Swedish Rolling Blocks

lone-wolf

lone-wolf

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I know this is probably taboo to consider, but is there any chance to rebarrel these old rifles to something modern, even 410 shotgun(I think 410 is relatively low pressure)?
I'd prefer something a bit odder like 17hornet, but I'm guess that's to hot for the action.

I ask cause I want a rolling block, but most of the modern ones aren't in a cartridge I'd like. Although one in 357mag wouldn't be bad.
 
there has been many debates over the strength of the rollers the old Swedish rollers were some of the first built. You have to pick a cartridge that has the same sami spec for pressure as the old original round and load that round in a safe manner.The main problem is when you sell the rifle and new owner blows up the rifle and the family comes looking for you.
 
tjsudbury said:
at one time Tradeex had a bunch of the old rollers that were converted to shotguns. 16 and 20 gauge iirc. Some of them had barrels with straight rifling for slugs
Click to expand...

They have one in 12ga but the hammer is broken iirc. A friend on PEI has a 20ga one too, I'm pretty sure.
 
Going to a pistol cartridge would add to the possibilities.

My mad scientist gene has me thinking that turning down a .357 barrel to use as a barrel/chamber liner would give you the caliber change and some added strength. Provided you started with a 12.7x44R instead of a 8x58R it just might work.
 
I think there are two things to consider; re pressure, your concern is not the strength of the action but rather the size of the firing pin hole; it almost certainly needs to be bushed and redrilled for a pin around .075" diameter to prevent primers rupturing into the large older style hole. Relative to strength of the action, it is not pressure but thrust on the breach that you need to concern yourself with. When I have considered rebarreling an antique action to something new, I have compared the square of the base diameter times the pressure of the new round with the same for the largest original round that model of gun was made for. Certainly not perfect but it does provide some basis for a logical comparison

cheers mooncoon
 
I own a swedish rolling block in 16 gauge, I looked at it for a long long time and I never felt really comfortable shooting it, I shoot gehwer 71s and martini henrys without hesitation. Something about the transfer of force from the breech block to the action screws bugs me when a gun is possibly 151 years old. If that breech block fractures its going lodge itself at the back of my skull. So I bought a pedersoli rolling block in 45-70 and never looked back :)
 
mooncoon said:
I think there are two things to consider; re pressure, your concern is not the strength of the action but rather the size of the firing pin hole; it almost certainly needs to be bushed and redrilled for a pin around .075" diameter to prevent primers rupturing into the large older style hole. Relative to strength of the action, it is not pressure but thrust on the breach that you need to concern yourself with. When I have considered rebarreling an antique action to something new, I have compared the square of the base diameter times the pressure of the new round with the same for the largest original round that model of gun was made for. Certainly not perfect but it does provide some basis for a logical comparison

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...

I see that the 20ga conversion I was talking about pierces the primers when fired.
 
lone-wolf said:
I see that the 20ga conversion I was talking about pierces the primers when fired.
Click to expand...

It is possible that the firing pin protrudes too far or is too pointed. The pin should only protrude about .070" and should be rounded at the end. If you get a fin around the pin dent, that is metal flowing into the firing pin hole

cheers mooncoon
 
I have one in 12.7 x 44r. I was able to find some real 12.7 brass so i saw no need to convert mine. They look pretty solid theres probably quite a few cals you could safely convert to. Ive seen some converted from the original cal to 50-70,50 alaskan,12 gauge, 20 gauge and 24 gauge.
 
lone-wolf said:
I see that the 20ga conversion I was talking about pierces the primers when fired.
Click to expand...

A blown primer could potentially push the hammer back enough to unlock the action, some shotgun conversions try to address this with various modifications.
 
There are lots of safe chamberings that would be appropriate for the old rolling blocks starting with the black powder cartridges of the 1860's - 1880's. You need to tread more carefully with those developed for modern guns and smokeless powder. Mooncoons advice sounds like a good guideline to consider.

The 12.7mm is the metric version of the 50-70 and was originally a rimfire cartridge. Originally rolling blocks were chambered for all manner of cartridge offerings. The Swedish rifles that were converted to 8x58R were updated in the 1890's had new pins and blocks fitted to strengthen them for the newer cordite ammo. I doubt they are as strong as the last rolling blocks made that were chambered for rounds like the 7x57 and if I were building a rifle on one I would go to a lower pressure cartridge. Life was cheaper back then and even the best looking ones might not have stood the test of time without degradation of some sort.
My collection includes rolling blocks in 12ga, 20ga(both originally built as shotguns as far as I can tell), 38-55, 8x57R, 45-70, a 1871 pistol in .50 army and a couple #4's in 22lr. Also a couple actions that will become a 40-82 or 40-65 and maybe 32-40.
 
economicaly a 50-70 makes good sense because about all you have to do is change the gun from rimfire to centerfire by modifying the breach block. The shells can be made from 348 Winchester shells

cheers mooncoon
 
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