August 2012 Blue Press_2012 Blue Press 6/13/12 8:57 AM Page 40 40 CLASSIC MILITARY RIFLES: The Remington Rolling Block Rifle Remington shipped military rifles in various calibers to a long list of countries including: Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Honduras, Mexico, Norway, By John Marshall and Geiger was persuaded toPuerto come to work forRico,o Spain, Sweden and the United States. The single-shot Remington Rolling Block Rifle was Remington at its plant in Ilion, New York. s simplicity itself. Its hammer, when released, rotated The Geiger carbine, a joint effort of Geiger and w under the breechblock above it, preventing its move- Remington Plant Supervisor Joseph Rider, was used O ment. When the hammer was cocked, the breech- in limited numbers by the North in the Civil War. d block could rotate down freely to access the breech. While the action worked well enough, the split- a So strong, simple and reliable was this design breech design had numerous weaknesses. d that it was adopted in the 19th Century as a mili- Accordingly, an improved Geiger-Rider design tary weapon by many nations, including, on a lim- translated into some prototypes that were hurriedly o ited basis, the United States. Frontiersmen used it presented to U.S. Army officers at Springfield a for protection in both rifle and pistol form. Hunters Armory in early 1865. They were tested against 65 a found its qualities attractive and rolling blocks other designs, but found wanting. Rider then went 2 were employed in great numbers as the magnifi- back to work at the factory to correct the defects. s cent herds of bison on the Great Plains were In the winter of 1865-1866, Rider’s efforts had m almost totally eliminated. resulted in the very first Remington Rolling Block p Target versions were also made and used wide- Rifle. Subsequently, the design received the silver n ly. This remarkable action was utilized for almost medal, the highest award for military and sporting c all black powder cartridges used in the late 1800s, arms, from the Paris Exposition of 1867. The Rem- i and some smokeless cartridges as well. Replicas of ington Rolling Block had been unanimously select- l the original guns are still made today, and it’s ed as the best rifle in the world! a proven to be an enduring and classic design with The rotating hammer and its interlocking rotating 9 an interesting history. breechblock were made of solid pieces of premium o That history began in 1862, when Philo Rem- steel, .69 of an inch thick. This made it nearly impos- ington, eldest of three sons of Eliphalet Remington sible to blow the breech. No stronger locking M II (only son of Remington’s founder Eliphalet) arrangement could be imagined. The arm was almost i began a search for an effective single-shot breech immediately recognized as the best single-shot arm f mechanism. In his search he uncovered a promis- available, and a natural for military contracts. c ing patent for a lock invented by Leonard M. Operating the action was so quick that an f Geiger. He then looked to employ both the patent expert could load and fire 17 shots per minute. At r rights and the inventor. Unfortunately, Geiger had the proving house in Liege, Belgium, a .50-caliber b already sold part interests in his patent to two other rolling block was loaded with 750 grains of pow- m gentlemen. After some complicated horse trading, der (normal charge 75 grains), forty balls, and two i a three-way royalty agreement was worked out, wads. When it was fired “nothing extraordinary “ .