Unknown RB ID Help

[Kevinofborg]

I am looking at an unknown RB at a LGS and looking at my copy of The All New Collector's Guide to Remington Rolling Block Military Rifles of the World by George Layman I am not sure what it is.

What I see:
Three Line Address starting E. Remington..
Flat-based breechblock
Rotary Extractor
Type 3 or 4 Action with Mortices
Rear sight with V 6-7-8-9-10 looking from top 2-3-4 from the side Slider missing
Long Saber bayonet lug (one side only has any lug)
No Egyptian writing I can see.
B on barrel

Not sure if it is unmarked Egyptian or third contract Spain or something else.

Bore is dark but with what looks to be G-VG- rifling. priced at $750.

Any help?

Thanks,

Kevin (First time poster)

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

I'm not an "expert" but I can tell you that it has
a type 4 action (made prior to 1886).

The rear sight is missing the slider but it appears to
be a more-or-less typical Remington rear sight. It
would help to know the barrel length and caliber.

Can you make a chamber cast? It isn't hard to do.
You just have to get some Cerrosafe (or similar low
melting point metal). Low melting point casting alloy
can be bought from many different vendors (like Amazon
but you can get a better price from places like RotoMetal).

Also, a 3ft. long 3/8" diameter dowel rod is good for
knocking the chamber cast out after it cools and solidifies.
Just don't let it sit in there for too long. After 12 to 24
hours, Cerrosafe will start to expand a little and will become
stuck in the chamber (but it is easy to melt it out).

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

[Kevinofborg]

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry the barrel length is about 35 inches. Is listed as .43 Spanish but he said it could be .43 Egyptian as he just mic'ed it.

Cannot do the chamber cast as I do not own it yet it is on hold for me pending more research on my part.

BTW has cleaning rod that is wrong type (maybe for a mauser)

Thanks,
Kevin

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

There is a lot of difference between the .43 Spanish
and the .43 Egyptian. Probably the easiest way to
check (without a chamber cast) is to measure the
rim cut-out diameter and the chamber diameter at
the breech. From my Barnes Cartridges of the World
(11th Ed.), .43 Spanish has a rim diameter of .635"
and a base diameter of .516" whereas the .43 Egyptian
has a rim of .668" and a base of .581".

As one can see, the .43 Egyptian is about 1/32" larger
in the rim and about 1/16" larger in base diameter.
So if the seller has done some measurements, you can
compare them to the sizes above to determine the
correct cambering.

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

[Kevinofborg]

Looks like .521 and .634 so .43 Spanish

So did some of the Spanish contracts also have the three line that starts with a E. Remington...?

So I need to ask myself if $811.88 after taxes is a fair price or not but it seems high.

Thanks,
Kevin

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

It would be hard to say about value without
more information. Having said that, I seems
to me to be at the higher end of the range.

I have a RB very similar to yours (except mine
doesn't have the saber bayonet mount).
It also has the type 4 receiver with the 3 line
patent dates starting with E. Remington & Sons ...
Barrel length on mine is 35-1/4". The "Spanish"
model was Remington's most popular Military rolling
block and was sold to many different customers and
without some other markings to help identify the
country that ordered it, it can be next to impossible
to know for sure.

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

[Kevinofborg]

Thanks for all the help...I passed on it due to price.