For the action, I pieced together over the past few years new and used parts from Remington’s now discontinued Custom Shop RB1 rifle line. Remington in the mid-1990’s to early 2000’s made a run of custom rifles based of the original prints for collectors, shooters, and history buffs. I was able to purchase a stripped receiver and the small parts to complete it to use it as the foundation of my rifle. The barrel I used is a New Old Stock Badger barrel with 1-18” twist in a Winchester #3.5 contour. I chambered the barrel in the classic cartridge 45-70 Government, which will easily handle the 1,000yd range I intend to use it for. For sights I chose Lee Shaver Super Grade Soule Sights with bubble lever front globe sight. The stock is made of the highest grade curly hard maple from Dunlaps Woodcrafts. I left the wood unstained to have the blonde wood contrast with the deep dark bluing of the metal to draw attention to the rifle and hopefully drum up business for me in the future. Besides I think the maple in its natural state is just downright pretty, especially finished with about 20 coats of tung oil and coated with carnauba wax. It really “pops” in the sunlight.
I hand stamped all the barrel markings myself on the rifle to keep with the period style. The caliber designation I chose is one of the same ones Remington used to denote the 45-70 Government. Bonus points goes to anyone who can tell me what the special letter codes I stamped on the bottom of the barrel near the receiver mean. Hint: They’re all original codes minus one that I made up. What do the mean and how can they be useful?
The stock design has a higher comb than the original Remington rifles making more suitable for long range shooting. The forend is also a bit wider and has a unique taper and flare I designed myself to help fill the hand and be comfortable for match shooting, but is not true to an original design. I used ebony wood for the tip wood and grip cap.
Overall I am very pleased with how the rifle turned out and I learned a lot building it. I’m looking forward to handloading ammo for it and shooting it in competition. I hope you enjoy the build and please feel free to ask any questions.
