[ScotZ]

I just picked up an rusty Remington Rolling Block rifle at a garage sale. It was actually made into a lamp. I freed the rifle from its terrible fate. I have cleaned and cleaned and actually got the the hammer,trigger and block in good working order. The rifling looks great. The wood stock has the # 534 stamped on it and what appears to be someones intials carved in the other side of the stock. After putting calipers on the barrel I believe it to be .430 caliber. From what I can find on the net these were exported by Remington. PLease enlighten me with any information you may have on theis rifle. It feels great against my shoulder. Very east to hold your aim.

 

[marysdad]

They are sturdy rifles that were darnnear soldier proof. They made roughly 1 million of these for about 50 different countries. Back then, almost every country wanted their own chambering, so there were probably 40 different chamberings, all in the .43-.45 caliber range. If you can post some clear pics and list all of the markings you can find, I'll try and narrow down what this one may be.

 

[ScotZ]

They are sturdy rifles that were darnnear soldier proof. They made roughly 1 million of these for about 50 different countries. Back then, almost every country wanted their own chambering, so there were probably 40 different chamberings, all in the .43-.45 caliber range. If you can post some clear pics and list all of the markings you can find, I'll try and narrow down what this one may be.

Thanks for your offer of help. I will take anythinhg I can get. The only markings on the gun that I could see were mentioned in my first post. The bluing (if there ever was any) is completely gone. I have many many many hours with gun oil and 0000 steel wool. I got the gun looking as good as I could. I will post a few pics that I have of before and after. Thats the best I can do. Are there any particular pics you would want me to take?

 

[ScotZ]

I am having trouble loading pics for some reason. Two pics exceed my limit

 

[marysdad]

Clear pics showing the rear sight and the front-most portion of the stock & muzzle would be good. Also an overall pic would be good. Also:

Carefully measure the barrel length.
What markings are on the rear sight (western numerals or Arabic)?
Does it have a bayonet bar on the side of the barrel?
If no bayonet bar, measure the outside diameter of the barrel an inch back from the muzzle with a caliper.

I dunno if we can identify it exactly with all of the original markings gone, but we can probably narrow it down some.

 

[ScotZ]

Clear pics showing the rear sight and the front-most portion of the stock & muzzle would be good. Also an overall pic would be good. Also:

Carefully measure the barrel length. including chamber 35", not including chamber 33 1/2 "

What markings are on the rear sight (western numerals or Arabic)? The only marking that is on the rear sight is a zero (western?)

Does it have a bayonet bar on the side of the barrel? Yes

If no bayonet bar, measure the outside diameter of the barrel an inch back from the muzzle with a caliper.

I dunno if we can identify it exactly with all of the original markings gone, but we can probably narrow it down some.

Thank you for your time and effort

 

[marysdad]

Your rifle is from the Egyptian contract. Only the Argentine, Danish, Egyptian, and Spanish Civil Guard rolling block rifles are documented to have used a saber bayonet (which required the bayonet bar). The others all used a socket bayonet that engaged with the front sight base. We can rule out Argentine, because they had an octagonal barrel section near the receiver (yours is round). The barrel length on yours is also consistent with the Egyptian contract (Argies and Danes had 34 inch tubes). Spanish Civil Guard RB rifles are pretty scarce, so I feel safe that yours is Egyptian.

There were actually two production runs of the Egyptian contract. The initial batch was produced in 1869-70 (the Egyptian nomenclature designates the rolling block as the M1867). France saw war with the Prussians coming and was desperate for weapons, so arranged for Egypt to default on their contract so Remington could ship the rifles to France in time to serve in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Remington subsequently produced another run of Egyptian rifles, for Egypt, which was completed by about 1875. The bayonet used with the Egyptian rifles was a clone of the French M1866 Chassepot design. You can see pics of an Egyptian M1867 bayonet by clicking on this link to the Egypt Page of my bayonet site.

Egyptian rolling block rifles were imported to the USA in large quantities during the 1960s and sold very cheaply into the early 1980s. Most were in appalling condition, having seen a great deal of service. The Egyptian rifles probably saw more combat than any other rolling block, even more than the Spanish rifles.

 

[matt g]

I am having trouble loading pics for some reason. Two pics exceed my limit

Lemme know what you need Scot. Email anything you want posted to me over at JF and I'll get it up over here for you.

 

[ScotZ]

Lemme know what you need Scot. Email anything you want posted to me over at JF and I'll get it up over here for you.

Thanks Matt. I am going to upload a few pics of the front of the barrel and the rear sights. If I have any trouble ,I will let you know...Thanks again

 

[ScotZ]

Pics of the bayonet lug,rear sight and hammer and block... Well its up to you Matt.

 

[ScotZ]

One more try! No extra charge for the feet pic

 

[marysdad]

The rear sight is also consistent with the Egyptian contract. The rear sights on the Argie and Dane were both drastically different. The chambering should be .43 Egyptian.

It would be a good idea to have it checked out by someone who knows RB rifles, before shooting it. Perhaps someone who knows the mechanics will chime in re how to determine whether the breechblock and action are within spec for shooting. If you don't get a response here, you may also want to post on the gunboards, surplusrifle, or mausercentral forums. They get a bit more traffic and focus more on the old stuff.

Your rifle was probably purchased from Sarco in the 1970s, already modded into a lamp. They had a bunch of beater Egyptian RB's, back then, that weren't selling very well. That said, yours seems salvageable if the bore is OK. The quality of manufacture was quite high on these rifles. The action can likely be repaired if the breechblock is too loose in its present condition.

 

[cpttango30]

Them are nice socks where did you get them?

 

[ScotZ]

Them are nice socks where did you get them?

Bass Pro socks... Lifetime warrenty. Anytime you get a hole in them just return them for a new pair. I am diabetic. They about all I wear all year long. I go through about 3 pair a year. Its a "no questions ask" exchange when you return them for new ones

 

[ScotZ]

The rear sight is also consistent with the Egyptian contract. The rear sights on the Argie and Dane were both drastically different. The chambering should be .43 Egyptian.

It would be a good idea to have it checked out by someone who knows RB rifles, before shooting it. Perhaps someone who knows the mechanics will chime in re how to determine whether the breechblock and action are within spec for shooting. If you don't get a response here, you may also want to post on the gunboards, surplusrifle, or mausercentral forums. They get a bit more traffic and focus more on the old stuff.

Your rifle was probably purchased from Sarco in the 1970s, already modded into a lamp. They had a bunch of beater Egyptian RB's, back then, that weren't selling very well. That said, yours seems salvageable if the bore is OK. The quality of manufacture was quite high on these rifles. The action can likely be repaired if the breechblock is too loose in its present condition.

I found out from the original owner of the lamp that it was purchased in the early fifties from Smith Furniture in Cincinnati Ohio. Small small world huh!