Gunsmithing a Remington #4 Roller

[jnyork]

A friend has a little Remington #4 Rolling Block in .32 rimfire, has no collector value due to condition. He is thinking of getting it running as a .22 LR.

First, who is the best gunsmith you know of that could reline the barrel for him?

Second, what other factors would be involved here, such as firing pin, extractor, etc?

All information greatly appreciated.

[EdinCT]

Taylor Machine or Randall Redman have very good reps for liners. I started with a model 4 Remington and what a boys rifle they are.

[firefuzz]

Denis Weigert of County Line Gun Repair is one of the best I've ever seen on rolling blocks and Sharps. He's good, but overloaded, a one man shop. PM for phone number. He's re-stocking and bluing a Danish Rolling block for me right now.

Rob

[Pete44ru]

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Food for thought:

FWIW - I had a .32 solid-frame #4 roller that I converted fairly simply to fire commercially-available (Winchester makes 2-3 runs per year) .32 Short Colt CF cartridges.

I marked the breechblock's center via dropping a black Sharpie downbore, then removed the breechblock & RF firing pin for the work.

First, I ground the RF pin off the FP body (flat) & reinstalled it in the breechblock.

I drilled the center hole from the face of the breechblock into the FP tunnel with a small drillbit - making sure it made a divot in the now flat FP face.

I removed the FP & drilled it's face 1/8" deep @ the mark/divot with the same drillbit.

I ground the shank of the same (now sacrificial) drillbit to act as the new CF firing pin tip (overly long).

I then re-installed the "new" CF firing pin into the breechblock & adjusted (filed) it's tip to the correct protrusion.

Done. (I wouldn't recommend such for a takedown version)


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[Sixgun]

I don't think it's worth the trouble. Even the .22 roller has to be shot with low pressure ammo. I had one and did not believe what I read until I shot it with high vel ammo. The rim burst and sent a mess of gas in my face.

I think it's better to use the bucks for a good one as it's not cheap to have it relined. That job costs more than the gun is worth and that's before the work that needs to be done to the breech

Now, Pete's idea sounds viable. He did it himself so there's not many bucks involved. That would be worth a try and if it don't work, you can get a hundred for the gun at a buy back program.----6

[Pete44ru]

Now, Pete's idea sounds viable. He did it himself so there's not many bucks involved.

You got that right, 6 ............... $2.39 for the drillbit (I already had the Sharpie ) .

The conversion shot good, even though the bore looked like a sewerpipe from corrosive ammo of the day (1902-ish) - so good that I had two fellow gunclub members beat me down until I sold it to one of them.

(They were all over me - like stink on a hog)



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[Don McDowell]

A friend has a little Remington #4 Rolling Block in .32 rimfire, has no collector value due to condition. He is thinking of getting it running as a .22 LR.

First, who is the best gunsmith you know of that could reline the barrel for him?

Second, what other factors would be involved here, such as firing pin, extractor, etc?

All information greatly appreciated.

Best bet and closest to you would be to contact Greg Cameron (five two zero 803-0607) over in Sierra Vista. He's built/rebuilt rollers and others into quite workable and very competitive rifles, and is a good hand with just getting those old ones back into condition to run.

[7.62 Precision]

Alternately, you could use these: http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_in ... ts_id=8155

Pete's solution is still the most elegant.

[jdad]

John Taylor machined a new breech block for me several years ago, for a Stevens project. I think it cost around $75.

[FatJackDurham]

I don't recall if you could slide a liner into a .32 bore without drilling. My friend who is a gunsmith did something similar with a steven's. If so, you could put a spent .22 in there and fire it to see where the mark landed. Might not need to adjust the breech block. Then you could decided whether solder or adhere it in and do it all your self.

I used Boses in Nebraska to reline my stevens. But it was already a .22. Nice job though.

[ndnchf]

I've got two #4s, one in .22 the other a .32. The .22 was shot out and I had Redmans reline it over 20 years ago. Its a tackdriver. The .32 I converted to centerfire many years ago, basically the same way described above. Its a pretty simple job.



It shoots .32 long colt very well. Bullets, molds, brass and dies are available. Despite a somewhat pitted bore, it shoots under 1.5" at 50 yards when I do my part.

The reloable rimfire brass from Dixie is another good option, but they may requiring reaming to seat the heeled bullet.

The bottom line is this - don't disregard the .32 rimfire rilfes. They are a lot of fun to load and shoot and there are several ways to get them shooting. Lastly, they don't need an excellent bore to shoot well.

[Pete44ru]

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Kudos, on closing up the RF firing pin hole in the breechblock - I didn't bother, so I could install another RF firing pin if/when someone like Navy Arms made up a batch of .32RF again. (I'm a dreamer)


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[ndnchf]

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Kudos, on closing up the RF firing pin hole in the breechblock - I didn't bother, so I could install another RF firing pin if/when someone like Navy Arms made up a batch of .32RF again. (I'm a dreamer)


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I've never tried that ammo, but from what I've heard it was not very good anyway. I've been thinking about getting another .32 rimfire, maybe a #2 rolling block. As kind of an experiment I drilled out one of my .32 Long Colt cases to accept a .27 caliber ramset (used in nail guns). With the powder dumped out and used as a blank (similar to the Dixie cases), its another way to make usable, reloadable rimfire ammo.





I tested fitted it into my centerfire #4 and it seems fine and headspaces properly. Now if I had your unplugged block and rimfire pin I could test it, but alas I don't. But I think it will work.



Here's a pic off the net of the same basic set up, but using factory made blanks instead of emptied Ramsets. Essentially the same thing.

[Pete44ru]

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It's nice to have a lathe - and know how to use it ................... (sigh) .




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[Mescalero]

Yes,
It is.

[ndnchf]

Well, I'm no machinist - far from it. I'm just an old time gun crank who has accumulated a few tools to further enjoy my hobby. The lathe is an old Atlas/Craftsman 12x24. Nothing big, but handy for many small chores like this. But making cartridges like this could be done in a drill press by clamping the case betweeen 2 blocks of wood drilled to hold the case in place. Not as easy as using a lathe, but still doable with a little ingenuity.

There are a lot of old .32 rimfire rifles laying around gathering dust. But for those willing to put forth a little effort, there are ways to get them shooting again. The Dixie cases are the easiest way.

[Hagler]

...relining a Remington Rolling Block #4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ7sQya7tyk

Shawn