1879 Remington Lee ...need a part

A few years back, I found an 1879 Remington Lee Navy rifle in the attic of my great aunt's house. It is in pretty good shape, but it seems that my great grandfather made it "safe" for storage and removed the bolt. He has been dead for 30-40 years and so no one in my family has any idea as to where it could be. I looked everywhere in the house, but was unable to find it.

Does anyone know of someone who might sell this bolt? or possibly remanufacture it (working or non-working)? I am also looking for a front barrel band and cleaning rod (rod not a high priority).

This is a piece of my families history, and I would like to be able to have it displayed in my home someday as a complete piece. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, the rifle is one of 300 that were in the first contract to the US Navy.

Parts are difficult to find for these rifles. You may want to look for one that's been cut down and in otherwise non-shootable condition and get the whole thing as a parts donor.

Has the magazine been upgraded? (Cook's patent?) If there's a raised rib on one side and a coresponding relief cut in the mag well, then it has. Most were...

I'll look around, see if I can find any non-shootables. Thank you.

It doesn't appear to have Cook's patent.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/image-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1/image1-1.jpg

The lack of upgrade makes it even more worth the effort to complete it! That mag looks weirdly long, is there an extention grafted on, or...optical delusion?

I think the line you see is from being in the gun, contact oxidation.

---------- Post added at 02:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 AM ----------

I'll get some more pictures of the rifle up this weekend

Optical illusion it was (and a not so good computer at another location):

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Lees003-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff084-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff079-1.jpg

Bolt isn't like any other rifle of which I'm aware:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Lees024-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff004-1.jpg

---------- Post added at 02:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 AM ----------

More photos would be excellent, right_slide !

Your predicament has really touched a nerve, right_slide , as I remember how marvelously smooth the operation of the R-L with the Cook improved magazine was at the range. The super-original box magazine with the bullet nose cartridge retention design seems poorly adapted for belt storage, but it ought to work as well or maybe even better in the rifle due to the bolt design. Removal of a partially loaded magazine might result in round spillage as well. (???)

You may be able to give us some practical insights into this short lived version if you can round up some 405gr lead bulleted cartridges or appropriate action proving dummies. The bullet nose capture feature is about the only aspect of this design that doesn't seem to have been utilized in any later rifle..........(Nope, still can't think of a copy cat...hmmm)

Even without a bolt, you may be able to see some shortcomings or oddities, especially regarding cartridge retention outside the weapon.

Very interesting!

ETA: As you have provided us with photos of the first production version of the box magazine, this thread just had to be cross-linked to the big photo spread linked below so readers can jump here easily in the future.:thup:

1879 Remington Lee Photos, etc. (Warning! LOTS of big photos)


ETA2: After re-reading the first post, it may be that a Remington rolling block front band might be made to work- If you can find the correct version. Ditto for the cleaning rod. My interest lies with the Lee connection much more than the Remington, but GeneM indicated that they used off the shelf parts where possible. (I.e., the rear sight in my case.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmoore

Optical illusion it was (and a not so good computer at another location):

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Lees003-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff084-1.jpghttps://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff079-1.jpg

Bolt isn't like any other rifle of which I'm aware:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Lees024-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff004-1.jpg

---------- Post added at 02:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 AM ----------

More photos would be excellent, right_slide !

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Is yours one of the first 300? I found a full receiver for sale, the bolt handle looks a bit different.

Another question. How similar are the model 1879 and 1885 receivers/bolts? Would I be able to fit an 1885 bolt into my 1879? (display purposes only at this point) or worst comes to worst, can I fit the 1885 receiver into my 1879 stock?

The bolt handle itself is differently placed. They won't swap. Even in a nonfunctional way. (Unless you were to butcher your rare receiver!- :eek:) It seems a terrible shame to get in a rush at this point.

1885 Model below (this is actually a "parts source gun" for my "nice" 1885 that I bought "just in case" for little more than the price of the magazine alone!):
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff057-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...stuff061-1.jpg

Versus the 1879:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Lees002-1.jpg


If you want just a display bolt that can't function, it ought to be feasible to use a bit of metal tubing and some creative wood carving along with epoxy and paint to fashion a dummy for very little expense. Good enough for static display until the real thing comes along.

The bolt on my rifle should be identical in all respects to what was in yours. It even has the cartridge retracting groove on the underside. S/N is only 3-400 off. Plenty of photos to go by too, so it'll look good at five feet- given a little attention to detail.

Ummm, But IF you were to butcher a 1885 BOLT...Let me cipher on this.... It wouldn't likely be shootable, Not even otherwise functional, probably, But if you were to cut off the bolt handle and fashion a new one for up front...

How much cubic money you got to ruin some good parts for no good purpose, whilst keeping your 1879 intact????

I still think the EMT and some Hollywood magic is the best option for display.

Update after doing some parts swapping attempts:

The 1882 and 1885 bolt simply won't go into a 1879 receiver as they're about 0.025"-0.030" bigger in diameter. You COULD turn part of one down and then reduce the rest with a shaper. (not the woodworking kind!) Otherwise it would take custom milling cutters and all sorts of set-ups to do. Not a cheap job regardless!

The locking lugs seem to be in the correct position, but you would still have to fashion a new bolt handle. The front end on the newer model is generally longer. If no possibilty of making it actually functional is contemplated, then that's not a big deal. Firing pin is too long as well but, again, not a big deal for a non functioning display.

If it was mine I could probably get it shooting if a late model bolt was available, but it would probably take several years and would require getting the shaper out of storage (it only weighs about 3000 lbs...!).

Time actually ciphering and cutting and making special tools and fixtures? Likely over 80 hours, but I'm slow and cautious. Cost? Let's just say it would probably be cheaper to buy another rifle...

A fake homemade non-functional bolt is the best option for most sane folk.


ETA: for those anorak-ish types that might be interested, the 1879 bolt is about 0.610" in diameter. The 1882 and 1885 bolts checked are between 0.635" and 0.640" roughly in diameter. Front end of the bolts are longer because of the requirement to function with the later 500gr loads.

BTW, I'm guessing the bolts were made fatter due to cartridge rim dimensional irregularities that must have been more common with the early folded head construction.

I thought about just editing away the above "BTW", but the obvious answer as to why the bolt diameter was increased on 1882 and 1885 Remingtion Lees is that it was done to accomodate the .43 Spanish round which was VERY popular for Remington. There's likely more .43 Spanish R-Ls than 45-70. So....

It just came to me upon awaking for work today. Sure enough, the numbers work!

It took me five+ years to find a 1879 magazine for mine,so you can find one. Look at every Antique dealers site and post WTB on every forum you can find. AGB-1

A couple of corrections, now that I found GeneM's book, The Remington-Lee Rifle.

The front band is stated to be "the Springfield pattern", which implies the 1873 Model 45-70 trapdoor. That's an even easier part to find than a rolling block Remington front band, so good news there.

The bolt underside has an additional groove that's not on my later example. It's for retacting the cartridge via the rim to free it from the bulge at the front of the magazine. Fairly easy to add, when a replacement bolt is found. There's a photo in the book mentioned above.

No worries. I wouldn't sacrifice an 1885 bolt, not going the "bash to fit" method. I'll look off of all the pics you guys provided, see if I can make a good looking dummy. Keep your eyes open, should you see one for sale.

You just never know what will turn up! Thanks for the reminder. Not a bad idea to refresh our "BOLO" list.

I also have a Remington-Lee 1879 and is missing the bolt. As shown in the photos above, the bolt handle for the 1879 is forward of the receiver lug. Later Remington-Lees have the bolt handle behind the receiver lug. Does anyone know where one of the earlier bolts might be obtained?

What's a complete bolt worth these days?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rgg_7

What's a complete bolt worth these days?

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Put one out for auction and see! There's surely no "retail" value. But it's probably less than a complete rifle. It may NOT be less than a "Bubba"-ed rifle, though!