Home Forums Hunting & Shooting BPCR 45-70 Rolling Block

When I was but a lad, back in the '60's, this was a project. I bought an old Egyptian .43 Roller, got a 45-70 kit from Numrich Arms. The kit included everything but the action. I head spaced it with a big bastard file, used the farm vice with a piece of leather to pad the action, used leather to pad a Crescent wrench. Octagonal barrel lends itself to such treatment...

Worked well. I helped a friend set up bluing tanks, polished and blued the action. I cast a few wheel weight bullets, loaded some ammo. I was sitting on the back steps at home, a bird lit on a gate around 20 yds. away. I took careful aim and fired. The bird flew, but that big ole slug hit the gate. It was one of those wire gates with a pipe frame. Well that top pipe suddenly had a new bendable joint...

Dad wasn't too happy, asked what I was going to do about it. In typical teenage smartazz fashion, I replied, "I'm going to elevate the rear sight two clicks". All the old man could do was try to hide a grin. Never heard anything else about the gate.

All that had to have been pretty cheap, or I wouldn't have been able to afforded it. It took big sacks of pecans to produce a few bucks for gun and ammo money.

It actually shoots pretty good, weighs 10#, 10 oz. Packs like a piece of railroad iron, but it doesn't kick that bad.

DF

Wonderful story
Tell that to a grandkid when you pass it down

Now, what if one of those little turkeys pulled the same or similar stunt...

Now, I could see my old Dad, just a grinning.

Pay back time...!

DF

Good times! My story is very similar to yours. My RB started as a 7mm basket case I found at a garage sale for $25, a Numrich kit and some crude tools to fit it. After I filed the barrel so the action would close, the rim headspace was too short so a hand ground drill bit chucked in a hand drill was employed. Not pretty but it worked! I first tested mine out on a gallon pail of roofing tar in the back yard. An impressive shower of black goop resulted. The next time I mowed the lawn I had to stop twice to clean the tar off the mower blade.
I finished mine with a faux case colored finish that I read about in some magazine using a torch and tincture of Benzoin IIRC. In the early 80's I tore it down and sent the receiver in to Color Case Company for a real case color finish, added a vernier tang and globe front and reshaped the wood. Not a Shiloh, but I was pretty proud of it.

You took yours to a higher level, looks great.

To a Loony, especially a young and upcoming Loony, a project like that is raw meat to a junk yard dog...

DF

Did much the same as you did, DF, Started with a .43 Egyptian action, added new Treebone wood, new Badger barrel and Shiloh barrel sights. First summer I had it shootable, I went through 15 pounds of BP, 1500 primers and about 100 pounds of lead. Seems all I did that year was clean, prep, load, shoot . . . repeat. Lots of fun.

I had Dave Higginbotham do mine.....all 7 of them....

I would like to do a similar project. I was in contact with Higginbotham and was hoping to fund the project with a sale of something else. I wanted the 50-70 Custer model. I drug my feet too long and he passed before I could get my act together.
I still want to proceed but haven't investigated in another rolling block smith.
The donor rifle is a 7mm my father bought at Sears Roebuck in SF in the early 60's. It was just something to hang on the wall.
I am open to suggestions. Am not handy enough, nor equipped, to do any of the metal work myself.

Gorgeous rifles Sharps1874. And the other posters too!

Lou M

Them are some nice guns boys. Thanks for sharing the memories and pics.

Man, you rolling...!

Seriously, great guns, well done.

DF

Tell me 'bout that second one from the top. I've had a couple guys swear they didn't come with double set triggers. I owned one at one time. I've always wondered.

The story, as I heard it, was my ex gun was owned by an old lady who lived on the Oregon coast. My grandfather stopped to help her with something or other, a sea lion appeared out in the surf, and she let him take a whack at it with her late husband's old rolling block. I guess he hit it. When she died, it was gifted to him.

It came to me. My father made me sell it.

Tom

I had one of the Navy Arms (Pedersoli) RB's back in college - a .45-70. IIRC it had the 30" heavy barrel. I found a tang sight and front globe for it. I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, but had good eyesight. Shooting smokeless & jacketed bullets, I put 3 in 1 1/8" at 100 yards. Eventually I got bored with it, and sent it down the road.

Recently I saw Wtxj's swedish roller in .45-120. Dunno about the cartridge, but the finish and workmanship was very nice.