Month: October 2023
The IDF Mekut’zar Carbine is a uniquely Israeli weapon. I took this picture in Israel in 2012.
Images like this from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor rightfully conjured a white-hot rage among Americans of the era.
Table of contents
Dark Days In History
Certain dark days are burned into our national consciousness. For our grandparents’ generation, it was December 7th, 1941. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor claimed 2,403 American dead and helped precipitate the bloodiest war in human history.
For us, that day was obviously 9/11. On the 11th of September 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists directed by Osama bin Laden transformed four heavily-laden airliners into massive manned missiles with which to attack our homeland. Three of the planes struck their targets. The fourth was foiled by the valiant passengers onboard the doomed aircraft.
At the end of the day, some 2,977 Americans perished. This egregious terrorist act conflagrated a Global War on Terror that still smolders on more than two decades later.
Dark Days In Israel
On the morning of 7 October 2023, the nation of Israel had their own 9/11. The attack occurred less than a week ago as I type these words, so the details are still a bit fuzzy. Current estimates are that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas based in the Gaza Strip launched a widespread attack with up to 2,500 heavily armed militants.
In the first 24 hours these maniacal Islamists murdered at least 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians. Many of the victims were actually children. This was the bloodiest day in modern Israeli history. More Jews perished on this one day than had died on any other single day since the Holocaust. The sheer unfettered brutality of the thing shocked the planet.
A Point of Political Privilege…
I honestly do see both sides to a degree, at least in theory. Six million Jews were institutionally exterminated by the Nazis during World War 2. Many of those who survived made their way to the Middle East and resurrected the historical nation of Israel as a refuge and sanctuary from the hate that nearly wiped them out.
This small piece of dirt, roughly the size of the state of New Jersey, was the only truly safe space in the world for the Jewish people in the aftermath of one of the most efficient and effective genocides in human history. 
By contrast, I own a small piece of land in Mississippi. If American Indians returned to my farm and took it by force because their ancestors had lived on it two thousand years ago that would upset me.
However, whatever moral capital Hamas and the Palestinian militants might have accrued evaporated the moment they decapitated Israeli infants sleeping in their cribs. That was simply beyond the pale. Hamas showed the world that they are now synonymous with ISIS, themselves the most bloodthirsty mob of psychopaths since Heydrich, Himmler, and Mengele. Anyone who defends Hamas is either delusional or something far worse.
The World Is Holding Its Breath for Israel
At this moment upwards of 150-200 Israelis and assorted foreigners are feared abducted. After a week’s worth of merciless aerial bombardment, the Israeli Defense Forces stand poised to launch a massive ground assault into Gaza with the twofold mission of exterminating the Hamas terrorists and retrieving the hostages. The world is holding its breath to see how it all unfolds.
Unlike conflicts of eras past, we get to watch this one in real-time. The terrorists live-streamed their murderous killing spree as it occurred. IDF troops with helmet cameras produce gritty combat footage that is uploaded as soon as the smoke clears. The rest of the world has a ringside seat to the carnage.
While our hearts break for the innocents on both sides, it is impossible for a true gun nerd to look away. The weapons, equipment, and tactics on display are morbidly fascinating. The Israelis have been fighting without serious respite since 1948. They are, by now, quite adept at the art of war. Their small arms reflect this storied military legacy.
Combat Iron
The Tavor X-95 is a state-of-the-art bullpup combat rifle.
One of the common long guns seen in our newsfeeds coming out of Southern Israel is the Tavor X-95 bullpup assault rifle. The GI-issue version sports a 13-inch barrel and an overall length of just 22.8 inches. The Tavor is a combat-proven design that is well-liked by the IDF troops who carry it. However, at 7.3 pounds stripped and empty, the rugged X-95 is undeniably portly.
The other common rifle seen in our newsfeeds is the M-16 carbine in a bewildering array of forms. Some are standard M4’s with flattop upper receivers and 14.5-inch barrels. Others sport stubby little 11.5-inch tubes. The most fascinating of the lot is a curious home-grown Frankengun they call the Mekut’zar. Mekut’zrar appears to be an alternative form of the term. I fear I don’t speak Hebrew, so I am unable to elaborate. However, I’m told this is simply IDF slang for “CAR-15” or “Shorty.” These locally-produced weapons do not seem to be as common as was once the case, but I have still seen a few in the news in the past week.
Origin Story of the Israeli Carbine
Israel prosecuted their miraculously successful Six Day War in 1967 armed predominantly with the Uzi submachine gun and FN FAL rifle. The Uzi is the most-produced pistol-caliber SMG in history. The FAL is a magnificent piece of iron, but it was designed for service in Europe. In the dusty spaces where the IDF served the FAL suffered reliability problems. The Israeli answer was the Galil assault rifle.
Introduced in 1972, the Galil was a hybrid combat rifle that incorporated the action of the Kalashnikov, the cartridge of the M-16, and the folding stock of the FAL. It was versatile, accurate enough, and as reliable as a tire iron. The Israelis even incorporated a bottle opener into the forearm. The first prototype Galils were built on Finnish Valmet receivers smuggled into the country illicitly.
While the Galil was a superb infantry weapon, it was both fairly heavy and expensive to manufacture. The Israelis needed a lightweight rifle that troops both on duty and off could carry with them while going about their daily routines. In the 1970’s that rifle was the American M-16.
The 1967 Six-Day War was a stunning victory for the Israelis. Their enemies call it “The Setback” to this day. However, the follow-up Yom Kippur War in 1973 was a very iffy thing for the beleaguered IDF. One of the reasons the Israelis prevailed was Operation Nickel Grass.
Nickel Grass was an emergency strategic airlift of American weapons, ammunition, and supplies from US stores to the IDF. Tanks and planes were shipped directly to the war zone, had Israeli insignia painted on, and then went straight into the fight. As part of this massive outpouring of military support, the Israelis received tens of thousands of American M-16 rifles.
The M-16 was lighter, handier, and more accurate than the Galil. As they came from the US as military aid, these rifles were also free. This substantial pool of combat weapons served as a foundation for the Mekut’zar Carbine.
Back in the day, IDF troops who were home on leave often carried their weapons with them. Back when I was there in 2012, every decent crowd had a handful of young studs in civilian clothes packing Tavors, M-4’s, or Mekut’zar Carbines. Lamentably, that is apparently not as common today as was once the case. However, to fill the need for a lightweight yet powerful personal defense weapon, Israeli armorers went to work modifying those full-size M-16 rifles into something stubbier.
Transformations
The first step was to exchange the fixed stocks of the M-16’s for collapsible versions. Some of those were standard American-made stocks as found on the M-4. Others were Israeli-specific variants. FAB Defense was the most common local source. However, the biggest transformation was in the barrels.
To create the Mekut’zar Carbine, Israeli armorers pruned the 20-inch M-16A1 barrels shown here back to just behind the existing gas block. The front sight base was then relocated rearward to accommodate a carbine-length hand guard.
Customization
IDF small arms are often heavily customized. They all seem to sport electronic optics nowadays. I saw quite a few Trijicon ACOGs as well as a variety of domestic sights from Meprolight. Israeli slings are typically a bit wider than our own to help better distribute the weapon’s weight.
The slings usually have a quick-release feature as well as a pouch to hold earplugs. There are additionally scads of nifty little Velcro and elastic additions all designed to make good guns better.
The weapons I saw in public carried a loaded thirty-round magazine in the magwell and an orange chamber block under the bolt. IDF troops with whom I spoke explained that they were trained to rack the bolt, remove the chamber flag, and have their weapons in action very quickly. Most everything on the weapon, including the magazine, chamber block, and optical sight, was usually secured with a length of dummy cord.
Zahal.org is the source for genuine IDF weapons accessories. Before the recent war, you could order this gear over the Internet and it would show up over here in a week or two. I have no idea what the situation is today given recent sordid developments.
Ruminations
Israel is indeed a nation forever at war. Both sides have legitimate grievances, and there are clearly no easy answers. Tragically, the foundations of this current conflict go back millennia and are, at this point, impossible to rectify. However, this recent horror is shocking even by ISIS standards.
The Israelis’ fight is with Hamas, not necessarily with the Palestinian people. However, given the egregious nature of this recent massacre, Hamas as an entity will likely have to die. Barring anything unexpected, I doubt the IDF is going to stop until Hamas is essentially exterminated. As we Americans sit comfortably at home watching the carnage on the news we should all be thankful that such tragedy is not occurring on our own shores. To keep the chaos at bay will no doubt require proper vigilance in the months and years to come. It remains to be seen if our political leaders have the stomach for that.
After I fitted the barrel, I wanted to shape and taper it for looks and to reduce the weight.
After setting up the mill, I used a facing tool to remove a great deal of material — about 1 pound of metal was shaved off — and to give the barrel a more streamlined shape. I still had to draw-file and sand the barrel, but I liked the resulting look much more than when it had a slight taper from the box. It also took off some of the front weight.
I cut off about 4 inches — giving me a 30-inch barrel — and dialed it up in the lathe to face and crown the muzzle. A flat face was machined and it was crowned with a deep 45-degree taper. Brownell’s sells crowning tools that can be used without a lathe, but the lathe was handy, so I used it for the crowning job. Whichever method you use, the crowning job is critical for accuracy. The face of the rifle must be perfectly perpendicular to the bore so the bullet exits the pipe evenly. The crown recesses this edge to protect it from damage.
Proof Testing
With the barrel chambered and installed, I wanted to proof-test my work. Headspace depends on the base of the case sitting against the rolling block and how tight the block fits against the hammer surface. This is the base of the action’s strength. I was happy with the way everything fit, but I still wanted to proof it, so I put the old stock on the rifle.
My proof-tester is simple: I use a spare tire as a base and strap the action to it with ratchet tie-downs. Then, I point the muzzle into a safe backstop and fire the action from a distance with a string. I had to load some new cases because the cartridges I had for my Sharps were not full-sized, and apparently, its chamber is a bit larger than the new chamber in my Rolling Block.
I loaded four of my pet smokeless loads and carefully measured the cases for a comparison after firing. The proof-test went well, and the cases measured out, showing no signs of headspace problems or excessive pressure.
Stock Work
It was time to stock the rifle. TreeBone Carving has some of the prettiest wood I’ve seen for rolling blocks. I told George Peterson, owner of TreeBone, I was trying to duplicate a Rolling Block Sporting Rifle but also wanted to shoot cowboy long-range events and possibly hunt with it. He recommended a walnut stock with a shotgun-shaped butt.
I could inlet the original buttplate or put a plain metal buttplate on the rifle to be historically correct. I ended up putting a rubber recoil pad on the rifle to protect it (and me) and will probably have to make a hard, more authentic buttplate for shooting cowboy events.
Brownell’s carries TreeBone’s walnut version of that stock, so I figured I could always fit a prettier piece of wood on the gun later. I didn’t really want a high-gloss finish.
TreeBone stocks require about 90 percent fitting to the action, and almost anybody with some tools should be able to do the job. Rolling block actions differ a bit in stock fit, and this one was more difficult. I have a Danish action with a flat-angled fit, in which the action meets the gripped part of the stock. The Remington No. 5 has two angles that must be negotiated.
The stock slipped up almost to home position before I did anything. My most important tools were a triangle file, flat file with one blank edge, fordum or dremel tool, and a variety of sandpaper matched to a sanding block. You can’t see some surfaces when fitting the stock, and candle soot helped me find where the high spots had to be relieved.
I put soot on the action and filed a bit off where the stock rubbed it. With a lot of fitting and filing, the stock will eventually slide up tight and right. After it’s in place, you can drill the receiver tang-screw hole in the right spot.
The forearm grip comes cut to fit an octagonal barrel. It was very close to the barrel I shaped but needed some minor fitting. The forearm was not drilled for an attaching screw, and I had to position and drill it. A brass escutcheon was then bedded in the stock where I planned to put the screw — and a hole was threaded into the barrel.
It’s critical that you make the threaded hole in the exact spot, or it won’t fit correctly. I used a drill press to create the hole. Be careful not to go too deep; there’s enough meat in the barrel, but it’s very easy to make it too thin. You can set up a drill press or mill to stop at the correct depth.
Find the center of the barrel flat more precisely by using the calibrated table on a mill. After I found the hole and drilled, I used a bottom tap to tap the hole to the correct thread right in the mill vise. The bottom tap allowed me to cut as many threads as possible into the shallow hole.
After the hole was completed and the forearm screwed to the barrel, I wanted to strengthen the stock on both pieces by glass-bedding it where it fit to the metal.
The glass fills voids in the wood from carving and provides a stronger, tighter fit. The finished fit of a glass-bedded stock gives a rifle a professional look. Acraglas with a bit of coloring for the finished stock shade was the ticket.
I knew I would shoot the rifle before I did the finish bluing, and I didn’t want to stain the stock with dirt, sweat and cleaning solvents, so I put a couple coats of Tru-Oil on it for protection. That also gave me an idea of what shade to tint the Acraglas. I also fit the stock with the recoil pad so it would protect the butt and my shoulder in pre-finish shooting sessions. The rifle was really starting to take shape, and I liked the look of the stock.
Sighting Up
A set of sights was the only thing I still needed. Most cowboy long-range rifle side matches are 500 yards or closer. Still, I needed some drop compensation for longer work.
I studied sporting rifles in Remington Rolling Block Firearms by Konrad F. Schreier Jr.. This book features vintage Remington rifle ads, including options. The rear sight common to the guns was the Rough and Ready sight on the rear, which was an open-notched sight with a flip-up peep that can be adjusted 1.5 to 2 inches for elevation.
A blade front sight was common in the day, and Remington also made a Beech sight, which was a blade with a flip-up hooded post that could be used with the peep rear.
Montana Vintage Arms makes many quality sights, but its Rough and Ready replica seemed to be the right choice. I complimented it with the company’s version of the Beech front sight.
The front sight comes with a dovetail fit, and the Rough and Ready can be dovetailed or screwed in place. I used the screw-down model for my rifle, but if I had it to do again, I’d go with the dovetail model because it gives you some windage adjustment on the rear sight.
The front sight is dovetailed, so I adjusted my windage there. Montana Vintage Arms also makes high-quality long-range Soule sights and old-time scope sights it calls MVA scopes.
You can easily cut dovetails on a mill with a dovetail cutter. I measured the dovetail on the combination Beech front sight, and then took a couple of passes with the mill to cut the slot slightly smaller than the base.
The fit was finished by hand with a file, and it was perfectly tight. I have fitted dovetails without a mill by cutting the slot in the barrel with a hacksaw. Then, I’ve roughed the slot out with a file and finish-fitted it with a triangular file to create the dovetail. It takes longer, but if done carefully, it’s just as precise
With the sights on, it was time to put the gun together and see how it shot. The rifle still needed to be final polished and blued, and the stock had to be sanded and stained, but I figured a range session would tell me if I chambered and muzzled it correctly. If figured it would be better to redo metal work before the final finish.
The first session was a rough sight-in affair using a proven smokeless load. I discovered that the bullet I had cast was long enough to touch the rifling, as evidenced by marks on the lead when I took a live round out of the chamber. At 100 yards, the gun required just a small sight adjustment to make fist-sized rocks disappear. It was time to develop a pet load for the rifle and put it on paper. It had a good start.
For the second session, I loaded some of the LaserCast 500-grain bullets with a semi-wadcutter nose. I loaded them to the same length as the cast round-nose bullet, but the taper nose of the wadcutter was narrower and did not quite touch the rifling. The bullets showed promise in the rifle. The combo was tried on the 200-yard gong after a cowboy practice match.
After figuring the adjustment for the drop, hitting the gong consistently was just a matter of pulling the trigger. I’m really looking forward to developing a load, because the gun is accurate enough to make it work.
Finishing Touches
I planned on finishing the rifle so it looked like something from the rolling block’s heyday. I went with a plain walnut stock, which would have been standard on hunting guns. Some engraved custom guns had nice wood on them, but those were more common at uppity gun clubs or target matches. The original stock on my gun had a very dark stain, which seems common for firearms from that time.
I sanded the Tru-Oil off of the stock and darkened the wood with Mini Wax Dark Walnut Stain. Tru-Oil is a great finish, and I use it often. However, it would not darken the wood as much as I wanted.
After the first coat of Mini Wax, I saw many scratches and tool marks I couldn’t see when the wood was plain sanded. It took several coats and some sanding to get all the scratches out, and the multiple coatings filled the wood grain with the stain and protectants.
The Mini Wax retained the dull look I was seeking, and some light work with steel wool gave me the finish I wanted. Taking the time to apply several coats alternated with fine sanding did the job.
I really had a dilemma with finishing the metal. Many of the original rolling blocks came with a case-colored hardening on the receiver. I could send the action to a shop for that finish.
However, I had recently seen a rifle with a shiny blue receiver and a less shiny finish on the barrel, and I liked how that looked. A dull blue finish and glare-free barrel would be practical for hunting and sighting, but the shiny finish really stuck in my mind.
| Finishing metal is easy and can be done with emery cloth and steel wool. I view polishing as gradually putting finer scratches in the metal until they have a mirror finish. I started with 80-grit sandpaper to remove tool marks on the barrel and some bad pits on the receiver. Actually, I removed three really bad pits with a file and then formed the metal back with sandpaper. I was careful not to change the lines of the receiver or wear any writing. The only factory writing on this action was on the tang, which had no huge pits, so I got away with some minor polishing there. It’s easy to round off corners that should remain sharp to keep the original look of the receiver. I then went to 120- , 220- and 320-grit paper. I took the flats of the barrel down to a 400-grit polish so it blued out shiny, but less so than the receiver. It also will produce less glare on the top flat when sighting. I used a polishing wheel and compound on the receiver to get a very shiny finish that will blue out like a deluxe finish on a custom gun. It’s easy to vaporize a number, letter or lines on the gun with even the finest polishing compounds, so take care. Polishing is the most important part of the finishing process. Pits left in the metal will appear as white dots, and scratches will make you wish you had taken more time. The screws on my gun were boogered up a bit, so I carefully filed and sanded the damaged areas and polished them to the same gloss finish as the receiver. I also sanded and blued the rolling block and hammer. I use hot blue for everything but touch-up efforts. Brownell’s and DuLite Corp. salts provide good results. Hot bluing is a book in itself, but it’s the most durable bluing finish I’ve used. Worth the Effort  When building your own firearm from an antique — whether sporterizing an old military Mauser or rebuilding a buffalo gun — you take pride in shooting an animal or winning a competition with the finished product. With the availability of tools and products to make the job easier, anyone can complete a project like this. Even if you farm out some of the work to a pro, there will still be part of you in every hunting trip or shooting expedition with your project gun. — Dave Morelli is a retired policeman, having served as a patrolman, trainer, SWAT operator and a SAR tracker/trainer. He currently lives in Idaho and writes about various topics, including firearms, hunting, tactical gear and training. Gun Digest is the national bi-weekly source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Our in-depth editorial, exclusive price guide and new product features, brings valuable information to our high profile subscribers. Subscribe Now! |
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, when smokeless powder started to rule ammunition, better steels were developed and used to produce these actions.
They were stronger and withstood the pressures developed by new propellants and cartridges. The rifles were chambered for 7 mm Mauser, .303, .30-40 and other cartridges produced for new-fangled repeating rifles.
These were No. 5 actions, and although the rifles differed in many details — such as the type of sights or length — the action was essentially the same as the No. 1, except it was made with the stronger “smokeless” steel. The parts are interchangeable.
The rolling block came in various other models, but the one I found for my project was a No. 5 in 7 mm. It was a carbine and made circa 1902 to 1905. The rifle was functional, but as I disassembled it to start the project, my desire to shoot it waned. The action was in excellent shape, however, and would be an great base for my project. I began the search for the parts I’d need to rechamber it into a .45-90 “buffler” gun.
The question of caliber was my first decision. I wanted to build a sporting-type rifle, so the .50-70 might have been a period-correct caliber. It was a No. 5 action made of stronger steel, so I could shoot smokeless or black powder.
However, I wanted it in a more common buffalo caliber. I also wanted something for which it was easy to find loading components for making cartridges.
The .45-70 fit that description and is certainly a period-correct caliber. I went with the .45 Sharps, which is more commonly known today as the .45-90. My spaghetti Sharps is a .45-90, and I figured I could easily get parts right at my loading bench.
I have found most of the time it’s better to shoot the .45-90 instead of the .45-70 when you’re using black powder. The extra black powder that fits in the .45-90 case will increase the velocity a bit.
The most accurate smokeless loads in either rifle travel at about the same speed. Some of the new big-case powders will make the pill travel faster, but slowing them from 1,600 to 1,300 feet per second yields better results.
The .45-70 can be loaded faster, but that’s only recommended in the Ruger No. 1 action. I’ve never used that rifle and don’t have information about accuracy when pushing the .45-70 that far. The .45-90 will stay in the safe pressure zone at higher velocities, but accuracy suffers.
Getting Down to Business
After I decided on the caliber, I could start rounding up stuff. I needed a barrel, sights, a stock, a forearm and a .45-90 chambering reamer.
I went to the Brownell’s catalog and found about everything I needed. It carries Green Mountain black-powder cartridge barrel blanks in an octagonal stock. The barrel would have to be sized, threaded, chambered and crowned to the desired length.
It was plenty oversized enough for anything I wanted to do. I could have made it half-octagonal, half-round, or swamped it down to reduce the weight. I liked the full octagonal barrel but ended up tapering it down from breech to muzzle to decrease the weight. I also ended up shortening it to 30 inches before crowning it. The Green Mountain barrel blank was a .458 bore with a 1-in-18 twist.
When I pulled the 7 mm barrel off of the No.5, I saw something new. The barrel threads were square. I knew such threads existed, but I’ve never had to cut them. I had to grind a tool to cut square threads, which turned out to be an easy project. I counted how many threads were inside an inch: 12 tpi.
Next, I measured between and across the threads, and they were around .041 inch. I say “around” because they varied a bit, but only by a few thousandths. I then ground a square tool to those dimensions out of high-speed steel. I gave it a trial run on a piece of aluminum and made a plug that had a Class 3 fit to the receiver. A Class 3 fit has very little wobble.
The machining to fit a barrel blank requires access to a lathe. I have seen barrels on the Internet that were already machined and chambered. If you keep an eye open, you might find barrel that suits your needs.
Some companies offer barreling and chambering with their products, or most local gunsmiths can do that. If you have machining skills but need coaching, Brownell’s tech support guys are always there to help. I’ve found them to be extremely knowledgeable and will point do-it-yourself folks in the right direction.
I turned the barrel stub down to the right diameter and found that the round stub was a bit short for the rolling-block action.
It wasn’t a problem to use the lathe and lengthen the stub and round out some of the octagonal barrel. I like putting my own shoulder on the barrel so everything in the chambering and threading process is on the same plane. I used the old barrel to get it close enough for a hand fit.
When I was ready for threading, I kept the stripped receiver nearby, as the threads were getting close. This is the only way to get a precise fit, and it takes some time to try the threads, take off a few more thousandths and try again until it screws down tight. After the fit is good, you can adjust the receiver to the right position by taking off a few thousandths at the shoulder until it stops level. The breech face will also have to be trimmed to be flush with the back of the receiver to headspace correctly.
After the receiver fit to the barrel, it needed to be chambered. Brownell’s carries a good selection of Dave Manson reamers, which I like. When picking out a reamer for the .45-90, you can choose between lead bullets and copper jackets.
I knew I was going to shoot buffalo matches in cowboy games and would have to use lead bullets. I also planned on doing some elk hunting with the finished rifle and have been happy with the performance of lead bullets in such situations. Those big, slow bullets do not destroy meat from velocity shock; you can eat right up to the hole.
The .458 bore was big enough that I didn’t have to drill out the hole before starting the reamer. You could use a roughing reamer to get closer and then finalize things with a finish reamer.
You won’t finish this part of the job in a few minutes. The process is slow, and you have to remove the reamer often to clear off chips. You’ll also need lots of good-quality cutting oil. I kept the blank in the lathe, lined up the reamer with the tail stock and turned it by hand with a wrench. That kept the reamer lined up precisely with the bore, which is paramount for accuracy.
I was careful not to turn the reamer backward or counter-clockwise, because the chips binding against the cutting edges will dull the reamer.
After the chamber was reamed to the desired length, I fired up the lathe and slightly chambered the edges to knock off the sharpness and keep bullets from snagging when loading. Then, I polished the chamber to a high finish with 600-grit emery and steel wool. I wrapped the abrasive on a properly sized wooden dowel and inserted it into the chamber when spinning it in the lathe. You can also polish it in a vise, spinning the abrasive with a drill motor.
With the barrel chambered, I had to form the breech face to fit the rolling block part of the action and cut the extractor slot. The First No. 1 actions had a straight-eject extractor on the bottom of the chamber.
Later, however, they were redesigned with a rotary extractor. My No. 5 was fitted with the rotary, and I only had to duplicate the position using the old barrel as a guide. I bought a new extractor and it was easy to fit to the rim of the .45-90. Having the old barrel made positioning the cut easy.
While doing the metal work, I tried to decide how to stock the gun and what type of sights I would use.
I wanted to duplicate a sporting rifle and really didn’t want verneer sights because I also planned to hunt with the gun. Montana Vintage Arms makes a period-correct Rough and Ready rear sight that combines an open sight and flip-up peep for distance shooting. For the front sight, I chose the company’s Beech-type combination, which has a blade for open sighting and a flip-up hooded pin for the peep rear sight.
I figured the gunstock would depend on my needs. I would shoot cowboy long-range events and hunt with the gun.
If I just shot competitions with it, the gun would remain in pristine condition. However, hunting would nick a custom-finished stock.
Brownell’s carries a Treebark Carving plain walnut stock for the rolling block action. It is 90 percent fitted and would be correct and practical for the rifle. It has a flat butt and can be fitted with a recoil pad or inletted to a period buttplate. Treebark Carving also offers various woods to fit any level of look.
What’s Next?
After the receiver is barreled and chambered, I usually proof-test guns before I proceed. In the second part of this article, I’ll do that, and shape the barrel, fit the stock and sights, and decide on a final finish. Click Here for Part 2 of this article to see the results of the great rolling block project.
— Dave Morelli is a retired policeman, having served as a patrolman, trainer, SWAT operator and a SAR tracker/trainer. He currently lives in Idaho and writes about various topics, including firearms, hunting, tactical gear and training.