Remington Rolling Block rifle
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Remington Rolling Block
| image = Gevär m-1867 Sverige (Remington - Armémuseum).jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption =
| origin = United States
| type = Rolling-block rifle
| is_ranged = yes
| is_bladed =
| is_explosive =
| is_artillery =
| is_vehicle =
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| is_UK =
| service = 1867–1918 {{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}
| used_by =
|wars={{collapsible list|title=List of wars|American Indian Wars|Wars of Italian unification|War of the Triple Alliance (limited)
{{cite book |last= Esposito|first=Gabriele |date=October 31, 2019 |title=The Paraguayan War 1864–70: The Triple Alliance at Stake in La Plata |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lEGUDwAAQBAJ|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing|page= 32|isbn=9781472834430}}|Six Years' War{{cite web | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+military+rifle+cartridges+of+the+Dominican+Republic:+from+.50-70...-a0267204205 | title=The military rifle cartridges of the Dominican Republic: from .50-70 to 5.56mm.}}|Franco-Prussian War|Ten Years' War|Third Carlist War|Cantonal rebellion|Conquest of the Desert|Ethiopian–Egyptian War|Serbian–Ottoman Wars (1876–1878)|Russo-Turkish War|Little War|Mahdist War|Mapuche uprising of 1881|Anglo-Egyptian War|South African Wars (1879–1915)|War of the Pacific|Revolution of the Park|Chilean Civil War of 1891| Federalist Revolution{{Cite web |title=O EXÉRCITO REPUBLICANO |url=https://www.acadhistoria.com.br/livros/ExRepublicano.pdf}}|First Melillan campaign|Cuban War of Independence|Uruguayan Revolution of 1897|Intentona de Yauco|Philippine Revolution|Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Spanish–American War|Philippine–American War|Totoposte WarsJowett, Phillip, Latin American Wars 1900-1941: Osprey Publishing (2018)|Revolution of 1904{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64bUuplvWDU | title=BATALLA DE MASOLLER - ARMAS| website=YouTube| date=9 September 2015}}|Mexican Revolution|Italo-Turkish War|First Dominican Civil War|Second Dominican Civil War|World War I|Anglo-Egyptian Darfur Expedition|United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924)Hernandez, Edwin "ARMAS DE FUEGO USADAS EN LAS LUCHAS CIVILES Y POR LOS CUERPOS ARMADOS DOMINICANOS (SIGLOS XIX Y XX)"|Coto War| Second Honduran Civil War{{cite web | url=https://latinarepublic.com/2020/12/09/from-picturesque-landscapes-to-views-of-war-honduras-through-postcards/|title=From Picturesque Landscapes to Views of War, Honduras through Postcards|date=9 December 2020 }}|Second Italo-Ethiopian WarPankhurst, Richard "Linguistic and Cultural Data on the Penetration of Fire-Arms into Ethiopia"}}
| designer = Joseph Rider{{cite book |last= Rose|first= Alexander |date= 2008|title=American Rifle: A Biography |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qGveyuX-Ou0C|publisher= Random House Publishing Group|page= 171|isbn=9780440338093}}
| manufacturer = Remington Arms Company
| unit_cost =
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| weight = {{convert|9.25|lb|kg|2|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|50.4|in|mm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|53.3|in|mm|abbr=on}}
| part_length = {{convert|35.7|in|mm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|37.4|in|mm|abbr=on}}
| width =
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| cartridge = .58 Berdan
.50-70
.50-45 Carbine
12.7×45mmR Pontificio
12.17×42mm RF
12.17×44mmR
.45-70
.43 Spanish
.43 Egyptian
10.15×61mmR
8×58mmR Danish Krag
8×50mmR Lebel
11×59mmR Gras
.303 British
7.65×53mm Argentine
.30-40 Krag
.30-06 Springfield
7.62×54mmR
.30 Remington
7×57mm Mauser
6.5mm Daudeteau No. 12
.236 Remington
11 mm Danish
56-50 Spencer {{Cite web |title=Military rifle cartridges of Peru part I: South America's most pugnacious country?|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Military+rifle+cartridges+of+Peru+part+I%3A+South+America%27s+most...-a0397831320|website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}
Various Target/Sporting/Hunting Calibers
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| action = Rolling block
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| feed = Breech-loading
| sights = Rear ramp & leaf sight, blade front sight
}}
Remington Rolling Block is a family of breech-loading rifles that was produced from the mid-1860s into the early 20th century by E. Remington and Sons (later Remington Arms).{{cite book |last= Rattenbury|first= Richard C. |date=October 22, 2014 |title= A Legacy in Arms: American Firearm Manufacture, Design, and Artistry, 1800–1900|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-HUCBQAAQBAJ|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |page=87 |isbn=9780806147796}}
These rifles were made in a variety of calibers, both rimfire and centerfire, including the 12.17x42 mm rimfire, 12.17x44 mm rimfire and 12.17x44 mm rimmed centerfire Swedish and Norwegian cartridges, .43 Spanish (11.15x58mmR), .50-70, .40-70, .45-70 and later in .22 caliber. Later models were produced in .30-03 (Predecessor to .30-06), 7×57mm Mauser, and 8×50mmR Lebel.
Development
File:Remington Rolling Block.jpg
The Remington Rolling Block was developed from the 1863 pattern .50 calibre split breech carbine issued to the US Cavalry during the American Civil War. This earlier weapon was designed by Joseph Rider and Leonard Geiger to fire the same cartridges as the Spencer carbine.[https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/5/16/remington-goes-to-war/ Remington goes to war] The split breech rifle lacked a hammer spur because it self-cocked when the breechblock was opened.[https://books.google.com/books?id=XqREDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 NRA guns] Either 1864 or 1865, Remington Engineer Joseph Rider improved the split breech design to create the rolling-block action which was named the "Remington System".{{Cite book|last=Sawyer|first=Charles Winthrop|title=Firearms in American History: Our Rifles|year=1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYlCAAAAIAAJ|publisher=The Author|pages=260}}
The medium-strength action developed some headspace issues with new smokeless powders coming into use by the late 1890s. A heavier-style action was produced for later smokeless cartridges, although there were still issues with some ammunition.{{cn|date=March 2024}}
Military use
{{More citations needed|section|date=August 2021}}
=Sweden and Norway=
In 1867, the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway was the first military to adopt the rifle as the standard military rifle. Around 250,000 military rifles and carbines and 85,000 civilian rifles in Sweden, were produced under license by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori and Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag, and about 53,000 rifles in Norway by Kongsberg Vaapenfabrik.
{{main|Remington M1867}}
In 12.17×42mmRF and 12.18×44mmRF (two cartridges that were interchangeable), and towards the end of its service life also 8×58mmR Danish Krag centerfire, the rolling-block served as the standard service rifle of the Swedish Army from 1867 to the mid-1890s, when it was replaced by the Swedish Mauser. In Norway it was the standard service rifle from 1867 to the mid-1880s, when it was replaced by the M1884 Jarmann. In .43 Spanish it was the chief service arm of the Spanish Army from 1869–1893, and was used by reserve and militia forces for many years thereafter. Many rolling-block rifles were used by Argentina before being replaced in 1891 by the new 7.65mm Mauser, and were also widely used by Egypt and Mexico.
=Denmark=
Like Sweden and Norway, Denmark adopted the rifle in 1867 in 11×41,5mmRF (11 mm caliber).{{cite web |title=Cartridge: Danish Remington |url=http://www.arma-dania.dk/public/timeline/_ad_patroner_view.php?editid1=6 |website=Arma Dania: The Virtual Museum of Danish Arms and Armour |access-date=19 July 2018 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022529/http://www.arma-dania.dk/public/timeline/_ad_patroner_view.php?editid1=6 |url-status=dead }} Initially the Royal Danish Army bought 40,000 rifles and 1800 carbines in the United States between 1867–1868. Later 31,551 rifles and about 4,600 carbines were made at the government owned rifle factory in Copenhagen. Production was halted in 1888 and the last rifles were decommissioned in 1940.{{cite web |title=Bagladeriffel af model 1867 (Remington) |url=http://www.arma-dania.dk/public/timeline/_ad_gevar_view.php?editid1=84 |website=Arma Dania: The Virtual Museum of Danish Arms and Armour |access-date=19 July 2018 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022508/http://www.arma-dania.dk/public/timeline/_ad_gevar_view.php?editid1=84 |url-status=dead }} In Danish service it was replaced by the M/1889 Krag–Jørgensen.
=Great Britain and France=
The British Empire purchased rolling-blocks to arm the Egyptian Army during the 1870s. These were made in Liège, Belgium, in .43 Egyptian calibre and were issued with a sword bayonet. Rolling-block rifles were used against Muhammad Ahmad's Ansar Dervishes during the Mahdist War, including at the Siege of Khartoum where General Gordon met his end.[http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30027046 Egyptian Remington] Guns with decorative brass Islamic crescents and Arabic inscriptions on the buttstock are not uncommon on the collector's market.[https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/112347-egyptian-remington-rolling-block Collectors weekly][https://www.oldammo.com/november08.htm Old Ammo]
The French acquired 210,000 Egyptian rolling-block rifles to make up for a shortage of the standard-issue Chassepot and Tabatière rifles during the Franco-Prussian War.{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
During World War I, the British Royal Navy purchased 4,500 rolling-block rifles in 7mm Mauser from Remington's leftover stock after production had ended, issuing them to the crews of minesweepers and Q-ships.{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=168}} In November 1914, production of the rolling-block was resumed, in the form of a French contract for rifles in 8×50mmR Lebel, designated by France as "Fusil Remington modèle 1914". 100,291 such rifles were delivered by 1916, and used to equip rear-line troops.{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=169}}
Civilian use
Along with the Sharps rifle, the Rolling Block was one of two rifles probably used more than any other by the buffalo hunters who hunted the American bison herds in the 1870s and 1880s.{{cite book |last= Worman |first= Charles G.|date= 2005|title=Gunsmoke and Saddle Leather: Firearms in the Nineteenth-century American West |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qBskZwaPOT0C |publisher= UNM Press|page= 292-294|isbn=9780826335937}}{{cite magazine |author= |title= With powerful |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=92BQAQAAMAAJ|magazine= Wyoming Wild Life|page=11, 13 |location=University of Minnesota|volume=71|publisher= Wyoming Game and Fish Commission|date=1939 |access-date=December 7, 2024}} {{cite book |last= Bakken |first=Gordon Morris |date= 2008|title=Icons of the American West; From Cowgirls to Silicon Valley [2 Volumes] |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i7vOEAAAQBAJ |quote= One of the most popular buffalo rifles of this era was the Remington Rolling Block; also known as the Remington No. 1. By the time the Sharps Model 1874 was introduced Remington had already manufactured over 600,000 of this model rifle for both the American and foreign military. During the 1870s the Remington Arms Company was working twenty-four hours and producing nearly 1600 rifles for each twenty-four hour period. |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=284 |isbn=9781567206944}}{{cite book |last= Ehrig |first=Dave |date=2005 |title=Muzzleloading for Deer and Turkey |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OH58o7RQA50C |publisher= Stackpole Books|page= 96|isbn=9780811701372}}
The Rolling Block was also one of two makers rifles used by the American team to win the International Long Range matches held at Creedmoor Rifle Range on Long Island, New York, in 1874. Team members shot against the Irish team with half the shooters using Rolling Block Creedmoor models, and the other half using Sharps Model 1874 Long Range rifles.{{cite magazine |author= |title= Long Range Rifles|issue= 96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2-s7Hpbow8C |magazine=American Rifleman |page= 20|publisher= National Rifle Association |date=1947 |access-date=December 7, 2024}}{{additional citations needed|date=December 2024}}
Civilian Remington Rolling Block rifles, and later surplus military rifles, became very popular among hunters in Scandinavia, particularly for moose hunting, with ammunition for the rifles being commonly available on the civilian market into the 1920s–1930s.{{cn|date=December 2024}}{{dubious|date=December 2024}}
The Frances Bannerman Company of New York did cartridge conversions of Remington Rolling Block actions to a number of other cartridges. Notable among these were conversions to .30-06 Springfield which was never a factory option. If encountered these rifles should be treated as unsafe to fire.
Military users
{{Div col}}
- {{flagcountry|Argentina}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Belgium}}
- {{flagcountry|Bolivia}}{{cite book |last1=Marcot |first1=Roy |title=The History of Remington Firearms: The History of One of the World's Most Famous Gun Makers |year=2005 |publisher=Lyons Press |isbn=1592286909 |page=54}}
- {{flagcountry|Empire of Brazil|Brazil}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|Canada|1868}}
- {{flagcountry|Chile}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Qing Dynasty|China}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Colombia}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Costa Rica|1848}}{{cite web | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+military+rifle+cartridges+of+Costa+Rica%3A+arms+of+Latin+America%27s...-a02644830426 | title=The military rifle cartridges of Costa Rica: arms of Latin America's most "peaceful" country. }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- {{flagcountry|Cuba|1902}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Denmark}}: circa 1867–1940{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Dominican Republic}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagdeco|Egypt|1882}} Khedivate of Egypt{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|El Salvador|1875}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Ethiopian Empire}}{{cite book |last1=McLachlan |first1=Sean |title=Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia |year=2011 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1849084574 |page=35}}
- {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|Kingdom of Greece}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Guatemala}}{{Cite web|title=Guatemala - Coat of Arms|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gt).html|access-date=2021-06-29|website=www.crwflags.com}}
- {{flagcountry|Haiti|1859}}
- {{flagcountry|Honduras|1898}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Jamaica|1875}}
- {{flag|Japan|1870}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Korean Empire}}{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
- {{flagicon image|Merina_Kingdom_flag.svg}} Madagascar{{Cite web|url=http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/2016/the-malagasy-pith-helmet-of-the-merina-kingdom|title = The Malagasy Pith Helmet of the Merina Kingdom | Military Sun Helmets| date=21 March 2016 }}
- {{flagcountry|Mexico|1893}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Monaco}}: Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince{{cite book |last=Giletta|first=Jacques|title=Les Gardes Personnelles des Princes de Monaco |year=2005 |edition=1st |publisher=Taurus Editions|isbn=2 912976-04-9}}
- {{flagcountry|Morocco|1666}}
- {{flagcountry|Netherlands}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Nicaragua|1896}}
- {{flagcountry|Norway|1844}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Panama}}
- {{flagcountry|Papal States}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Paraguay|1842}}{{cite journal|last=Samaniego|first=Marcial|year=1985|title=Situación de las Fuerzas Armadas de la Nación en el decenio de la pré-Guerra del Chaco|volume=1|journal=Anuário de la Academia de Historia Militar del Paraguay|publisher=Academia de Historia Militar del Paraguay|language=es}}
- {{flagicon image|Flag of Agha Mohammad Khan.svg}} Persia{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Peru|1884}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Puerto Rico}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|First Philippine Republic}} : Katipunan{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flag|Spain|1874}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mahdi movement in Sudan.svg}} Mahdist Sudan: Captured from Egyptian forces{{cite report |last1=Rossi |first1=Major Robert N. |title=The Mahdist Revolution |date=3 June 1994 |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |location=Fort Leavenworth, KS |page=61 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA284465.pdf |access-date=30 November 2023 |language=en}}
- {{flagcountry|Sweden|1844}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|United States|1867}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Uruguay}}{{sfn|Mercaldo|Firestone|Vanderlinden|2011|p=165}}
- {{flagcountry|Trinidad and Tobago|colonial}}
- {{flagcountry|Venezuela|1905}}
- {{flagcountry|Vietnam}}
- {{flagcountry|Yemen|1927}}
{{Div col end}}
See also
- Springfield model 1870, as used by the United States Navy, produced by Springfield Armory under license
- Springfield model 1871, as used by the United States Army, produced by Springfield Armory under license
References
=Sources=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Mercaldo |first1=Luke |last2=Firestone |first2=Adam |last3=Vanderlinden |first3=Anthony |title=Allied Rifle Contracts in America |year=2011 |publisher=Wet Dog Publications |isbn=978-0-9707997-7-7}}
{{refend}}
=Citations=
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commonscat|Remington Rolling Block}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNv8hpxDDkU The Remington Rolling Block Rifle] (video demonstration of use)
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfRllPxy6Bg Arming God's Battalions: a Papal States Rolling Block] via YouTube
{{Remington Cartridges Firearms}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Remington Rolling Block Rifle}}
Category:Rifles of the United States
Category:Remington Arms firearms
Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1867