Husqvarna Remington Rolling Block bbl'd in 45-70

[oscarflytyer]

Traded for a Husqvarna Remington Rolling Block bbl'd in 45-70 at this weekend's show.. Think it is the 1867 model, with an 1871 date on the receiver. Have to ask again who the barrel was made by. Heavy round bbl about 1-1 1/8" dia. Nice tang mounted vernier sight and globe front sight (also need to figure the make, as well as replace a screw). Bbl is 24-25" long. Nice feathered piece of light walnut stocks.

Haven't slugged the bbl and probably won't if it will shoot what I already have cast and loaded. Have the Lee 405 grn RN HB (.460) and also two Ranch Dog molds that should drop .459-.460, one a 300-310 grn and other a 35-360 grn. Haven't cast with them yet.

Totally new to this aspect of the game. Any insight is appreciated. I am already shooting the 405 HB in my Marlin 1895 w/ a very low end Trapdoor load (Waters Pet Loads/38.5 grn of IMR 3031). Going to start with that one. Maybe up the powder a tad. And load some Trapdoor pressure loads with the 350/360. If either of them shoot well, prob be done with load search and just shoot. Thanx

 

[Pistolero]

Keep loads pretty conservative. A case failure will blow a RB to smithereens. The gas
control is extremely poor, pushes the sides out, the pins pop and the block and hammer
are free to go on their own ways. Not weak, but make sure your brass is good and
pressures reasonable. I have a number of them, love them and have had superb
results with my old #5 in 7x57. Not as successful in the little fiddling I have done with one
in .43 Spanish - brass is expensive and hard to get, bore size is odd, too. The 50-70
is similar age to yours, have only shot black in it, with moderate success. Got a new
HB mold for it, have not yet tried it.

My #4 in .22 LR is a pure tack driver, has taken some squirrels with even my bad
old eyes.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Are you certain that it is chambered for .45-70? I was once offered a really nice RB "in .45-70" which turned out
to be some "almost the same" Euro caliber which wasn't too safe with .45-70, although it would fire successfully.
I didn't know any better at the time, came very close to purchasing it, but something seemed a bit wrong, so passed.

Turns out that the cartridges are very similar but not safely interchangeable - I forget the exact details. Just be
aware that if it is an original military barrel, it may be something not quite .45-70. Sounds like
it is not an original military barrel, even a recontoured one, so should be OK.

Here is my .50-70, pretty much a contemporary of yours.

 

[RicinYakima]

They can turn out to be very handsome rifles, as my 50/70 Mexican model. Redone in the style of Carlos Gove.

 

[Missionary]

Good morning
Have several 43 Spanish. None have the same groove diameter but all are over .442.
Many old loadings were paper patched so the diameter was .442.
Our best results came when we got a .446 RCBS mold (Egyptian). That filled the groove. For BP we size down to .442 and get 3 inches at 100 yards with a tang sight.
Smokeless we use the largest diameter that will chamber. All BP is cast with 40-1. The smokeless we use range scrap and 5477 to the same velocity a case of 2F Goex produces. Have used 3F Goex also and that will pick up near 100 fps. Burns far cleaner.

 

[Creeker]

I've shot a bit of low pressure 45-70 loads & 5744 is your friend.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Mine has a replacement bbl, so not an original 'almost' 45-70. I am aware of that one!

 

[oscarflytyer]

Some pics

 

[RicinYakima]

Nice rifle!!

 

[Pistolero]

Fancy dress up clothes for the old girl! Nice.
For moderate loads start with about 12 gr Unique and go up to around 15 or so with any cast projectile.
IME, Unique solves many problems with cast in .45-70 for mild loads.

Bill

 

[oscarflytyer]

Thanx Ric/Bill. She did clean up and dress up well!

Bill - pressure wise, will the std low end Trapdoor loads work in these rifle/action. It is very tight.

Loads at/below say, 20K cup? 15 grn Unique/38-38.5 grn IMR-3031 w/ 350-405 grn/24 grn 2400 w/ 350-400 grn, for example. Would like 5744, but can't find it around here...

 

[RicinYakima]

12 grains of Unique is about the least that you want to load without some experience with that rifle. Pressure is low, if you have a sloppy chamber, it can stick a bullet. BUT it is very accurate if you tip the barrel up before the shot. 13 will always get the bullet out the barrel. 24 grains of A2400 is a great match load with the 400 grain bullets.

My thoughts are that the RB is safe with any Trapdoor load, provided headspace is OK and action tight. One of the things not often written is that you want to make sure you have enough pressure in the case to expand it onto the chamber walls. With black it is never a problem, but with light smokeless load you can have gas leaking around the case. When it hits the block it can do bad things like cracking the caseharden screws and frame. Be like Goldilocks, not too light, not too heavy, but just right.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Thanx again Ric. I was looking at Alliant 2400, but I think the pressures are about the same. And this action is VERY tight. zero block wobble, and you have to get behind the hammer to get the second click!

I am not certain about the chamber. My reload that use in the Marlin 1895 fell right in. That would indicate, based on what you say, that I want to be more careful with lowest pressure loads. Never experienced it, but have read a ton and know what problems they can cause.

And probably going to go ahead and bite the bullet and order some 5744.

 

[Ian]

Might look at partial-sizing brass for it, too. Just enough to hold the bullet, but not so much to shrink the case down so it rattles around in the chamber. I do that for all my SS rifles, particularly the 45/90 WCF, where I stop about 1/2" shy of FL sizing and get a perfect fit and bullet tension.

 

[Brad]

24 gr of 2400 is my go to load with a 420 gr bullet in 45-70. I'm shooting a Marlin and not a RB but it is an excellent load.

 

[Chris]

I second the loads above, 24 of 2400 and 12-14 of Unique. Very accurate and will kill deer dead. I am told that Unique 14-15 grains and a 405 about duplicates the US Cavalry load.

 

[freebullet]

Congratulations and I want one.

 

[Bret4207]

I've had an on and off love affair with RB since I was a wee lad. One of my first "real" deer rifles was a 7x57 with a cut down barrel about 18" long. Dear Lord, that was so LOUD!!! back in the pre-ear muff days. I really fell for the little #4's. Just adore that design. What I wish they'd made was something scaled to a 32-20/25-20 with a decent trigger. What a woods rifle that would be!

I've handled, and I believe sold a couple, of those Husky RB's back in the early 80's. My memory says there was an importer sticking a 45-70 barrel on some for a while (Navy Arms???) back in the "Buffalo Rifle" craze days. The Husky was considered a pretty good make of RB and the few I saw were in outstanding shape.

 

[Pistolero]

A favorite rifle.

 

[Pistolero]

Again, don't think that the RBs are fragile, they are pretty strong actions, but they cannot deal with gas from
a ruptured case well. IMO, this just means to use good brass. If you have some that is getting
incipient head separation, this isn't the action to fire it in. I fire factory 7x57 in my No. 5, and it is
fine. Any Trapdoor level loads should be fine,as long as the brass is sound.

Bill