No 1 or 1 1/2 ?

[anticus]

Is this a No, 1 or 1 1/2 ? Recently acquired. it's chambered in.38-55

rb_rifle.jpg (23.42 KiB) Viewed 423 times

[anticus]

rbforestock.jpg (33.74 KiB) Viewed 422 times

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

Welcome to the Forum!

How thick is your action/frame? Typically, a No: 1 is around
1.32" thick where the No: 1-1/2 is 1.14" thick.

Cheers!
Webb

[anticus]

If you have tears, prepare to shed them now, cuz I did. Feel ill.
My rifle was delivered in this condition by Fedex . Spoke to the seller about filing a claim. here is the thing-I want to keep the rifle and get her repaired, maybe by Turnbull or someone else with the skill to do it right. Because otherwise the rifle is beautiful.The Roller of my dreams that has become a nightmare.

[marlinman93]

I always request sellers remove buttstocks from rifles before shipping them for this reason. It protects the stocks, but actually reduces shipping costs also by making the OAL shorter.
That stock can be repaired, and the repair will be perfect and you wont be able to ever see where it was broken. But there's only a couple people capable of doing that type of repair. Check out the Stock Doctor's site and pictures. His work isn't cheap, but you'll have the factory stock looking perfect again.

https://thestockdr.com/

I hope the shipper pays for the damage. I've had horrible results trying to get insurance claims paid, especially when the shippers try to blame poor packaging. Expect them to deny the claim, and you'll have to appeal at least once or twice, and then hope they pay up. Of course the seller has to do the claim, and hope he's persistent and doesn't just give up.
Fed Ex is the worst, but UPS and USPS aren't much better.

[marlinman93]

PS-Your Rolling Block is a #1, not a #1 1/2. The #1 has that stepped side on the receiver, where a #1 1/2 is a flat side receiver with no step. Your pictures show a #1 Mid-Range or Short-Range rifle.

[marlinman93]

Not sure how your claim is going, but I stumbled across this site for someone doing very nice stock work.

https://dutchmanwoodworks.com/

He has some pictures of stocks he's built copying originals that were broken, and might be another option for your rifle?

[anticus]

He's very good. I'll contact him and see what his price point is for repair or replacement. The choice between repair and replacement comes down to $$ and quality. The repair quote I got was $1700. Turnbull won't repair it due to liability concerns. They would charge me around $4K to replace the stock. If the repair/restoration is durable I'd prefer to do that, to keep the rifle as original as possible and less costly. I'm hoping Fedex steps up. If they don't, I will do what it takes to get the job done by someone with the skill. And I will never use Fedex.

[marlinman93]

I feel so bad that your gorgeous Rolling Block got damaged. The Stock Doctor does perfect work, and it will be like original when done, and also have the stock maker's stamp still, and serial number too.
I sure hope you can get the original fixed and not need a new stock.

[anticus]

Thanks, I hope he can work some magic for her. I did check with the Dutchman, but he is not taking new work. I'm glad Dennis is still in the game. So many of the skilled gun folks are hanging up their spurs.

[anticus]

The Stock Doctor is operating as we speak. Not sure how long it will take him to work his wizardry, but I'll resist bugging him about it. Hard to wait. In the meantime I'm checking out what references are available and sourcing some black powder ammunition. Marcot's book on the Rolling Block appears to be the bible and scripture on the subject but lordy it is pricey ! Maybe I can get a copy to read through inter-library loan.

[marlinman93]

It's really sad what has happened to these modern books as soon as they're all sold out. I bought my copy maybe a year after it came out as I've found they drop slightly after 6 months to a year. I think I paid $75 then, and it's well worth twice that. But now I see copies offered at $1000, and it just makes me mad to see profiteering by these sellers.
The .38-55 is easy to load for, and buying ammo isn't tough either. Your Rolling Block can easily shoot smokeless powder loads safely, but I'd buy ammo using cast lead bullets, not jacketed. All my Rolling Blocks get fired with smokeless loads I build unless it's a BPCR match requiring me to use BP.
If you don't reload then here's a site that finds ammo for you. If you stay with ammo listed as "Cowboy Action" it will be cast bullets, and lower pressures. But you need to slug your bore to get the groove diameter to be sure whatever ammo you buy has a bullet large enough to fill the grooves in your bore. If the bullets are too small it will lead up the bore and give poor accuracy, plus require some heavy cleaning to remove the lead.

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/38-55-winchester

Can't wait to see the end result of the repairs! The Stock Doctor's work is amazing!