Rolling Block Shotgun

[ruzickaa]

Folks, I was given this shotgun and I want to learn more about it so I can maybe make some cartridges and shoot it.

Looks to be a number 5 with a Firing Pin Retractor,

Firing pin is quite short and doesn't look like the hammer would touch it.

Research shows that it is a 16 ga paper cartridge of 20 ga brass.

Upper and lower tang reads 1214.

Some questions:

Best reference to operate a rolling block shotgun?

Date of manufacture?

Do I have the correct firing pin?

Is my assumption of a model 5 correct?

Any and all operations guidance would be appreciated.

[dieNusse1]

I'm not sure what you mean by "16 ga paper cartridge of 20 ga brass". Any 16 ga case should work whether paper or plastic. 100% brass cases are also available. I use brass cases with my 12 ga SxS guns when loading black powder.

I don't know if the gun is suitable for smokeless powder. If not, BP can be loaded. The rule of thumb for loading BP is EQUAL VOLUMS of shot and powder

[Researcher]

Research shows that it is a 16 ga paper cartridge of 20 ga brass.

Backwards. The earliest guns were chambered for a 16B brass shell with Draper primer and came with one. Later they were chambered for the 16B brass shell and would also take a 20-gauge paper shell. By the 1880s they were just listed as being 20-gauge.

See Mike Alsop's article on the rolling-block shotguns in the 4th Quarter 2020 The Remington Collector's Journal and his follow-up article in the 4th Quarter 2021 The Remington Collector's Journal

[ruzickaa]

Folks, can't seem to fit the 16 ga in the chamber, however the 20 ga brass case fits very well.

With SN 1274, does anyone have a idea of the date and type of rolling block?

[Cole]

Researcher:
Your reference to Alsop's Q4 2020 and Q4 2021 articles- RSA Journals don't seem to be available for 2018-2023?
Thank you

[malsop]

Cole


The RSA Collectors journal are not available online through our RSA website. The Q4 2020 & Q4 2021 journals are available through the RSA. You can email Rich Shepler at Sec-treas@remingtonsociety.org or by mail at Remington Society of America, PO Box 269, Duck River TN 38454.


I noticed another post about not fitting a 16 gauge brass shell into the rolling block shotgun. The main misconception everyone seems to make with the Remington Rolling Block Shotgun is the correct shell size. Let me see if I can clear the air on this topic.

When Remington introduced the rolling block shotgun it was specifically listed as using a 16B brass shell (not a 16A brass shell) or 20 gauge paper shell. The brass shells had different sizes within each gauge and was designated with a letter suffix. Hence the 16B & 16A! This is the notable difference that most collectors miss and causes the most confusion.

Mike Alsop
President
Remington Society of America