43 Spanish Remington Rolling Block arriving in a few days, my first

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  • Last Post 04 August 2014
corerf posted this 31 March 2011

I have procured an Argentine Remington RB in 43 Spanish and from the distant looks of it (not in my possession yet) has not been molested by the Reformado nor any other human, in any other way.

It looks like it might be one of those rare prior in cosmolene-sold in the 50's and 60's as new that was never issued, fired a few times and dumped into storage until  some lucky guy find the deal of a lifetime from a person who dumps it from an estate and has no idea and cares NOT. It has been in storage for 20+ years where it resides now. I should have it in 5-10 days. Cha-ching!

My desire was to embark on a gunsmithing education course for a second revenue stream and as well, add a rebarrel to the RB as one of the projects. What has curtailed that is the bore is supposedly minty, the original bluing is present and I can't molest a valid firearm. And so I will need to shoot it as a BP 43 Spaniard. I know well the costs of such shooting, cases in the $4 each range by the time you fire a shot. Custom mold, expensive dies, etc, etc.

What I need some advice on is this:

The chambers are wildly variable so I have learned. I will chamber cast as soon as the chamber is clean. I will be seeking advice based on the measurements and pictures on how to address the potentially bottomless throat and a inevitable headspace issue that will arise through the use of current brass.

Or course it is hypothetical at this stage. Until the chamber has been cast and bore slugged, it is all a dream.

My desire is possibly to remove the barrel and set it back up to 2 turns. Not sure of the possiblity of doing so, remember I am not a gunsmith. It has the octagonal breech end. I am wondering if it is set back 2 turns, will that allow me to face off the breech and correct the headspace issues generated by the 348 win brass (parent) rims (with a modified extractor to compensate for the thinner rim) and cut forward or remove some of the inevitable throat use/abuse/miscut and potentially ream the neck a few thou larger to allow a fatter bullet to seat in case without sticking the neck. I understand that most throats are small, necks crooked, etc... Id like a goof bullet fit and if the throat is huge, then I need a fatter bullet!

Yep, asking alot in that one question. Last is will I ever be able to align the sights again perpendicular to the receiver sidewalls with any accuracy? After setback, I have to test fit the barrel to verify I have cut enough back to get the sights stay on top of the barrel where they should be.

Well that wasn't last.

Anybody shoot 43 Spanish as BPCR?? I will ONLY shoot BP with the gun, thats why I bought  it. I' rather have a 45-70 or 90 or 44-77crossno but for the minor cost to acquire the gun (WHAT A DEAL I GOT), it's not getting tweaked into some other form till I sell it or my kids get stupid with it. I know I CANT compete in BPCR with it but when I grow up, I would like to do the full BPCR project gun just for sil. shooting.

So anyway, any feedback or experience with similar situations and maybe some 43 Spanish tips would be helpful. I already know that sending it off for conversion is likely to be less expensive over the life of the gun. I will not do that to the gun, it is too clean and perfect and original and did I say perfect and original and the find of a lifetime.....

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Mike

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giorgio de galleani posted this 03 April 2011

Me too!

I have found a near mint  Modelo Argentino like yours,shot it with a taller front sight made of wax,and made a reasonably decent group at 50 meters.

I have sent it to a gunsmith to have him mount a peep tang sight and a Lyman target front sight,as I am not able to see the issue sights.

I have found everythig at wolf tracks,not exactly cheap but affordable.

A wellmade manual,Lee dies,a Lyman mould,sizer ,shell holder and case expander.

I repeat ,using a makeshift front sight,old eyes and about 11 grains of Green Box Rex smokeless I had a promising group at 50 meters.Not to mention the horrible trigger.

The gun is now at Turin,in th smit's shop,but I'll send you a picture as soon as I lay me hands on it.

Warning ,you will cetainly know we have an ancient piece,a weak acion, that when the hammer is cocked the action is NOT bolted.

A protruding or frozen firing pin can shoot the gun out of battery.Do  not lighten too much the trigger.

I am afraid you are to use your measures in your rifle ,it's an ancient piece.,they may not be uniform.

The good news is that wth the standard available components,a near mint rifle shoots great.This is the reason I decided to pt on peep sights.It is shooting better than a trapdoor I had long ago.

But we can always do better.......................

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corerf posted this 03 April 2011

Giorgio,

So far the seller has backed out/ flaked out. So I am going to buy two for the same price from a well know dealer here in the US but one will now be in 12.7x44R or RF. I will have to possibly convert to centerfire but I expect that to be the least of my worries. I will also have to ream it with a 50-70 or 50-90 finish reamer to make brass work that is readily available.

I am pretty pissed that the guy is backing out. But I guess I counted my chicken before they hatched!

The second one will be for a full rebarrel project.

Giorgio, I may still end up with a 43 spanish. I am excited to hear how well a minty one shoots.

Please keep in touch with your results and if you do any BP shooting with it.

Who' brass are you using??

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Daryl S posted this 04 April 2011

I had a .43 Mauser - model 71/76 with the .457” groove diameter & 20” twist, not like the older 71/86 with .446” groove.

When I got it, .43 brass was not available, so I re-chambered it to .450 Alaskan which uses blown-out .348 brass - more easily procurable.

Shoots great with BP or smokeless powders.

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giorgio de galleani posted this 04 April 2011

Here are some cases of the 43 Spanish.

I think the ones made fro 348 brass are from the track of the wolf, the others marked MDS I found in Italy and I think Ican investigate on their origin.

The american brass have been bent on the rim to get a thicker rim ,while the MDS

have a thicker rim.

Please give me some  time and I'll have more news on this interesting rifle,with very good barrel.. 

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RicinYakima posted this 28 September 2013

So now I have a 43 Spanish Rolling Block and need to know how all this turned out two years ago? Ric

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32ideal posted this 28 September 2013

Yes please I'd like some updates & details on loading and different moulds, I traded for a cut down 43 Spanish rolling block last week, it came with a set of Lee dies and 10 Bertram cases.

I prefer shooting black but some smokeless loads would be good also!

 

Thanks for the info

32ideal

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giorgio de galleani posted this 28 September 2013

I have got an LBT 4 cavity mold , with a flat nose.

I would like to trade the Lyman single cavity mold You can see in the picture..

I would like a generous quantity of old gun magazines, except the Amercan Rifleman & the Fouling shot that I read online..

I shot the rifle once again , from offhand , standing , ringing often my 60 yards gong.

The LBT bullets shoot reliabily , and I like them better than the old Lyman roundnoses.

The rifle is too much  muzzle heavy for me , because I am an old cripple, I prefer  short rifles , as a 45/70 Ruger N°3. or the various Marlin leveractions.

Now we are on the eve of the boar season ,ending around Christmas, in the next year I'll go to a range with confortable benches and shoot again the rolling block.

The 43 Spanish brass has a  kind of small shoulder  and apparentlt they headspace there instead of headspacing on the rim.

 

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giorgio de galleani posted this 29 September 2013

More pictures of 43 Spanish items.

The bullet is a 440  -  375 LFN  by Veral Smith of LBT.

The brass is Bertram , formed 348 win and HDS

 

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RicinYakima posted this 29 September 2013

Thank you for the replies. I also have those three types of brass. Hopefully, next week I will get to shoot the rifle. Ric

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32ideal posted this 30 September 2013

After much searching I found this 360gr 44/77 #44-360L design bullet on Accurate Moulds site http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=9>http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=9, I think this winter I will have one cut to fit my rifle for use with black powder, probably .440-.441” base band dia, and the bore ride at .331-.332” using 20:1 alloy. It should hold enough lube for BP and make a decent target and hunting bullet.

32ideal

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RicinYakima posted this 09 October 2013

Shot the 43 Spanish RB today with my loads, Lyman #439186, 20/1, sized .439” with 23.5 grains of SR4759. Seems to be a good load 2 1/2 inches at 100 for 10 shots. Got the sights close enough to keep on the target, but they need work to center. Will let you know as things progress. Ric

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RicinYakima posted this 21 October 2013

Progress is being made, but slowly. Lots of things happen with family this fall. Bore is .441” and the fired case mouth is that size as is the bullet as cast. It is better to be lucky than good! So I am dip lubing the bullets, 1 in 25 alloy, with leftover black powder lube. Best powder charge for loading so far is 25.0 of SR4759 and groups keep shrinking (down to about 1 1/2” for 10 shots at 100 yards) as velocity goes up. This is the best shooting antique rifle I have ever had.

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RDUPRAZ posted this 21 October 2013

OH! OH!

Why do I get visions of another Big Bore on the line?

RD

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RicinYakima posted this 21 October 2013

RD,

Only if the light is always from behind, with the sun at least 45 degrees above the horizion! Typical RB sights, pointed cone on front and narrowal V on the rear. Ten shots are about my most for a day, just old sick eyes.

Ric

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locksmith1 posted this 04 August 2014

My 1879 .43 Shoots 2” groups with a Bushnel 2.5 power pistol scope. The load is 30.0 grs of 4198, Lyman cast bullet with shot shell buffer. No need for me to look for a better load as I am just plinking with it.

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