No 4 Take Down .32 Cal Rimfire - Year made ?

[DoctorBill]

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I just acquired a Number 4 Remington .32 Caliber "Take Down" rolling block for $250.



It is in good shape - I have it all cleaned up. Good rifling.

It has the following ID on the barrel underneath the Forend Stock. (picture).

It had hard Black Enamel under the forend Stock - all worn off elsewhere.



There is the usual "Remington Arms Co. Ilion. NY. USA" on the upper part
of the Octagonal Barrel just in front of the rear dovetail sight.


Can anyone tell me WHEN this rifle was made (in the USA) ?


DoctorBill

[marlinman93]

I'd need more info to determine when it was built. A picture of the takedown knob or lever, and the serial number with last two digits as X's. Also the rollstamp markings on the left side of the receiver.
They made so many changes to the #4 that it's tough to say without all this info. John Gyde's book has fantastic info on the #4 variations, and once I have more info I can look it up.

[DoctorBill]

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First off, there is NO SERIAL NUMBER on this rifle - other that the one shown in the second Photo.

I have looked over every square inch of the rifle - NO serial number anywhere.

Here is the Receiver with the Barrel Out:


The Camera picks up EVERY fleck of dust !

Here are two views of the Take-Down Lever:


Once again - there is no Serial Number other than the (dot) A 2 on the underside of the barrel
near the receiver end.....no "rollstamp" numbers on the receiver.

Here is Ken Womack's comment -
"The key to dating is the exact lettering.
Rigid frames were made from 1890 to 1901, lever takedowns span 1902 to 1925. These can be further bracketed by the name of the company stamped on the metal.
Round barrel take down with knurled head takedown screw 1925 to 1933.
Regards,
Kenn"

DoctorBill

[marlinman93]

On #4's with a serial number, it was on the underside of the barrel, just in front of the forearm. If yours doesn't have one there, it might have been missed somehow? Or it's so faint that it's very hard to see, or worn off?
The lever takedowns were 1900-1924. The top tang marking was eliminated before serial number 225,000 but since you don't see a serial number, it's a moot point. But before it was eliminated it was "REMINGTON ARMS CO." and below that "ILION N.Y. USA"
Without a serial number there's no way to narrow it down in the 1900-1924 range for lever takedowns.

[DoctorBill]

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I cannot see any number just in front of the forarm wood, so I took a Jeweler's Loupe
to it. YES - there IS something there very faint and spotty. Whatever is there
was not stamped very deeply at all ! A lot of scratches are there....

I will attempt some Photographic "Abby Sciuto" ala "NCIS" magic with my Digital Camera
and "Paint.net" (like PhotoShop) manipulations......

I'll be back......

DoctorBill

[DoctorBill]

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Here are the first attempts to photograph the scratched out Serial Numbers.

I am trying light at various angles and manipulating color, saturation, contrast
and sharpening (focus). 10x Close Up Lens. LUMIX Camera - More to come - I hope.

The Razor Blade is to help FOCUS the Camera.....







Here the Aluminum Sharpie 'dot' is again for focusing - Different Camera and
a Jeweler's Loupe in front of the lens.





Can YOU read those numbers ?

DoctorBill

[marlinman93]

No, I can't make them out, so likely can't help narrow down to a certain year(s). I can tell you the #4 had it's own serial number range, and there shouldn't be any with a serial number over around 360,000 range.
There were 150,000 solid frames built between 1890-1900, 170,000 lever takedowns between 1900-1924, and 40,000 screw takedowns between1924-1933.

[DoctorBill]

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I just found this YouTube Video on retrieving Scratched Out Serial Numbers....

I may try it !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld4hJmxP9Zk

No reason not to....

Copper Sulphate is sold as a Root Killer in Garden Supply places (Lowe's)
Muriatic Acid (Technical grade Hydrochloric Acid) is sold in Hardware Stores (Lowe's).

Hydrochloric Acid (be careful) is a good Rust and Bluing Remover.
Mixed with High Nitrate fertilizer and you get "Aqua Regia" which dissolves Gold and Silver.

DoctorBill

[Jmduval1]

The first two numbers that you came up with (6,2), Is most likely 32for the caliber, then most likely a 3 and not a 8 as serial numbers didn’t go that high. Mine is 32 J231306, looking for a date on mine as well