1899 Remington Lee

[jmoore]

A brief beginning of a photo and information thread dedicated to the last of the turnbolt Remington-Lee designs. (Driven by topic drift on the 1879 Remington Lee thread.)

See: 1879 Remington Lee Photos, etc. (Warning! LOTS of big photos) for the first model Lee.

ETA:Another link showing the 1899 in the hands of the Michigan National Guard:
1899 Remington Lee in Michigan

Some photos to start- There may be old repeats, but they haven't been seen by most folk:


#1a) The US Lee family. From the top down:
"1899" Remington Lee
Winchester Lee Straightpull action
"1885" Remington Lee
"1882" Remington Lee
"1879" Remington Lee- originally produced by Sharps with a slighty simpler magazine that did not retain rounds well outside the weapon.


#1b) Closer view of the action. There's no real safety, but the enlarged end of the cocking piece could be used to lower the striker- but it's not recommended as a general rule with a loaded round in the chamber!



#1c) "End of the line" for two divergent Lee design paths.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[sojerguy]

If I can ask.

Since the bottom three are likely .41 Spanish or .45-70, and the 1885 is most likely a 6mm Lee Navy, what caliber is the 1899 on top?

BTW. Many, many thanks for all that you're sharing.

[jmoore]

If I can ask.

Since the bottom three are likely .41 Spanish or .45-70, and the 1885 is most likely a 6mm Lee Navy, what caliber is the 1899 on top?

BTW. Many, many thanks for all that you're sharing.

4) Just a guess, but "30 USA" probably stood for .30" caliber United States Army cartridge, as the .30-40 Krag round was THE government issue cartridge at the time.


The 1899's are MOSTLY .30 Army (i.e. .30-40 Krag). The 1885's are either found in .43 Spansh or .45-70. The Winchester Lee is the 6mm.

(Too pokey too get the first two posts together, I am. Hence the lack of immediate reply- too much photo work and painfully slow typing. One and one half hours for one post! )

[jmoore]

As the bolt is the assembly most changed from model to model, let's start there.

#3a)
What differentiates the last of the Remington Lees from virtually all other bolt actions are the four locking lugs- Two in the "traditional" Lee position at the rear of the ejection port and magazine well, and two new ones on the removable, but fixed (relative to the bolt body- quite the opposite from the familiar Lee-Enfield) bolt head near the chamber. These front lugs are also rotated about the bolt's longitudinal axis from the rear lugs! Nothing else quite like it and for good reason- in order for all bearing surfaces to absorb rearward thrust during firing, many more features have to be either extremely carefully toleranced, or quite a bit of hand fitting would have to be required. It's not "bad" design, but it surely had to be expensive to manufacture!

Removal from the action is relatively straightforward. First open the bolt and safety check the weapon, then close the bolt and decock. Raise the bolt handle but do not move it to the rear. On the right hand rear locking lug rib there is a spring loaded pivoting arm which must be raised slightly at the rear and then rotated towards the right/bolt handle/ejection port side as shown below on a bolt already removed.


#3b)
When the arm is in the position shown above, the front of the arm may be drawn outward from the bolt assembly. This action will free the bolt head. Pull the bolt to the rear and use the rear locking surfaces to dislodge the bolthead from the body. The bolt should now freely slide to the rear and out of the action body. Pick the bolthead assembly from the action raceway. Note that the extractor will easily detatch from the head, so keep an eye on it! A spare is likely hard to find.


#3c)


#3d)

What should be loose so far:


#3e)

In order to fully disassemble the bolt like so,


#3f)

, press the firing pin towards the rear whilst keeping the cocking piece forward against the bolt body. If it hasn't been apart in a while the parts may be "glued" together, so a good long soak in penetrating oil may be in order. Regardless, what needs to happen is that the small knob screwed to the striker must be pressed far enough rearward to clear the stud protruding from the back of the cocking piece. When the knob is no longer restrained from rotating, unscrew it in an anti-clockwise direction (as seen from the rear), whilst maintaining rearward pressure on the striker. When the knob is removed the striker will be free to slide forward through the cocking peice and bolt body. Again, if this bolt hasn't been apart for a while a bit of persuading may be required.

Re-assembly? No hints! (Well, OK, just be sure that the striker tail protrusion from the rear of the striker retaining knob is the same as before diassambly!)

[jmoore]

If you want history and production details on the Remington Lees, there's one "go to" book, written by one of our members:

THE REMINGTON-LEE RIFLE by Eugene Myszkowski

This thread won't attempt to regurgitate too much of his work. It's well worth getting a copy!

If anyone has an 1899 with a good bore and won't mind sharing a range report, it would be most welcome! Mine has the typical rotten bore which is due to a primary diet of blank cartridges. A friend has a Cuban carbine that looks better, rifling-wise, except for the last inch or so, which is completely "wallered out". So shooting results are apt to be dismal at best, and "ill advised" for the most part. ALMOST bought one to rebarrel, but it just wouldn't be the same, so opportunity lost...

[Patrick Chadwick]

More coming!

Thanks JM, and please keep the info coming!

Patrick

[jon_norstog]

.....If anyone has an 1899 with a good bore and won't mind sharing a range report, it would be most welcome! Mine has the typical rotten bore which is due to a primary diet of blank cartridges. A friend has a Cuban carbine that looks better, rifling-wise, except for the last inch or so, which is completely "wallered out". So shooting results are apt to be dismal at best, and "ill advised" for the most part. ALMOST bought one to rebarrel, but it just wouldn't be the same, so opportunity lost...

J,

Thank you for the excellent series of posts.

I've been shooting a Rremington-Lee in 30/40 for about 15 years. It was "sporterized" and had a boogered chamber when I bought it from Ron Peterson's shop in Albuquerque. Ron was **not** happy about the warranty work to repair the drilled-out chamber, but he paid for it. Work done by Bedeaux et Fils.

The rifle's good parts are light weight, quick handling, the detachable magazine, and a very strong action. Not-so good points include the half-cock safety which is both unsafe and too slow for hunting use.

This rifle, I never really found the formula for it. It would shoot 3 inch groups at 100 yards but I never got it to shoot as well as my Krag, inspite of its sharp rifling. The barrel is quite light and may be whipping. What the rifle will do is easily shoot the "Ruger only" loads in the Hodgdon manual, or recommended loads for the .308 in other manuals. I think the bolt head on mine was nickel steel, since it stayed bright.

This particular rifle, I'm thinking, was from a cancelled sale, and was in a lot picked up dirt-cheap, perhaps by Bannerman's. The bore is like new.

If there is interest, I'll take it out and run a box of 180gr reloads through it.

jn

[jmoore]

I've been shooting a Rremington-Lee in 30/40 for about 15 years. It was "sporterized"...

I'm wondering if the loss of fore end support may have adversely affected it's accuracy. Was the barrel cut shorter, or just the stock modified? Regardless, a range report would be great!

[butlersrangers]

Ypsilanti (Michigan) Historical Society Photo Archives, online digital image, showing 1900 winter parade. Photo of SAW Veterans/Michigan National Guardsmen marching west on Congress Street at the bridge.
(IMHO: I would guess parade is on Thanksgiving or New Year's Day. Rail Tracks on Ypsilanti street probably Railroad or Inter-urban. Men are carrying 1899 Lees in unusual manner, maybe due to cold, strong wind, treacherous footing and road sloping up hill).

[sojerguy]

JM,

I do have Eugene's book, and during my 10 days or sp back in the US (from SW asia), I hope to get some trigger time in. The reason for my questuons. Apparently the one I purchased via gun-booger is in very good shape. It was made withth the numbers of the Mich Nat'l Guard (militia?), and is apparently still in origianl trim. We'll see.

I was hoping your 1899 was chambered in one of the esoteric cartridges mentioned by Eugene.

Now about loading the rifle ...