Just the Action

[SFWeaponsMan]

Does anyone know where I can find an action to build on for a single shot rifle?  I would prefer a Sharps falling block or Remington rolling block design as I wish to build it in the style of an old world blackpowder rifle.  If not one of these then I'm open to suggestions, but would prefer something with an exposed hammer.

Thanks in advance,
Robert

[John Traveler1]

Remington rolling block actions are sometimes available on ebay.

Complete, antique actions are getting harder to find, but partial actions missing major parts (hammer, block, trigger guard, etc) are common.

Be prepared to pay $300 and up for a usable action.

You still have to thread and fit a barrel, stocks, sights, etc to get a working gun.

HTH
John

[marlinman93]

Check Auction Arms, or Gunbroker too for complete rifles that are rough. They often sell for less than just the action, and then you can part out what you don't need.

[SFWeaponsMan]

Thanks for the informarion.  Now I'm finding more than I thought that I would!  :shock:

Any suggestions about what to look for?  I'm finding a fair number of 7mm Remingtons, what size case head is this as I imagine that the extractor is case head specific.  

And before anyone suggests that I don't know what I'm doing, you're right!  I've got some experience gunsmithing, but this type of rifle is a whole new realm for me.  I'm going to be taking a course this summer on octagon barrels in Trinidad, CO and I need an action to fit to the barrel.  Stock work will be down the road, most likely next summer.

Robert

[John Traveler1]

If you are referring to finding lots of 7x57 or 7mm Mauser rolling block actions, then yes, they are plentiful because they were made by the many tens of thousands for Mexico, central, and south american armies.

The extractor on these rifles are designed for the standard .473" rim diameter of the .30-06/8x57/7x57 family of cases.  This action is more desireable than the earlier .43 Spanish, .43 Egyptian, etc black powder actions because it is stronger and already has the smaller firing pin diameter for smokeless powder cartridges.  The best choice for rebarreling is a large rimmed cartridge such as .45-70, 38-55, or .444 Marlin.  The extractor is profiled during rechambering.

HTH
John

[horseman308]

You'd mentioned a Sharps action. C. Sharps has a spot on their website that states they sell actions and barrelled actions. They'll cost a lot, but their supposed to be really good.

[baranjhn]

Hello,

Simpsonltd.com has several Remington Rolling Blocks for sale. I just bought a Swedish contract model that was coverted by Carl Gustaf to 8x58R Danish Krag. Total cost $415 with shipping. It's in great shape too. I plan on converting it back to Black Powder (.40-65) in the next few months. I've seen similar guns (Swede contracts) on gunbroker for almost twice that. Hope this helps.

John

[SFWeaponsMan]

Thanks for the information on the Simpson site.  It looks like there's a lot on there with some promise.  But what's a Carl Gustav and a Husqvarna?

[baranjhn]

Sweden originally had a contract with Remington for military rolling blocks. Most of those, like mine were converted into sporting rifles by Carl Gustav. I believe Carl Gustav and Husky (I'm not even going to attemt to spell it) also produced Rolling Blocks under licensing agrerments with Remington. Those will be marked by their own names respectively.  As far as I know they are every bit as good.

As for mine, it's got the Remington markings on it, but on the barrel, it has the Gustav crest and some other markings. One of those its a 2 digit date stamp, which corelates to the year of "sporterization". Mine was done in 1896. When they did, they changed te barrel, and hardened the receiver, and block so it could handle smokeless cartridges. I've never done so with mine, it's probably strrong enough, but I don't want to chance it.

By the way, there's a nice .303 Martini Enfield at Simpson's too for $395. I wish I had the dough, I buy it.

Hope this helps.

John

[baranjhn]

Sweden originally had a contract with Remington for military rolling blocks. Most of those, like mine were converted into sporting rifles by Carl Gustav. I believe Carl Gustav and Husky (I'm not even going to attemt to spell it) also produced Rolling Blocks under licensing agrerments with Remington. Those will be marked by their own names respectively.  As far as I know they are every bit as good.

As for mine, it's got the Remington markings on it, but on the barrel, it has the Gustav crest and some other markings. One of those its a 2 digit date stamp, which corelates to the year of "sporterization". Mine was done in 1896. When they did, they changed te barrel, and hardened the receiver, and block so it could handle smokeless cartridges. I've never done so with mine, it's probably strrong enough, but I don't want to chance it.

By the way, there's a nice .303 Martini Enfield at Simpson's too for $395. I wish I had the dough, I buy it.

Hope this helps.

John

[marlinman93]

The first 10,000 orders that Remington delivered to Sweden were for just complete actions. These are the ones that bear the Remington rollstamp on the tang, but usually are originally chambered in the 12.7 cartridge, which is similar to our .50-70 Govt.
 Later Carl Gustave and Husqvarna made complete guns under the Remington patent royalty. The Swedes are very nice Rollers, and make great project guns. The only drawback to Swedish made actions is they are pretty trim, so the tops of the receivers need to be left rounded, so they can't be recut to octagon top like a Rolling Block Sporting Rifle.

[SFWeaponsMan]

I just picked up a Remington in 7mm, now the fun starts!  Thanks for all the help.  Now if I can just find a barrel with the proper land and groove measurements for a .44-77 I'll set to start the teardown.

Robert

[marlinman93]

Send Green Mountain an email. They carry a barrel for the .44-77 Sharps, and may have the contour and length you want.

[JCP]

Check with Midwayusa.com, They have Green Mt. barrels cheaper than you can get them direct from GM.