Is it just me....

[Mossyrock]

Or does anyone ELSE look at a loaded 56-50 cartridge and think, "Man, that would make a NEAT revolver cartridge!"? 

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Yep,

And so did Reminton, or at least thought the cartridge (or close cousin) made a good single shot pistol cartridge for the .50 Remington Rolling Block pistol around 1867!  They later made a 50-45 center-fire carbine round for navy rolling block carbines in about 1869.  If I remember right from "Cartridges of the World" it was virtually a centerfire 56-50 round.  BTW, I wounder if that was the round used for the centerfire Spencer experiments that Marcot refers to?

[Arizona Trooper]

The 50-45 is a tenth of an inch longer than the Spencer 56-50. Nominally the rim diameter is closer to a 50-70, but the one in my collection (an early bar anvil primed round) is very close to Spencer rim dimensions. It's a very accurate round within it's range limitations, just like 56-50.

Also, a few years ago, I stumbled into CW contract Ballard rifle in 56-56 that has a beautifully done armory conversion to centerfire. I suspect it was made up for the Springfield breechloader tests in '66, since they required center fire ammo. This makes me wonder if the centerfire cartridges mentioned in Marcot's book was made for something other than a Spencer, such as a Rolling Block, Ball & Williams, Starr, etc.

[French Jack]

I have some information on the Remington Rolling Blocks, and the martial models.  It states that the Navy had a Remington Rolling Block pistol made up in a .50 cal. centerfire round, very much like what was developed by the Springfield Armory, and it would be a kissing cousin of the 56-50.  I had the opportunity to examine an original several years ago, and the specimen I had would accept a 56-50 cartridge.  I also have seen the so called .50 cal. Army model, and it is a slightly shorter round.  The .50 Navy was later lengthened into the 50-45 Navy, also for a rolling block.  It is definitely one that would make an impression. 

The .50 cal. Carbine round was the centerfire cartridge developed by Springfield Armory, and later became known as the 56-50 centerfire Spencer.  It was developed to be used as a conversion for many of the breechloaders developed and used in the ACW.  With the Allin conversions, the 50-70 came to the front.  The philosophy of a single shot and infantry fire to keep the enemy engaged at longer ranges and to engage the enemy at longer ranges became the standard of warfare in the latter half of the century. 

Of course, the 56-50 centerfire and rimfire were not actually a .56 cal. nor did they have a case capacity of 50 gr. BP.  The .56 refers to the base diameter of the case, and the 50 refers to the actual bullet size. 

I posted a pic a couple of years or so on the old TFS. I believe it was lost in the numerous crashes.  It showed the various rounds chambered in the Rolling Blocks.  Quite an eye-opener.

[Fox Creek Kid]

http://www.oldammo.com/january05.htm

[Backstrap Bill]

Say there mossyrock, would you happen to live in Mossy Rock, WA?

Any way, I've fired one of them there 50 caliber Remington rolling block pistols.  It is a real hoot.

[Mossyrock]

Say there mossyrock, would you happen to live in Mossy Rock, WA?

Nope, but that's where my Dad was raised and my original family homestead (1898) is near there.  It's always good to keep in touch with "where your people are from".   

[Halfway Creek Charlie]

Yep WR,
I agree, My Alias came from the little creek that ran through Redkey Indiana, my hometown.

It was Halfway Creek. We called it our local  S-C (Manure Estuary....LOL) but, boy! Could we find crawdads in there, and there was some small fish as well. Halfway was one of the names of the town before James A. Redkey decided to hang his moniker on the town.

[Trailrider]

Say there mossyrock, would you happen to live in Mossy Rock, WA?

Any way, I've fired one of them there 50 caliber Remington rolling block pistols.  It is a real hoot.

The Navy version isn't bad.  Its curved pistol grip rolls up in the hand.  But the Army model, with the same ammo hurts!  It's the sharp lip on the back of the gripframe that digs into the web of the thumb! 

[geo]

it seems to me that uberti made a repro rolling block single shot pistol in .45 long colt years ago to go with the .357 and .22 models they marketed.
i have had no success in tracking this .45 down. i had hoped that it could have been converted to the spencer 56-50 black powder round. i sure could go for a pistol in that round to go with my carbines. anyone else know about the .45 model or is it just poor memory on my part? thanks, geo.

[French Jack]

The receiver is the same size on all the pistol models.  If you can measure one, you can readily see if you need to look any further. 
The barrel can be changed or relined if dimensions are o.k.... The extractor can be modified to work as well.  The width of the action at the receiver ring will be the deciding factor.

[Mossyrock]

The width of the action at the receiver ring will be the deciding factor.

No, actually the BATFE will be the deciding factor.  In this case, the bullet diameter over .500 in a handgun lumps this into the category of a "Desctrutive Device".  To build a pistol or revolver in 56-50 Spencer would require lots of pricey licences and paperwork from our friendly Federal Government.  I thought this was a good idea until I did some research.  Rats.....   

[geo]

found on guns america a rolling block commemorative in .45 long colt by the american historical foundation (like the franklin mint). unfortunately the price was equal to an original in .50. but it confirms my memory that rolling block model 1871 pistols were repro'd in .45 long colt. now just find one...geo.

[Halfway Creek Charlie]

Mossyrock,
It is my understanding that the 56-50 IS a 50 Cal. and the 56 refers to the base dia. of the brass case.

[Appalachian Ed]

The 56-50 is a .50 cal bullet.

[rehmet]

found on guns america a rolling block commemorative in .45 long colt by the american historical foundation (like the franklin mint). unfortunately the price was equal to an original in .50. but it confirms my memory that rolling block model 1871 pistols were repro'd in .45 long colt. now just find one...geo.

Hello,

because of the reason I acquired a RBP in .45LC recently, I can say that all Uberti replicas are pretty much the same besides the barrel and ejector. The stop block (Uberti part 170) is to narrow to cover a larger cartridge than the .45LC. This is a pitty since large calibers (a 600 NE revolver is available) are allowed for handguns in Germany, but it ist forbidden for the individual to modify a weapon.

I would be _really_ interested to find people who are interested in RBPs and someone who can tell me about his .50 RBP Navy and Army.

So long
Roland

[Mossyrock]

Mossyrock,
It is my understanding that the 56-50 IS a 50 Cal. and the 56 refers to the base dia. of the brass case.

Very true...however the actual diameter is .512".  If you check the .500 Linebaugh and the .500 S&W, you will find a .500" bullet.  THAT'S how those cartridges get aroung the rule.  Having said that, it is my understanding that gunwriter Michael Bane is talking to Hamilton Bowen about building a 56-50 Ruger Bisley.  I will post more info as it becomes available.

[Hell-Er High Water]

For those that might be interested, I just did some measurements on my Uberti RRB pistol in 357 Magnum caliber.

Barrel shank diameter at rear of action  -  0.800"
Barrel dimension across the flats at front of action  -  0.900"
Receiver width  -  1.005"
Breech block width  -  0.570"
Firing pin center line above rolling part of breech block  -  0.370"

I can not measure the barrel thread diameter without removing the barrel from the action but it will be larger than the 0.800" barrel shank diameter at the rear of the action.

The breech block, while being narrower than the diameter of a 56-50 rim, is still wider than the 56-50 head diameter so the full diameter of the head portion of the case would be supported by the breech block even though there would be a small edge of the case rim showing on each side of the breech block.

I believe that this gun would have to be rebarreled rather than relined as the muzzle diameter of the 9-1/2" long barrel is just over 5/8" in diameter and all of the 50 caliber barrel liners that I have used are 11/16" in diameter.  You could shorten the existing barrel to around 6" long and have enough diameter for a liner but this would make for a strange looking pistol.

It will interesting to see if anyone decides to try this conversion.

Keep us posted.

HHW