E.Remington & Sons 50-70 No. 1 Sport Rolling Block

[knoxvette1]

As part of an acquisition of long guns earlier this year I have a rather unique rifle and cannot find out a lot about it. It is a E.Remington & Sons 50-70 Rolling Block No.#1 Sport. Best I can tell I am the 3rd owner of the weapon. It was purchased in the late 30's by the gentleman's estate I acquired it from and he supposedly purchased this gun from the original owner. It has absolutely no identifying markings in reference to caliber or serial number. A local gunsmith confirms it is a 50-70 and in the finest condition he has ever seen one of these guns in. It is unusual in that the barrell is octagonal the first 3 inch's and then round from there to the end of the gun. It also has a very slight number 4 etched into the right breech. I have had several people speculate that this may have been one of the prototypes built by E.Remington and Sons. The Gun Museum in Cody has pretty much ruled that out stating that for me to have an original prototype would be a 1 in a million shot. Any E.Remington & Son's experts out there that might be able to shed some light on this rifle?

 

[tango2echo]

Can't help with the ID, but I'm jealous..........

T2E

 

[buttrap]

Sounds like a typical Remington light sporter in 50 govt to me. A lot of old Rems dont have the caliber marked on them or if they do its just the bore size and not the actual round, the SN is probably on the side of the stock tang out of sight under the buttstock. Back in the day this gun was made you could order almost unlimited versions or how ever you wanted it for a extra fee. Some time in the 1890s I think it was the name changed to Remington Arms. Sounds like a very nice one to me too. Probably the most made type rifles of the 1800s but a nice sporter is still a premium find if its all original and not refinished.

 

[Jim Watson]

Sounds like an unusual barrel profile. You got pictures?

Frank DeHaas says E. Remington & Sons is not the earliest of markings, which knocks out the prototype theory.

He also says serial number locations are as follows:
The end of the bottom tang.
On the left side of the top tang (sometimes the only location.)
Under the breech end of the barrel.
In the forearm channel.
On the inside front end of the buttstock.

Caliber marking is under the barrel just ahead of the forearm tip for sporting models. Military rifles not marked, the armies knew what they were issuing.

 

[smokemaker]

No. 1 sporting rifles are pretty rare, especially in good condition. That's a neat find... cool! Pictures!!! We want pictures!!

 

[buttrap]

I would like to see pics of the thing too. I am sure it has a SN though on one of the tangs.

 

[Boge]

It may be an aftermarket barrel as almost always a half round/half octagon barrel is octagon for the first half from the breech end. Remington marked the caliber underneath the barrel right in front of the firearm. If it's 50-70 it will say ".50 Gov't". Is the receiver top round or does it have machined flats? What's the last patent date on the tang? If you want a real answer then take photos & post a question on:

http://www.remingtonsociety.com/forums

Unfortunately, many RB Sporters have been "fooled" with and are not original. Only photos and/or examination will tell.

Good luck.

 

[rdilorenzo]

I have an E. REMINGTON ROLL BACK WITH A PAT DATES OF 1873-1874-1875' I HAVE OWNED IT FOR 60 YEARS AND HAVE FIRED IT A FEW TIMES.HOW DO I FIND OUT THE VALUE OF THIS SPORT RIFLE? I DID REFINISH IT A LONG TIME AGO.