Remington split breech carbine

[ndnchf]

USPS showed up today and delivered my new old toy :-)  Its a type 2 Remington split breech carbine in .56-50 rimfire. These were delivered in 1865-1866, just a little too late to see action in the late war.

This one is in very nice shape, with a bright shiny bore and traces of color case hardening remaining. The action is tight and crisp.  I'm very pleased with it.

I tried out 3 reloadable rimfire cases. Both the Roberson and a rimfire case I made from a starline 56-60 centerfire case fired just fine.. The one I made from a 50-70 was just a little too thick in the rim to completely close the breech. I'll have to remove a little from the forward edge of the rim.

I also received 50 new starline 56-50 cases from TOTW. I'll start converting some of them to rimfire this week 

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Wasn't it Goodnight that outfitted his trail drive crew with Remington Split-breach carbines?

[Major 2]

That is soooo cool , congratulations , Ill have to admire it vicarously 

When I was but a young Hombre , I had a Mattel Spitting Image Shooting Shell Baby Rolling Block
They were rare compared  to the other Mattel products "Shooting Sixes"  and Spitt'n' Image Winchester I also had.

The time frame was 1959 -60  these were the guns of my youth, that set me on the same course I enjoy today 

[ndnchf]

Wasn't it Goodnight that outfitted his trail drive crew with Remington Split-breach carbines?

I think I remember reading that somewhere. I'll have to look for it again.

[ndnchf]

Major - that's a surprising accurate toy rolling block. If they made it today, no doubt it would be blaze orange!

[ndnchf]

A few more photos. Note the completely different mainspring configuration from later rolling blocks. The bore slugs at .515" with a twist of about 1-30". It has beautiful, unmolested screw slots too 

[Niederlander]

Wasn't it Goodnight that outfitted his trail drive crew with Remington Split-breach carbines?

I thought it was Nelson Story.  Successfully drove a herd through Sioux country.

[ndnchf]

I thought it was Nelson Story.  Successfully drove a herd through Sioux country.

I think you are correct. That's the one I read about earlier.

[ndnchf]

I got 13 starline cases converted to 56-50 rimfire today. It took longer than expected. I drilled the pilot hole in the wrong location on 7 of them - grrrrr.  I had to go back and plug those holes. Then redrill them in the correct spot  Live and learn🤣 I hope to get to the range soon!

[ndnchf]

I got my first batch of .56-50 rimfire loaded for the Remington split breech carbine. They are new Starline 56-50 centerfire cases converted to rimfire. Acorn starter blank primer, 33.5gr of Old Eynsford 2F and a 357gr bullet.

For the bullet, I started with a Lee 515-450 mold. Then milled off the bottom groove. This dropped nearly 100gr off the weight. I like this mold because the bullets have large grease grooves and it shoots very well in other rifles.

That one stubby cartridge is a Dixie reloadable case with a 300gr .515" diameter pistol bullet I got from BACO.

[RattlesnakeJack]

Your dedication to producing these rimfire cases is admirable! 

I fully understand your desire to fire it this way, but have been wondering if it is possible to alter one of these carbines (e.g. with a separate modified block or the like) to use centerfire cases?

I understand Spencers can be modified to centerfire ... and I have a Canadian-contract Peabody rifle chambered for .50-60 Peabody rimfire, for which I was able to get a centerfire block made from one of the "new, old stock" Peabody breechblocks that Dixie Gun Works used to have (...original breechblock was left unmodified, of course ...)

My original .50-60 Peabody is on the top in the attached composite and I also I have a modern reproduction Spencer rifle which is chambered in .56.50 ... but of course it is centerfire, so I use the Starline cases I have "as is" ...

Canada acquired quite a few .56-.50 Spencer Model 1865 rifles and carbines at the same time they acquired 3,000 .50-60 Peabody rifles and, because the Peabody could chamber and fire the Spencer cartridge, but the Spencer would not cycle the Peabody cartridge, the Militia Department acquired only .56-50 spencer cartridges for use in both, to avoid the logistical nightmare which otherwise might have ensued.  Something I have always meant to do, but have not yet gotten around to, is to fire my Peabody with Spencer cartridges and see how they perform compared to the somewhat longer .50-60 Peabody cartridge (for which I use shortened .50-70 brass.)

[ndnchf]

Yes it is possible, and has been done. I have a friend with a very nicely converted one, it even has a sliding bar extractor too. It could be a factory conversion. Last month I was offered one that was converted, but not as well done. I thought about it, but really wanted a rimfire (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment!). So when this really nice one was offered, I jumped on it. Now that I have the rimfire case conversion process worked out, I'll no longer shy away from other neat old rimfire rifles. With Roberson now offering ready to use rimfire cases, it is easier than ever to shoot these old classics.

[ndnchf]

I took my .56-50 rimfire Remington split breech to the range today. Great fun to shoot this old War horse. Check out the short video I made.

[Whitehorse Lane]

That is one cool Carbine !

[ndnchf]

I recently got an Eras Gone mold for the Smith carbine bullet. So I loaded some up in the .56-50s to try in the split breech. The do look nice 

[ndnchf]

I took the .56-50 rimfire Remington split breech carbine to the range again today. I was testing a new load of 34.5 gr of Schuetzen 2F, Rapine 350 bullet and an empty Ramset as a primer. This was giving me around 700fps. It shoots well and I had no perforated primers. I really like this load.

While there I made a short video that gives an update on my progress with it.