Speaking of Rolling Blocks
While we're on the subject ... This is my BP gun. It started life as an Argy long rifle my dad bought, maybe 1962, out of a barrel of them in an Oklahoma City gun shop. IIRC it was $11.95. Dad had it cut down and a barrel reline in .44 mag. It was an OK gun at best. I used it for plinking for years after dad lost interest.
My brother had a similar rifle which he had rechambered to .444 Marlin. It shoots harder with lower chamber pressure than the .44 mag. But that's another story.
This one I wanted to shoot black powder exclusively. I took it to Roy Bedeaux in Albuquerque. He had a couple old .45 barrels with deep, Whitworth-style rifling. I had an old original Argy barrel and had Roy copy the profile, including the short octagonal section and with a 24” length. It came out really nice.
The extra few inches of barrel help burn the powder better than the carbine length, and the balance is improved. This is a rifle I can shoot offhand easily and hit what I aim at. The Williams sight is something my dad put on back in the day and it is perfect for me, doesn't get into your face the way a tang sight does. And the gun hits hard, believe me.
This is my backup gun for elk hunting.
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