remington rolling block 43 spanish

[Wolfcamp Hill]

anybody ever used one?  is brass available?  how does it compare to the venerable 45-70?  also, can it be readily rebarreled to 45-70 and who would you recommend for the job?

thanks,

wolfcamp hill

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Wolfcamp;   There is a piece on the .43 Spanish on the SCORRS site.  (Not the CAS one, find the links to their own site)  I get to it by following the SCORRS link in the frontierspot.  Go to "Other pre-1900 Remington Firearms".
I have one, but the barrel was shortened!   To bad.  The cases that came with it were sized and fireformed from .348 WCF.  It is not the best solution, and the stuff that came with the rifle included a split ring to fit ahead of the rim to make sure the shoulder was properly located during fireforming.  Mine has quite a long throat, a common thing.  Makes accuracy, for me, somewhat "hit or miss" !  The commonly available cast bullet leaves a lot to be desired.

Cases are available from the BPCR specialty suppliers.  Look for .43 Spanish "basic" brass.  .43 Sp. cases are only a bit different from .44-77.  One solution to the long throat is to use full length brass, and sizing dies with the top threaded part cut off to allow a very long neck to remain.

I am actually contemplating a rebarrel job, as the collectors value of mine is nothing special.  If yours is a full, as issued, piece, try some of the tricks on the SCORRS site.

[Comanche Kid]

Bill,
       Heard they packed a wallop. Been looking for one in shootable condition. Go to Gunbroker.com. There is an estate sale of 100 rounds of .43 Spanish on there. Looked like a good buy, as no one had bid on it yet. Any Pards out thre have a shootable Remington .43 spanish for sale at a fair price? if so contact me. Thanks

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[Guns Garrett]

One thing to make sure of before getting reloading gear or components, is to get a good chamber cast, and slug the barrel.  My Roller was described as ".43 Spanish" (11.15x58R), but turned out to be the ".43 Spanish Reformado" AKA 11.5x57Rmm.  The .43 Spanish normally takes a .439" bullet, but the Reformado takes the .446" bullet and the case is more tapered than bottlenecked.  The previous owner of my gun evidently shot the bottlenecked round in it, and the chamber is  eroded near the throat.  Both rounds are formed from the .348 Win case.  .43 Spanish reloading dies are fairly inexpensive ($40-$60), available from Lee and RCBS, but the Reformado dies are only available by special order from 4-D, through Buffalo Arms and run over $110.00.  I have found that Buffalo Arms has good materials for both rounds, and their staff is pretty knowledgeable about the quirks of the .43 rounds.  My rifle is not a "great" shooter, but loading it up with a full case of black, a felt wad, and a 385-gr bullet will keep me hitting a 8" steel plate a 100 yds, and a 12" plate at 200.  I have no idea of how it groups, as I have never shot on paper.  I does pack a whallop.  I took a 150-yard shot at a steel buffalo sillouette about 24"x16" in size (about 30 lbs), and knocked it completely off its stand.  Other shooters with .45-70's just rocked it.  Maybe I just hit it in the right spot, but it was impressive, and I got a lot of slaps on the back.

[Hell-Er High Water]

Wolfcamp,

Look in the Gunsmithing Forum, page 2, under the topic Forming 43 Spanish Brass from 348 Winchester.  I posted an answer there regarding 43 Spanish chambers and 348 Winchester brass.  Get a good chamber cast and measure it before you invest in a lot of 348 Winchester brass.

HHW

[Wolfcamp Hill]

hey ya'll

thanks for the info.  looks like i better find that hunk of cerrosafe.  i has no idea they were two kinds of 43 spanish.

wolfcamp

[Otter]

Wolfcamp Hill,

The simple answer to your question is "Yes", a .43 Spanish RB can be easily rebarrelled to 45-70. All the Rem RB #1 actions can be rebarrelled to just about any BP cartridge your heart desires.

[klw]

I've got one in 43 Egyptian.  Nice gun.  Looks a bit beat up but certainly shoots amazingly well.  Personally I would not rebarrel it.  I'd shot it as is.  Sure that Buffalo Arms would have all the reloading stuff you'd need.

[Horace Patootie]

I have one in .43 Spanish that I've had for over 20 years.  About 3 years ago I found out about Buffalo Arms and ordered Lee dies, reformed .348 brass, wads, bullets, etc.   I've shot it with BP subs and BP and it shoots great but I haven't put it on paper.  I have only seen one in better condition than mine (Argentine) and it's a tight, smooth action.  These guns are reported to have long chambers and it is reported that this was done to allow repeated firing without cleaning so often.  I have not done a chamber cast.

Horace