Here's my 1870 Springfield rolling block (manufactured under contract by Remington) in .50-70 Govt.
This is the one I mentioned in Ranch Dog's post about .35 Rem Brass (Handloading Sub-Forum)
My Dad brought this home in the early-mid 60's and proudly stood it up by the fireplace, where it stayed for nearly 40 years. As a kid, I cleaned and pampered it once or twice a month and always had plans to put some rounds through it. The last few years before Dad died, I went on a mission to find an extractor (only part that seemed to be missing), repair of the rear sight (if I could find out what it actually came off of), and a knowledgeable antique firearms guy to give his blessing for actually shooting it. I even tracked down the maker of the aftermarket front sight, which wasn't really too difficult as it was stamped "REX". A small bit of internet searching turned up Rex Pederson as the sight maker and I was able to make contact with the son of the machine shop owner that was responsible for making the sights as a sideline business back in the 1930's-1950's. That in itself turned up some interesting history, and I hoped Rex (junior) would know if they might well have been the ones that sporterized the original rifle by cutting/recrowning the barrel by 6+ inches and adding the aftermarket sights. He thought it may have been possible, but not probable, as most of their gun work of that sort was military bolt rifles.
Anyway, I had high hopes to get this all together so Dad could at least put one round through the tube before he died, but now it's about 12 years too late. Every year since, around his June 2 birthdate, I'm reminded of the "Buffalo Gun" patiently waiting in the closet. After contacting both the Springfield archives and Remington (recommended by whoever it was I talked to with Springfield), I didn't turn up much info to supplement a 1969 magazine article we saved. There was quite a controversy over this model even going to production at the time due to the .45-70 having already been deemed superior, and the move towards repeaters. It seems that in the 1870's, porkbill politics, graft, corruption, under the table deals, were just as prevalent as today, and this gun was in a very limited production number. But, not much value to a collector.
The action and lock-up is as solid as any new gun on the market, and the bore is fantastic. I doubt any of these guns were shot much. If I could find a gun smith with the credentials to check it out, and install the ejector I found from Numrich about 20 years ago, I would be shooting it .... preferably with smokeless powder as I really don't want to get into black powder if it can be avoided. Brass is available, bullets available, and I'm sure dies could be had ... for a price.
I tend to get on this mission about every five years. Must be an affliction that needs curing
jd
edit to add .... I think I should have put this in the Other Firearms sub-forum
