Baby Rolling Block!

[Panzerschwein]

Hello all!

Well, it's that time of year again. Good 'ol Santa Claus is comin' to town again, and I think he'll have to stop by my house.

I need to let Santa know what new gun I want for Christmas, and I've got an idea for one right here:

http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/baby-rolling-block-carbine-357-mag.html



It's a Remington Rolling Block design made by Uberti of Italy called the "Baby" Rolling Block, and it's chambered in .357 magnum. It's also available in some other calibers, like .44-40 and .45 Colt, but I've already got some .357 sixguns around and I've always wanted a .357 rifle to share ammo with the same guns in the field. I've also been in the market for a single shot rifle of some kind, and I just love the "Old West" history of the Rolling Blocks. I think the reloading procedure just looks so fun, and the "make your shots count" mentality of the single shot rifle is appealing vs a lever gun. Besides, I'd be using this mainly for plinking and informal target shooting. I might also use it for boar hunting from a stand or even whitetail deer hunting, though not right away.

Sure, it isn't exactly like a real Remington Rolling Block. It's built on a lighter, slimmer frame and the gun weighs in at only 5 lbs with a 22" barrel. I know that .357 magnum really gains a lot in carbine barrels, the ballistics with full power ammo approach standard .30-30 Winchester ballistics in fact, at least in terms of muzzle energy. Also, this gun can use .38 special as far as I know and that stuff is pretty darn affordable for a non-reloader such as myself.

I am wondering if anyone out there knows anything about these Uberti rifles, and if they are good. I've got a Cimarron (made by Uberti) 1851 Navy cap and ball revolver and the quality is outstanding on that gun, just not sure how it is on their rifles.

If you guys could give me some feedback on this, I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks all!

 

[tark]

I had one of those back in the 80s. I don't remember who made it but I think it was Uberti. It was one of the most fun guns I ever owned. The gun is a clone of the Remington #2 action rifle. The #2 was the only rolling block ever made with a slanted surface at the rear of the receiver.

You're gonna love this little gun. It is slick and smooth and it is also a great gun to train new shooters on. Mine was accurate and these guns can handle any factory .357 magnum load.

Good shooting.

 

[tark]

Went to your link, and Taylor arms makes this gun sound like their creation, which it is not. It is a reproduction of the Remington #2 rifle like I mentioned.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that!!! And it is made of better steel than the originals! #2s were chambered in every caliber from 22 to 44-40WCF. My original, made shortly after the Civil War, is in 32 rimfire. Damn it! I cant find ammo!

It is a bit cobby, but the bore is shootable, if I could only find ammo. As you can see, it looks exactly like your baby carbine. The #2 was one of Remington's most popular guns, it was inexpensive, reliable, simple, accurate and chambered in all of the popular pistol calibers of the day.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Awesome! Do you know if this gun will shoot .38 special safely? I'm assuming it can but haven't found any info on that yet. Lord knows I've got gobs and gobs of .38 and .357 ammo here. I've been so long in the market for a rifle in the caliber, and the Remington Rolling Block has been drawing me in like a tractor beam lately. This is the perfect combo for me.

I just emailed Taylor's to see if this gun is in stock. I'll probably call on Monday as well. If it's ready to ship, I'll order it.

Also, what kind of accuracy can I expect? I'm not expecting or needing target rifle accuracy, but sure wouldn't complain if the gun shot like one.

 

[rcmodel]

If it can shoot .357 safely, it sure as heck can shoot .38 special safely!!!

Pressure is more then double on the .357.

But you will have to clean the snot out of the chamber before shooting .357 in it again.

 

[Panzerschwein]

If it can shoot .357 safely, it sure as heck can shoot .38 special safely!!!

Pressure is more then double on the .357.

But you will have to clean the snot out of the chamber before shooting .357 in it again.

I don't mind.

The ammo is pretty cheap. I am not a reloader, I just don't have the space for it right now. It and especially .357 magnum will be all the power I'd need where I'm at.

 

[R.W.Dale]

It will shoot 38's just fine.

But there's a catch

Mine the point of impact difference betwixt 38 and 357 at even 50 yards is over 2 FEET so far that the WGRS rear sight has nowhere near enough adjustment to compensate requiring a new front sight.

So you will have to decide what you want to shoot and do an either or unless your rear sight as a wide range of elevation



Mine also has a .355" bore so care must be taken with jacketed mouse fart 38spl loads as I have stuck bullets within published load data

 

[Panzerschwein]

Are there any sight options for this particular gun? Would you rate the sights as "good" that come on the rifle, are they good for shooting?

 

[ECVMatt]

That is simply awesome! I have a few .357 rifles and they are great! I would love to have that one as well. Please do a write up if you end up with one.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[R.W.Dale]

Are there any sight options for this particular gun? Would you rate the sights as "good" that come on the rifle, are they good for shooting?

I cannot answer that. I got my rifle used and it came with I'm sure what's a non original Williams WGRS sight

 

[bannockburn]

Cooldill

That's one sweet little Baby Rolling Block! I think having one in .357 is a great choice. Would go great with my Ruger Blackhawk.

 

[Molasses]

A friend back in my cowboy shooting days had one of the .357 Uberti ones that I looked at and shot a few times. Sweet little critter and made a casual offer to buy it, but surprisingly enough [/sarcasm] got turned down. Been on the lookout for another that's priced where I want it ever since.

I've got a Remington #2 in .22 that's been relined and is quite a nice shooter. It wears a Marbles tang sight and a hooded front post that work quite nicely together.

Used to have another one that started as a .32 RF and a local gunsmith that loved playing with old guns had converted to centerfire, relined and chambered it for .32 S&W Long. It was awesome on small game at close range with target wadcutter ammo and made very little noise while doing it. Got an attack of the stupids and went and traded it off.

That action size and stock configuration just seem to gel to make a great little gun for carrying and shooting.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I love the Rolling Blocks! Anybody else ever seen or fired one of these? Impressions?

 

[BSA1]

I love my Roller but it is full size in 45-70.

The only thing that turns me off on the Baby Roller are the sights. I much prefer a globe front sight and tang rear. My Roller was made by Pedersoli and had a non-adjustable rear sight dovetail in the barrel and a blade front sight. I installed a hooded front sight and Soule tang rear sight from Lee Shaver. I removed the barrel mounted non-adjustable rear sight and fitted a spirit level in the dovetail. With this combination I can easily reach 600 yards.

If the front sight on the Baby Roller is dovetailed I would look for a gun globe front sight. I'm not sure what rear tang sight will work. IMHO a set of sights like this a looknd a 180 gr. bullet would make for nice long range and hunting gun.

 

[Panzerschwein]

The more I look at this gun, the less I like the forearm.

It just looks kind of blocky, am I right? Did real Remington Rolling Block #2's come with this type forend?

Other than that, this gun really is doing it for me! It's a minor complaint to be sure, and won't affect function. I'm awaiting a message from Taylor's, hopefully they have this gun in stock. If not, I'll see if they can order one for me.

It appears that full power .357 magnum loads really have some significant punch from a rifle. I think this will make a fine little hunter in addition to the plinking and range use it will see!

 

[StrawHat]

For a look at an original forearm, look at the first photo in the reply by tark. As for the Uberti being too blocky, they leave plenty of wood for you to shape the way you want it.

Kevin

 

[R.W.Dale]

When you get one in your hands you will realize there's nothing blocky about these. They are as slim and trim as a legitimately centerfire rifle can be

 

[tark]

Hunted down my old #2, or at least talked to the friend of the friend I originally sold it to. It is a Uberti and he has been shooting mule deer with it The rifle has taken four deer and uncounted numbers of small game. He keeps his shots under 100 yards. The hard cast flat nose bullets he uses usually exit the deer. A .357 in a rifle length barrel can develop some rather serious power. He has never shot paper but he claims he can hit a soda pop can at 100 yards every time.

When I had it I did shoot paper and I remember it would hold a quarter sized group (5 shots) at 50. My average group at 100 was two to three inches, but you might well be a better shot than I.

You are going to love that little gun.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Tark's accuracy observations closely mirror mine

The only thing I will add is mine is so light hot 357 loads will actually bruise my shoulder up

 

[joem1945]

I have a old RB made in 1882. Danish M1876 rifle in 11.7 Danish. The brass I have to make and it's longer than 45-70 but shorter than 45-90. shoots best with 405 grain cast lead.

 

[BCRider]

Pedersoli lists the baby rolling blocks and given their cross over with Uberti I'm thinking that the Uberti baby RB came out of the Pedersoli factory.

I know that my recently bought Taylors/Uberti 1885 High Wall came from Pedersoli. Well, at least the action and barrel did. The wood isn't as figured as Pedersoli typically provides but then the price reflects that and I was willing to live with that.

Visually in the pictures I have to agree that the fore stock looks like it could be tapered up towards the front by a little more. But as mentioned in the other replies often these things show up poorly in pictures and look totally different in 3D as viewed from your eyes to your sweaty hands holding a new toy. But if you compare the picture you found to the ones on Pedersoli's web site there's no doubt that it's a different shaped fore stock.

I've often thought about one of these as a companion to my revolvers. And I DO so much love my single shot guns. I recently made up my mind that I can't take it with me so I may as well enjoy it now. As a result I'm going through my collection and want to settle with a conversion to a fewer number of guns that I truly enjoy handling and shooting. And a hand gun caliber rolling block for casual plinking fits right into this idea.

So don't be surprised if we are both showing of our new baby RB's at very close to the same time.....


EDITED- I just looked at our Pedersoli supplier for Canada and they've got an RB sporter in .30-30 with a 28 inch barrel. AND they have the baby RB's in .357 and .45Colt. So now I need to decide ! ! ! ! NOOOOOOOO ! ! ! ! !

 

[MachIVshooter]

Very neat little rifles.

My original, made shortly after the Civil War, is in 32 rimfire. Damn it! I cant find ammo!

It is a bit cobby, but the bore is shootable, if I could only find ammo. As you can see, it looks exactly like your baby carbine. The #2 was one of Remington's most popular guns, it was inexpensive, reliable, simple, accurate and chambered in all of the popular pistol calibers of the day.

If you're more interested in shootability than collectibility, rachambering and making it centerfire is always possible. The gun shouldbe able to handle something like .32 S&W long, and I would think .312 bullets would do reasonably well, the original .32 Rimfire being only slightly larger at .316. Could always cast your own, too.

But again, such a conversion would seriously impact any collector value it has.

 

[tark]

I've thought about that, MachIVshooter, but decided against it. These guns were notorious for breaking the sear/breechblock spring and the gun is almost 150 years old. Someday someone will do a limited run of ammo like Navy arms did a few years back. When they do, I'll pounce on a case.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Thanks so much everyone!

I got a message back from Taylor's the other day. They told me they are out of stock of the .357 Baby Rolling Blocks... but they're expecting an order in about 30-60 days!

I am on the waiting list for one, they'll call me as soon as they come in! In the meantime, I'll have plenty of time to save up and do research, and accumulate different loads.

So, to clarify, do you guys think I can run the hot Buffalo Bore .357 magnum ammo in this rifle without issues? Will it not harm it? I know on Buffalo Bore's site it say the ammo is safe in all steel .357 handguns, but since a .357 Rolling Block is kind of an oddball thing I want to be sure I won't hurt the rifle.

 

[joneb]

So, to clarify, do you guys think I can run the hot Buffalo Bore .357 magnum ammo in this rifle without issues?

I would ask Buffalo Bore, some of my load data suggests a lower charge for rifle. The powder used makes the difference.