An Interesting Little Conversion

[Blackpowder Burn]

I was visiting my local new best friend - the gunsmith - yesterday to take a couple of jobs to him to start the new year.  One was to reline the barrel of the Colt Lightning I've been tinkering with for the past year.  I think I've got it functionally reliable now, and this is the final step in the rehabilitation.  Can't wait to get it back.

While there, he showed me a really nice little No. 4 Remington Rolling Block he had converted from 32 Rimfire to 327 Federal Mag.  Case hardened the receiver, reblued, engraved, etc.  I began instantly drooling.........

He then told me that he had acquired another one like it a while back that was in pristine condition, and dug it out.  It is gorgeous, Still had 90+% blueing, case hardening was intact, wood was in excellent shape and the bore is as close to 100% as you could hope to find (still bright and shiny).  After talking about it yesterday and today, he's converting it to 32-20 for me and selling it for a very reasonable price.

Merry Christmas to Me! 

[ndnchf]

I hope that is a typo about. #4 rolling block. A 327 fed mag in a little #4 action is a bomb waiting to go off. #4s just have weak screws as pivots for the block and hammer. Most are takedown models retained by a simple pin. These are not even suitable for 32-20 much less 327 Fed Mag. Now if this a #2 rolling block, it would be very suitable for 32-20, but i'd question the wisdom of 327 fed mag. #2s still used soft steel barrels.

I'm no expert, but I have two #4s and three #2 - I know these rifles pretty well.

Wishing you all a SAFE and merry Christmas!

[Blackpowder Burn]

Ndnchf,

Thanks for the interesting information.  He did comment that he modified the takedown mechanism on the 327 Fed to strengthen it.  As for my 32-20, there won't be any high pressure smokeless loads, only BP.

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[ndnchf]

So this wasn't a typo - it really is a #4 in 327 fed mag. Yikes. Even a 32-20 in a #4 is scary. Remington realized that and didn't chamber it an anything more powerful than 32 long rimfire. I have one of these and converted it to centerfire to shoot 32 long colt. If you want to convert to a modern cartridge, consider the 32 S&W (short). It would be much safer in a #4. Keep in mind, while you may plan to only shoot BP loads, future owners may not. Don't just take my word for it, please do some research. I'd hate to hear about you or anyone being injured by this conversion.

The #2s were chambered in 32-20 and it's a fine combination. #2s were also chambered in 32 extra long rimfire. I have two 32xLs and one 32-20, they are all fun to shoot. But all of these rifles have soft steel barrels.

[Blackpowder Burn]

Ndnchf,

I'm a little confused.  I looked at the ballistics and cartridge loading data for the 32 Long Colt and the 32-20.  Factory ammo for the 32 Long Rimfire was given as having a case capacity of 15.4 grains and the 90 grain bullets seems to have been the standard.

My 32-20 loads are about 14 grains of FFFg BP with a 100 grain bullet.

It seems the pressures should be pretty similar.  Am I missing something?

[ndnchf]

I just checked my 32-20 loading notes for my #2 rolling block. I load up to 18gr weight of old eynsford 3F under the lyman 311008 bullet, 115gr. If you load down to 14gr of 3F and a lighter bullet, that will reduce stress. But who's to say what future owners will shoot? Another considerations is the bottleneck 32-20 case creates greater bolt thrust.

I make my own reloadable 32 long rimfire and 32 XL rimfire cases.

The 32 long rimfire is for a #4RRB. For this I load 9.8gr by weight of Goex 3F over an 87gr bullet.

The 32XL is for a #2 RRB. For this I load 14gr of 3F Old E over an 87gr bullet with .125" compression.

Clearly the 32-20 can hold more powder than the 32 long or 32 XL rimfires, can and usually do load heavier bullets and with the bottleneck case deliver more bolt thrust. You may load an extra light BP load in it, but odds are someone else down the road will shoot factory or heavier reloads.

The Remington engineers designed the #4 as a lightweight boys rifle chambered in .22 or 32 short or long. It was never chambered for a 32 XL, 32-20 or anything larger due to its very light and weak action. They knew what they were doing. But even with these cartridges, the takedown versions often shoot lose due to wear and weak design. The solid frames are a little better, but they have the same small screws as pivot pins for block and hammer.

If you really want a 32-20, look for a worn out #2 and reline it. That's what I was going to do, but then I found a nice original #2 in 32-20. It's a great rifle. I also have that worn out #2 that I may reline or sell, not sure yet.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but the bottom line of this is whatever you do with this 100 some-odd year old rifle, doing it safely for you and future generations.

[ndnchf]

BB- you might want to post a question about this on the Remington Society, ASSRA and Cast Boolits single shot forums to get the opinion of other knolwdgable rolling block enthusiasts.

Here is a similar discussion on the ASSRA forum from a couple years ago. You may find it interesting.

http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1364070879

[Blackpowder Burn]

How do you make your reloadable rimfire cases?

[ndnchf]

There have be a couple extensive discussions about reloadable 32 rimfire (and 32 short/long colt, the centerfire equivalent). One is in the powder room - CAS reloading forum. It's the "32 long colt - need help" thread. Another is on the cast boolits forum, here is a link:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?147224-reloadable-32-rimfire-brass

Here are a couple pics: