These are the calibers introduced by Remington in 1895 for its Number 5 Rolling Block rifle, which was nothing more than the blackpowder Number 1 action modernized for use with the higher intensity rounds by the addition of a nickel steel barrel, tool steel breechblock and hammer and a case hardened frame, exactly as the Swedes had done with their rifles. 303 British, 7x57mm Mauser, 7.62x53mm Russian and. The receiver itself was case hardened and the old straight extractor was replaced with a far more positive rotary design.ĭanish arms expert Bjorn Nielsen has written that operating pressures for the 8x58R Danish Krag cartridge used in the M-67/89 increased with the rapid development of smokeless powder in the late 19th Century until, by the time the Rolling Blocks were taken out of official service in 1908, the maximum had risen to 45,000 psi.Ī 45,000 psi maximum would allow the chambering of calibers such as the. In order to pass proof for smokeless powder, he wrote, a new nickel steel barrel was fitted, along with a new breechblock and hammer assembly made of Swedish tool steel alloyed with nickel, copper and vanadium. van den Brink, an authority on Swedish military firearms, concurred and argued that the M-67/89 rifles made by the Carl Gustaf and Husqvarna factories were among the finest Rolling Blocks ever turned out. This load generates a maximum pressure of 2,300 atmospheres, or, 33,810 psi.
In Die Leichten Schwedischen, Carsten Schinke's authoritative volume about Swedish military rifles, the author states that the original Swedish M-67/89 smokeless load fired a 237 grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1965 fps for a muzzle energy of 2032 ft. I asked Dutchman where he came up with his 28,000 psi max figure, but he declined to say. The question of safe chamber pressure, regardless of round, is another matter altogether. Slipping one of the Nitro Express rounds up the spout of a rifle designed for the blackpowder cartridge would be an easy mistake to carelessly make, and a potentially fatal one, as our late Swedish comrade found out. 500 NE handle three inch shells and chamber dimensions are identical. A number of the Swedish Rolling Blocks sold for sporting use were rebored and rechambered to handle the. My own research has revealed that the unfortunate Swede who lost his life had mistakenly loaded his rifle with a. I am certain he is sincere in his beliefs, although I have written him several times in regard to some apparent inconsistencies in his research and he has politely declined to address them. To further his argument, he refers to some testing done on a small lot of 1960s vintage Norma sporting ammunition, which yielded pressures in the 27,000-33,000 psi range. To back up his claim, he cites the death a few years back of a Swedish shooter killed when his M-67/89 blew-up in his face like a hand grenade. Editor) According to him, the maximum operating pressure of these rifles is a humble 28,000 psi, perhaps not coincidentally the same chamber pressure advised for use in the notoriously weak black powder. (Always be VERY suspicious of anything written by someone who conceals his or her identity. Much has been made of the relative safety of the Swedish Rolling Block M-67/89 rifle, for the most part in numerous internet shooting forums and on his own website by a seemingly knowledgable gentleman who calls himself "Dutchman." The Swedish Rolling Block M-67/89 rifle: An Urban Rifle Legend Debunked