Rechambering question

[1lowluv]

Today my grandpa gave me this



It's a 1901 remington rolling block 7mm, its missing the sights and upper handgaurd (no biggie, found them online) but here's the thing, my grandpa bought this a million years ago from Warner brothers, it was a movie gun. It was rechambered to 30.06 to shoot blanks, I tried a 30.06 shell in it when I got home and it fits. Is there a way to make this barrel "shootable" again? Maybe rechamber or new bore. This is my first "old" rifle so bear with me, I don't know what I'm talking about

[kendog4570]

It is a 1902 variant of the No. 5 Smokeless Rolling Block, originally chambered in 7mm Mauser. The original round this was designed for is somewhat lower in pressure, and if I am not mistaken, a tad different in headspace, than the 7 Mauser available today. Good luck finding an original handguard that isn't cracked and busted.

As it sits it is somewhat of a time bomb, with the ability to chamber 30-06 ammo. Some experimental No 5's were made in 30-06 back in the day, but never made it to production, and it was written a few years ago that the modern rendition by Remington could be engineered to withstand 30-06 pressures. BUT THIS ONE IS NOT. So based on pressure alone, it should not be fired with 30-06.

Another thing to consider ids the fact that it will chamber 30 cal rounds, but the original bore was .284".

Don't know where you would find an original barrel in any kind of shape to shoot. You could have one turned and fitted to original contour and chamber. These actions are popular for guys that want to build Black Powder Silhouette guns or Buffalo rifles.

Depending on the extractor (yours appears to have the rotary type) you could have a barrel turned up in the same caliber, or some other medium pressure rimless round (300 Savage??) and make a cast bullet shooter.

There is almost nothing time or money wont fix!

[1lowluv]

Well I would never dream of firing 30-06 through it, the shell fit but I don't think the bullet fits. maybe I'll just get the parts for it and make it a wall hanger. I don't have a ton of money to put into it.

[Chaos47]

Might take a lot of work and time but if you contact the right person at WB maybe they can eventually find records of it and find out what films it was in. Depending on who used it in what and if you can get photos and documents supporting it, it might be worth a lot more then it currently sits..

[DennisCA]

Well I would never dream of firing 30-06 through it, the shell fit but I don't think the bullet fits. maybe I'll just get the parts for it and make it a wall hanger. I don't have a ton of money to put into it.

I agree wouldn't spend a ton of money on it. Since it came from your grandpa, keep as a wall-hanger.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

If it has a couple of holes drilled in the stock on the right side, near the wrist, it may be one of the guns they "converted" to look like a flintlock for the John Wayne movie about the Alamo.

As for what to do with it, they do rebarrel these to all kinds of older calibers. The old 7mm is identical to current 7mm Mauser that you find for sale. If you want to have it rebarreled, there are a bunch of places that still work on these. You could go with the original 7x57, or any of the old cartridges like .45-70 or .38-55 or the like. I have one from WWI that is in 8x50R Lebel, and it still shoots great. If nothing else, you could always have the barrel drilled out and re-lined with a sleeve to something like .22LR, .25-20, .32-20, or even .30-30. If your action is still good, there is no reason to turn it into a wallhanger. Just consider it a project gun.

-Mb

[1lowluv]

The whole gun/action is in great shape and everything functions, I'll have to look into having it rebarreled

[kendog4570]

If it has a couple of holes drilled in the stock on the right side, near the wrist, it may be one of the guns they "converted" to look like a flintlock for the John Wayne movie about the Alamo.

As for what to do with it, they do rebarrel these to all kinds of older calibers. The old 7mm is identical to current 7mm Mauser that you find for sale. If you want to have it rebarreled, there are a bunch of places that still work on these. You could go with the original 7x57, or any of the old cartridges like .45-70 or .38-55 or the like. I have one from WWI that is in 8x50R Lebel, and it still shoots great. If nothing else, you could always have the barrel drilled out and re-lined with a sleeve to something like .22LR, .25-20, .32-20, or even .30-30. If your action is still good, there is no reason to turn it into a wallhanger. Just consider it a project gun.

-Mb

You will have quite a job on your hands fitting this action for anything other than a rimless case. The eccentric extractor, and the cuts on the block to make it work on a rimless case, make it difficult to retro fit them to rimmed. It's not impossible, but it is not straightforward. The 1897 and 1910 versions of the No. 5 have sliding extractors that are much simpler to re-work. The original No. 1 actions have a rotating extractor, but it is not of the rimless type and are also comparatively easier to re-work for different case head dimensions.

[Pete1979]

There is nothing wrong with 7x57, If it were me, I would get a barrel in .284 and have it contoured and threaded to fit. Pac Nor makes a lot of oddball replacements, they may be able to supply one contoured and short chambered.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

I didn't say it was a DIY project. But a shop that works on these will be able to do it. That said, I would still go with the 7x57. It is a great cartridge, and the action is strong enough to handle it.

-Mb

[1lowluv]

Thanks for the advice guys.

[TRAP55]

Repro Parts:

http://www.rollingblockparts.com/no5.html

Original parts & barrels:

http://www.rollingblockparts.com/originalparts.html

[gunboat]

Depending on bore condition, etc., a chamber sleeve ala 06 to 308 might be considered. this would make it a shooter if not a target weapon -
my tuppence

[1lowluv]

Depending on bore condition, etc., a chamber sleeve ala 06 to 308 might be considered. this would make it a shooter if not a target weapon -
my tuppence

Would a 308 bullet fit down my barrel? Bore and chamber are both in great shape, very bright and clean

[1lowluv]

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

Found these, 308 would be cool, or maybe even 7.62x39