32 rimfire conversion?

[mechanic]

I have a chance to pick up a Rem. rolling block in 32 rimfire.  I am wondering if this can be fairly easily converted to something I can get ammo for, even a 22 rimfire?  Anyone have experience with this?

[trotterlg]

I would say it most likely could be done.  A barrel liner and some work on the extractor, the striker on the hammer may even hit the .22 rim but you will probably have to do some work on that also.  The barrel is probably gone any way, but any collector value will be gone.  Larry

[teamnelson]

I think .32 S&W colt was the most pressure it could take. It's got like a .318 diam as opposed to .32 Long which is like .355. You might try MCACE for an offset .22 barrel liner. Why not just get ammo?

[mechanic]

I think .32 S&W colt was the most pressure it could take. It's got like a .318 diam as opposed to .32 Long which is like .355. You might try MCACE for an offset .22 barrel liner. Why not just get ammo?

The bore is shot.  The wood looks good, but the barrel and receiver will have to be reworked.  This gun will have little collector value because of it's condition, but I have been contemplating buying it for a project.  I can get it cheap, or trade for it, and don't care to rebarrel if I can help it.  It has a nice octagon barrel.  I'm thinking maybe a permanent insert or something of the sort.  I'll check MCACE and Track of the Wolf and weigh my options.

I looked on line and what 32 rimfire I found was very expensive.  My only sticking point is the extractor.  I'll have to ponder that.

I was hopeful someone had done this conversion......

[LONGTOM]

I have two rifles in 32 rim.
One is an old FLOBERT style breach loader made in Belgium and the other is a Win 1885 Low Wall.
I was lucky to have picked up some 32 rim ammo both in short and long back many years ago from Navy Arms when they were making it in Martinsburg WV just about 25 miles from me.
It cost $16.95 a box of 50 then.
I am sure it is much higher now if you can find it.

Don't be surprised to find just how good they can shoot even with a barrel that is in terrible shape.
The old Flobert has a very dark and pitted bore with little rifling left from years of neglect and the BP used in the old loadings but will still keep 3 shots under 1.5" at 50yds on terribly worn open sights.
The Low Wall is in better shape but won't shoot any better than the Flobert.
They are fun to shoot.

Good luck in your search, which ever way you decide to go.



LONGTOM 

[Rangr44]

[The bore is shot.]

Don't be too sure.  The proof's in the shooting.

FWIW, I've owned four different Remington #4 RB's in .32 - the last of which I easily converted to shoot the readily-available, relatively inexpensive ( $28 box/50) .32 Short Colt (Winchester makes 2-3 runs of it each year).

The FP conversion to CF involves drilling a hole through the center of the breechblock for a new FP, grinding off the RF pin, and installing a new FP made from drill rod in the middle of the FP body.
I did mine, but a gunsmith who know what they're about should only charge $50 or so for the job.

They ALL had bores that looked like sewer pipes - but shot just fine.

Don't forget, these rifles were made/shot in the days of blackpowder ammo with corrosive priming - and, since they were "boy's rifles", most didn't get a proper cleaning.

A clean-looking exterior #4 easily brings in excess of $350, these days, w/o breaking a sweat.

.

[gunnut69]

They are very easy to convert to centerfire but pressures should be kept fairly low. Conversion to a 22LR chamber will also work and is approached to same way as a centerfire conversion. The biggest rub is locating the rim. Install the liner and cut the chamber. Make a plug to fit the chamber in a slip fit and just a bit shorter than the chamber. A punch can be easily filed on this and with it in the chamber the breech block is closed and the slug punched using a rod from the muzzle. This will make a mark on the breechblock which will become the firing pin hole. Be sure to orient the punch in the chamber the same as the firing pin is so the movement will be a small as possible,.. Make a new firing pin with a tip of the correct size and install. The No4 Remington is a fine little rifle, its only major drawback that horible spring tha tpowers every thing in the action. They always break with a little use but DeHass has a method to make a replacement in his single shot rifles book..

[jlwilliams]

  I was considering a conversion from 32 rimfire to 22lr a while ago too.  The gun in question was a Stevens Favorite.  Naturally the take down design of the Favorite makes working on it easier than the Remington #4, but it should still be do-able.  My project never materialised because I got into other winter projects and just let that one blow over. 

  I think you should go for it, if only because you can get the gun cheap or in trade.  Once you have it in hand, you can try finding a box of ammo to put through it. Maybe you decide to leave it as is and lay in a couple hundred rounds for it.  Then again, maybe you decide to get a barrel liner and make it into a 22lr.  Whatever happens, step one is to secure the arm.  Then you can decide in what form it goes forward unto the next generation.

  The notion of 'temporary custodianship' of the artifact comes into play, for what it's worth.  This item is already older than any of us, and may still last long after all of us are gone.  Since it's already lost it's collector's value, the conversion to 22lr would make the gun more likely to be usable for longer.  A hundred plus year old gun can be a wall hanger, or a rabbit killer depending on the owner's desire.  If you fix it up in 32 rimfire, what's the likelyhood that 32rf will be available in fifty years?  For that matter, 32 S&W revolver ammo is a bit less common than it used to be.  The 22lr has the best likelyhood of being an available cartridge for generations.  It is more likely to be exempted from ammo bans in the future than anything, and there are too many guns out there in 22lr to think that ammo manufacturers will stop offering it as long as they offer anything.  I don't know how old you are or what year your specific #4 was made, but it's likely this rifle is old enough to have been your grandfather's or great grandfather's.  I'm not saying that this IS a family heirloom in your family, I'm saying it's old enough that it could be.  I'm also saying that a 22lr conversion would make it plausible that YOUR great grand children could still use the gun.  Pure fantasy and speculation, but that is part of the fun of old guns to me.

[mechanic]

Made the trade.  I traded an old Mossberg pump shotgun for it.  I also got a total of 6 bullets in the deal.  I have not found any 32 rim. for sale in any of the online sites.  I broke it down and I'm thinking the 22 is the way to go.  As heavy as it is it will make a good steady rifle off the bench to play with. 

I found a local smith who has 22 barrel "stock" on hand, and who will lathe bore and press fit and cut a chamber and ejector notch for $125.00.  If that works out I will have a nice little rifle with an investment of $225.00 as I paid a c note for the old pump a while back.

I'll let you guys know how it works out in a few weeks when my smith is done.

[mcwoodduck]

I had one for a number of years and it is really neat to shoot with the 32 long Rim Fire.
I boought ammo from one of the local shops he got it from Navy Arms that had it made in Brazil.  I had mine up until 3 years ago.
I think I bought 250+ rounds at the time and when I was down to the last 50 rounds, I did not know he was selling the store at the time, he was un willing to look for or order me more ammo when Navy arms started to sell to the public.  Later found out.  He was not willing to deal with a company that sold direct.
And I sold the rifle, kind of whish I had not.
But when looking into rechambering the gun that was no big deal.  I think 32-20 or 32 H&R would have worked but the Block is set up for a 32 rimed case and you would have to do a lot to it to make it a center fire.  As far as sleeving the gun to shoot 22lr 22mag or one of the 17's you would have to off set the barrel / sleeve to line up with the pin that as I remember hits High on the case.

Once you get some ammo and shoot it you will not want to change it.
Not real accurate out past 50 yards but the round hitting a 2 Liter bottle is louder than when it left the barrel.

[mechanic]

mcwoodduck

Here in the bountiful state of Ga., there is nothing legal I can hunt with it that I know of.  To use it for target in 32 would be kinda' spensive.  I'm going with the 22.  Hopefully those won't get too high to buy anytime soon.....

[mcwoodduck]

OK I used mine to kill a 4.5' rattle snake and tried to shoot a few Coyotes in the back yard with it.  the low noise was cool.
It did account for a few rats, rabits, an Opossum that kept getting into the dog food  and it worked well for larger than small game with little meat loss or the splatter effect that 22 mag or the 17's have.
Why can't you use it for anything in GA?  With how quiet it is I thought it would be perfect tree rat gun in the peacan grove at my Aunts in NC some day.
Heck if you were closer I'd trade you a 22LR somthing for it.

[mechanic]

OK I used mine to kill a 4.5' rattle snake and tried to shoot a few Coyotes in the back yard with it.  the low noise was cool.
It did account for a few rats, rabits, an Opossum that kept getting into the dog food  and it worked well for larger than small game with little meat loss or the splatter effect that 22 mag or the 17's have.
Why can't you use it for anything in GA?  With how quiet it is I thought it would be perfect tree rat gun in the peacan grove at my Aunts in NC some day.
Heck if you were closer I'd trade you a 22LR somthing for it.

Legal small game weapons here are 22 cal. rimfire or smaller, or shotgun with 2 shot or smaller.  Big game is 22 cal. centerfire or larger with expanding bullets.  Muzzies can be used for anything. A 32 rimfire can only be  legally used for shooting paper and tin cans.  Coyotes for instance can be killed year round, but only with weapons legal for the season you are in.  On the public land I hunt, centerfires are not permitted at all, other than shotguns.  So for deer, I use a muzzie, for everything else other than turkey a 22.  Only legal weapon for turkey is shotgun.  Quite a long laundry list of regs. here......

[LONGTOM]

Man, you need to move!  

Here in VA you can use whatever you want on small game.
Big game is 23 cal or larger.
Yotes anytime with anything!
No hunting on Sunday.
The animals need to rest to!!! 



LONGTOM

[trotterlg]

Sounds to me like you need to make yourself a Remington 5mm RF Mag something.  Larry

[Rangr44]

My New England home state's game regs are a lot like GA - except CF rifles are not allowed during Fall/Winter (Sept1-Feb1) on game of any kind.

FWIW - No less an authority than "Mr.Single Shot", Frank De Haas, has recommended that the #4 RB be used for ONLY these cartridges:

Rimfires:
.22 - BB/CB/Short/Long/LR/W.R.F. (Special, not Magnum).
.25 - Short/Long
.32 - Short/Long
.22 WMR (Magnum) - solid frame only

Centerfires:
.32 Colt - Short/Long
.32 S&W - Short/Long

(Note: De Haas does not consider this action safe for the 5mm Rem Mag cartridge)

The reason for being very conservative in regards to RB's, is that they are comparatively weak in the thickness and structure of the metal in the underside of the breechblock pivot - often cracking there.

The larger actions/chamberings can & do bend the pivot pins and/or elongate their hole in the action body from heavy loads.

Keep in mind that #4 rollers were made from 1890 to 1933.

.