Baby Rolling Block barrel issue

[superc_19]

I acquired a Remington Baby Rolling Block a few years ago at auction. It was initially a mystery gun to me because it had been 'sanitized' by someone. I Cerrosafed the chamber and that made me even more curious as the only cartridge that seemed to be a match was .444 Marlin, and I was pretty sure that couldn't be right. The casting was rough, but I didn't notice that right away. Further research revealed that .444 Marlin was based on the antique brass version of the .410 shotgun shell. And of course the frame was much smaller than the military .43 Spanish versions I was familiar with.
Since it seemed to be in basically good shape I made some black powder loads using .444 Marlin brass and .43 Spanish bullets and gave them a try. Immediately an extraction problem showed it's head. The cases needed to be pushed out with a ram rod. Their mouths were flared. Further examination showed a very rough chamber area by the throat. I tried some .44 Special cases loaded with black powder and while they work and extract smoothly, accuracy is poor. I attribute that to the long jump and dosie-doe a bullet must make in order to engage the rifling.
Then I found Mr. Layman's book and for the first time learned what I had.
One of the 'Baby' rolling block carbines made for the Army of Uruguay's cavalry. These guns were made in the white (i.e., no bluing) with a round 20" barrel chambered for .44-40 and a 2 position leaf sight with 300 and 500 yard apertures and a saddle ring. With further research I learned that when these carbines were surplussed by the Army of Uruguay all their chambers were reamed out to .410 shotshell size without removing the rifling. For really unknown reasons the army also polished off any identifying external inspection stamps and proofs.
I can't really tell if the rough chamber came from sloppy reaming or if someone fired ammunition with corrosive primers and simply didn't clean the chamber. The rifling is strong but dark. I think it is a shame as it looks like it would make a pretty handy little hunting rifle for the thick brush of the NE United States. I currently use an old Sharps .50-80 carbine or an MH artillery carbine (.577-450) when hunting deer, but this is a much lighter gun than either of those and of course is also faster to bring to firing position. If the barrel wall was thicker I would simply have it all sleeved to .45 Colt, but the walls are too thin for that. I considered having the gun sleeved to .357 Magnum, but I doubt the low-carbon steels Remington used back then would safely handle those pressures. Also of course then a different extractor would also be needed.
I guess what I am askinng is does anyone know of a source for a replacement .44-40 barrel for these? Does the Baby Rolling Block .44-40 carbine replica made by Pedersoli use the same barrel thread with the same barrel profile?

[marlinman93]

I doubt the Italians stuck to the same threads as Remington used, and finding an unmolested .44-40 barrel will likely be impossible. I think your best option is to get a .44 barrel blank and have it contoured and threaded to fit your action, and chamber it in .44-40. You'll have a good shooting rifle, and it will look good also. Be safer to use with new barrel steel and the .44-40 chamber.