1876 or 79 Hepburn

Topics related to Pre - 1898 Remington Rifles
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CandB2019
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:28 pm

1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by CandB2019 »

My son purchased this rifle and am looking for any information on it. Serial number is 3756.
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marlinman93
Posts: 379
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 10:47 pm

Re: 1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by marlinman93 »

Not 1876 since the Hepburn was patented in 1879, and first hit the Market in 1880 advertisements. Appears to be very evenly worn case colors, as the only place I see any left is under the lever. But beautiful anyway!
The lever is blued, which is unusual also. They were usually case colored, and that bluing looks so pristine it might have been blued later?
What caliber is it marked for on the bottom barrel just in front of the forearm tip?
Is the barrel full octagon, or half octagon?
CandB2019
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:28 pm

Re: 1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by CandB2019 »

I am still learning to navigate this forum so let me add a couple more pictures. It has a full octagon barrel and the caliber is 40 2 1/2. I think. My son and I are trying to figure out everything about it. Thank you for any help.
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marlinman93
Posts: 379
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 10:47 pm

Re: 1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by marlinman93 »

.40-2 1/2 would indicate the .40-70 Sharps Straight. It is a caliber I see more frequently in Hepburn rifles than almost any other. A really great caliber, and one I enjoy shooting. No ammo available today, and brass is a bit expensive, and hard to find. But if you reload it can be made from .405 Win brass with a bit of work forming and trimming.
I've got two in this caliber, and they shoot extremely well once the groove diameter is figured out, and the correct sized cast lead bullet used.

The 2nd gun down from the top is my .40-70SS with set triggers. Top is my .45-70 engraved Hepburn.

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This is my Hepburn Match B in .32-40 with 34" half octagon barrel.

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CandB2019
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:28 pm

Re: 1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by CandB2019 »

So you can't find ammo for this rifle? Also is there anyway to identify what year it is. I would like to know as much about it as possible. I don't know much about the older guns so this gun really has me interested. This is a rolling block action, correct?
marlinman93
Posts: 379
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 10:47 pm

Re: 1876 or 79 Hepburn

Post by marlinman93 »

No, you wont find factory ammo for this Hepburn. But you can find custom loaded ammo at Buffalo Arms Co. in both smokeless and black powder loads. It runs about $80 a box of 20 pcs.
It will require you or your son to reload for it if you plan to shoot it, and save some money. There are a couple sources of brass that is already formed, but a bit expensive. Buffalo Arms Co. sells the brass also, as does Rocky Mountain Cartridge Co.
If you post pictures of the rollstamp on top of the barrel, and tell us the serial number, we can get pretty close to determining when it was made. Most will fall into the 1880-1911. But most agree that the last built were likely around 1906, and those sold later were assembled from earlier parts. You can replace the last two digits of the serial number with x if you don't want to show it all here. If there is a letter in front of the number, be sure to add that too, as late guns used a prefix letter.
(Oops! I see the serial number is already listed. Just need the rollstamp info to confirm date)

Your son might also consider buying Tom Rowe's book, "Remington's No. 3 Hepburn". It can be found on various sites for around $120. and is a good source of general Hepburn information. Lots of great illustrations also.
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