papal State and several others. These rifles were of equal or better quality to actual Remingtons, they were not second rate at all.
So now I at least knew what it was, but it was still tricky. The following points out the importance of slugging the bore and doing a chamber cast of any older rifle that one intends to shoot. The assumption was that this rifle was chambered for the .43 Spanish cartridge (and it was). However the same model was very often chambered for the .43 Reformado round. The Reformado is essentially a straight walled version of the .43 Spanish, however, the .43 Spanish has a .439 groove diameter and the .43 Reformado has a .451 - .454 groove diameter. And just to complicate it even more some .43 Spanish rifles were converted to .43 Reformado, but the barrels remained a .439. This can be a real problem to load for. Luckily the bore slugged at .439 and the chamber cast revealed a bottle neck cartridge which makes it a .43 Spanish. The brass is pricey, but available.
In terms of this rifle it is in great condition. Nice patina on the metal and wood and a very good to excellent bore. I broke it down and cleaned it.
I cleaned the wood with some Kramers Antique restorer cleaner to get off the grime, but maintain the patina followed by an application of museum quality wax paste. The small metal parts I soaked in a container of Hoppe's #9 and wiped down the rest with the same. The bore had a good layer of rust and gunk, but with multiple applications of Breakfree soaking, brushing and swabbing over a few day period followed by several passes with tight lead free cloth patches it came very clean with sharp rifling.
I have loading dies, brass etc. on the way. Keep an eye out as I will be posting the results in the reloading section once I get things up and running.
