Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Falling block works 577nitro

I recall seeing a barrelled action of the above at one point and wondered if anyone had heard of this outfit? Wondering if its a marginal action to house 577 also.

I have not, but do know the 577 Nitro is a low pressure round in my double when regulated to 2076 fps with the 750gr bullets, a falling block may offer more strength for loading up to more or max pressure, but good god man that things going to BOOT!

Turns out its their Model 3 falling block action. Can find almost no specific info on it. They did make other action sizes apparently.

https://www.riflemagazine.com/falling-block-works#:~:text=Falling%20Block%20Works%20falling-%20block%20actions%20are%20investment,Wall%20and%20giving%20the%20two%20rifles%20similar%20appearances.

There is a 577 nitro barrelled action going nearby. Would love to know if it can handle slightly stepped up loads easily(maybe 2150fps fps with 750 grain) or if its more along the lines of a ruger no.1 where its a marginal chambering.

Older guy named Avi? youtube channel 1tuffgun? he may be from your neck of the woods, a Ruger #1 in 577 Nitro will easily handle any pressures a man cares to stand behind.

https://youtu.be/dweguftH6co

I personally wouldnt push a 577 nitro on the no.1 too hard myself. When I had my 585 built on a cz550 I recall the gunsmith warning me off the idea of 577 nitro on the ruger . Admittedly I was looking to run higher velocities, closer to Trex power levels.

What do you "I personally wouldnt push a 577 nitro on the no.1 too hard myself"

The Number 1 is perfectly fine for factory spec 577 ammo

Ruger No. 1 action is limited to .577 rim diameter to make the extractor/ejector work.
It can surely handle the thrust and pressure.
The biggest barrel shank it can handle is only about 1.140", IIRC, and the barrel threads are a little on the small side in diameters.
Keeping the forearm attached due to recoil and torque requires frequent checking of the hanger screw.
Even the mighty .458 WinMag can twist a forearm loose if neglected.
It will loosen and even bend that screw after 200 rounds of neglect.
No loose screws please, replace at first sign of stripping or bending.
I bought a bunch of replacement screws for future use, socket head machine screws of good quality.
Handy to keep tight with a hex key in pocket.

A Sharps Borchardt 1878 sure would be nice.
The Sharps 1874 can handle bigger rim size and barrel shank diameter, bigger threads, than a Ruger No. 1, but how about the pressure and thrust issue on that ?

Sir Ron, dont know what a modern '74 Shiloh Sharps action could take pressure wise, i would look elsewhere, a modern '85 Highwall Winchester would carry the freight provided it's a wider action than the Ruger #1.

As per my earlier post I referenced 2150fps with 750 which is beyond normal 577nitro specs. Some of us run hotter loads than original in these nitros if the actions are modern and built for it.

Interesting Ron. Do you recall the massive falling block action that came out in the mid 2000's that was called a Borchardt? I dont know much about historical actions but pretty sure they were just using the name since these could handle 50BMG and 700 nitro and we worked out even 4 bore would squeeze in. Anyone recall them or know what happened to their outfit. I believe they ran about $2500 in 2004.

I saw a new 600NE in a falling block action here in Brisbane a few years back. I don't recall who made it. It was company made.

The guy loaded it as a functional test and the cartridge got stuck - couldn't close it fully to fire it or open it to extract it. I think they were able to cautiously hammer the action open again but it was taking too long and I wandered off before the issue was resolved.

Wow a whopping extra 100 FPS that ought to be huge

158, you may be thinking about the Farquharson actions, iirc they came in a kit....................BTW, First Stop Guns and Steve Barnett Fine Guns has 577 Nitro Farquharsons in stock on gunsinternational.com!

It makes a difference to me, particularly expansion at longer ranges. Fastest I ran my 585 is about 2400fps but its a heavier gun. A single shot 577 about 2150 -2200fps is about as hard as I would go these days.

Gunner500,
This were them, single shot 50BMG sized falling block actions. The thread below had Rob Garnick(600 overkilll inventor) putting his 12GAFH into one. I was on that thread too, was looking at 700 nitro at the time but the exchange rate was a killer. There is a low quality pic of the action about half way down, Id forgotten what they look like. I guess this action is no longer in production.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4711043/m/924105801?r=924105801#924105801

Well I found out more info on the FBW actions. Off another site:

Falling Block Works, Inc. began manufacturing their Model "H" pattern single shot action in 1971. Located in Troy, Michigan, the company was owned by Leo and Joe Fix. The action was simple and capable of being chambered for any shoulder held cartridge. Over the years the Fix brothers designed and sold the Model "J", "K", "L", and "S". The mechanical workings of the actions are very simple and and strong. Actions were available polished and blued, stock attachment was with thru-bolt, the only options available was choices of fancy levers. Semi-finished stocks were available from Fajen and Paul Shuttleworth. All actions, except the Model "K", were proof tested to 67,400 CUPS. The FBW was made up till about 1990.



This is the schematic of the J action which can house 577 nitro.

https://www.shootersforum.com/attachments/model-j-interior-view-jpg.7057/

And these folks appear to make stocks for these actions still

https://www.cparifles.com/collections/falling-block-works-stocks

Amazing what is out there.

Are you going to build one?

Is that "peg" at the front of the buttstock the only thing that supports it! How could that handle the recoil forces of a 577????

Karl,
That was a huge Borchardt 1878 scale-up that robgunbuilder had for 50 BMG or 12 GaFH.
Came from Southwest USA small-time maker, now gone with the wind IIRC.

Then there was the guy who built his own, scaled up Sharps 1874 for a 50 BMG he shot with BP.
A one-off woo hoo !