Norwegian 12mm Remington rolling block rifle made at Kongsberg. Note the muzzle protector.

Norway and Sweden adopted the Remington rolling block rifle as a general-issue service rifle in 1867. The calibre was nominal 4 decimal lines. In modern terms the actual calibre was 12.17mm (.48"), but after Norway started using the metric system in 1879 the rifle was designated the '12mm Remington rifle'.

The Remington rolling block rifle was developed at the E. Remington & Sons factory in the US during the mid-1860s. A single-shot rifle, the soldier had to load a single cartridge for each shot. To load he cocked the hammer, opened the breech block, inserted a round into the chamber, closed the breech block and pulled the trigger. The rifle was sturdy, easy to operate, had a high rate of fire and was relatively accurate. About 45 countries and states adopted the Remington rolling block as a service rifle, including the US, Denmark, Spain, Mexico, Argentine, France and Belgium. The Danish rifle's calibre was 11mm.

Norwegian and Swedish Remington rolling block rifles

In Norway, the Remington rifles were made at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (weapons factory). The military Norwegian and Swedish rifles differ in some respects – and there are also several different patterns of the Swedish rifles. The most noticeable difference between the Norwegians and the Swedish is that the rear sight is different and that the Norwegians had a brass butt plate, while the Swedish had steel butt plates. The Kongsberg rifles are marked with an easily recognisable crowned K. Norway also purchased 6000 finished rifles from Husqvarna in Sweden.

For shooters, the cheapest option is to get a Swedish Remington, because Kongsberg-produced rifles are made in far fewer numbers and thus more expensive. In Sweden, the following factories produced Remington rifles for the government: Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag, Carl Gustav Stads Gevärfaktori and Stockholm Gevärsverkstad. The rifles were stamped with the manufacturer's marks on the right side of the action:

• Husqvarna Vapenfabriks Aktiebolag: H
• Carl Gustav Stads Gevärfaktori: Crowned C
• Stockholm gevärverkstad: Crowned S
• Carlsborg Tygstation: Crowned CB

Husqvarna and Carl Gustaf were the main suppliers. The factories in Stockholm and Carlsborg mainly assembled rifles from parts made at other factories.

In addition to the domestic production, Sweden purchased 10,000 finished rifles and 20,000 actions from Remington in the US. The rifles from this purchase has Remington markings.

Swedish 12mm Remington rolling block rifle Model 1867-68 made at Husqvarna in 1874.

The factory-new Swedish rifles are available in the following five main models:

• Model 1867 made by Remington in the US
• Model 1867 made in Sweden with action from the Remington factory
• Model 1867 with the arc sight (bueklaffsikte)
• Model 1867-68 with the new «ramtrappsikte» adopted in 1868
• Model 1867-74 with altered buttstock and metal plate for locking the bolts

While the Norwegian army issued rifles with sword bayonets, the Swedish army issued socket bayonets. The Swedish navy however, issued a sword bayonet. It is worth noticing that all Swedish rifles have a sword bayonet lug.

Swedish army Remington rifle Model 1867-68 with socket bayonet (above). The Swedish navy issued a sword bayonet (below), but all Swedish rifle have sword bayonet lugs.

Swedish Remington rifle Model 1867-74.

Conversion Models

Since Sweden had thousand surplus Model 1860 ‘Wrede’ muzzle-loading rifles and Model 1864 Hagström kammerlader rifles with the exact same 12.17mm calibre, a lot of these rifles were converted to Remington rolling blocks.

Sweden used the following conversion models:

• Model 1860-67 (muzzle-loading rifle Model 1860 converted to Remington)
• Model 1860-64-68 (muzzle-loading rifle Model 1860 converted to kammerlader after 1864 and then to Remington rifle from 1868)
• Model 1864-68 (kammerlader Model 1864 converted to Remington rifle after 1868)

The Norwegian Army converted their Model 1860 kammerlader rifles to a single-shot metallic cartridge rifles called ‘Lund’s rifle’. After the conversion it could fire the 12mm cartridge of the Remington. The Navy converted about 500 kammerlader rifles to Remington but found the conversion to be too expensive and later converted the rest according to Landmark’s system for the 12mm Remington cartridge.

The converted rifles kept the old bayonet.

Conversion of the Norwegian Model 1860 kammerlader to Remington rolling block.

Remington carbines

Sweden adopted a 12mm cavalry carbine in 1870. In 1885 it was decided to convert some of the Model 1864-68 rifles to carbines. These carbines were designated carbine Model 1864-68-85. Norway adopted 8 mm carbines for the engineers in 1888. The carbines were made from 12mm infantry rifles. An improved model was made from 1891, but it was never formally adopted. Both the Model 1888 and 1891 used smokeless powder and jacketed bullets.

Accessories

The Remington rifles were issued with the following accessories:

Bayonet

Norwegian Remington rolling block rifles were delivered with a sword bayonet. The Swedish army used socket bayonets, while the Swedish Navy used sword bayonet slightly shorter compared to the Norwegian.

Sword bayonet Model 1860 for the Norwegian Remington Model 1867.

Sling

The sling had no metal buckles and was identical to the sling used on the kammerlader. This article shows how to make your own sling. The sling was 910 mm long and 36 mm wide.

Replica of a Remington sling.

Stopper

The stopper was a device made of leather that was slipped over the hammer to prevent damage to the mechanism from dry firing. It measured 50 × 25 mm, with a cut rectangle in the middle.

The stopper.

Oil bottle

Made of glass. There were two models.

Muzzle protector

Wooden tompions were used at first, but they were later replaced by copper muzzle protectors.

Screwdriver

A combination tool with three different blades.

The cartridges

The Norwegian military rimfire cartridge case was 42mm to begin with but was later enlarged to 44mm after a new bullet was introduced in 1871. The Swedish cases were shorter, about 40.7mm, but the ammunition was interchangeable in the rifles of the joint kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.

Original military 12mm Remington ammunition. From left to right: Case for blank cartridge, Norwegian cartridge with 44mm long case and four Swedish cartridges with 40.7mm cases.

When the rifles were sold on the civilian market in the beginning of the 20th century, the breech block was converted from rimfire to centrefire. While the rimfire cases could not be reloaded, the centrefire cases could be used numerous times. Read the article about the civilian use of the Norwegian rifles.

On the civilian market the calibre is best known as the 12 × 44, 12 × 44, 12,7 × 44, 12,7 × 42 or just 12mm Remington. The Swedish cartridge is often designated 12 × 42, based on the incorrect assumption that the Swedish case was 42mm long while it in fact was only 40.7mm. Civilian cases were – as far as it is known – only made in 44mm lengths.

Loading cartridges

You need the following to load cartridges for the 12 mm Remington (12 × 44) cartridge:

• Cases
• Bullets
• Bullet lubricant
• Black powder
• Primers
• Wads

12mm Remington ammunition.

Cartridges and bullets

Strictly speaking, you do not need a reloading press and die set to reload Remington cartridges. But if you want to use reloading tools, some companies, such as RCBS and CH4D, produce die sets for old Swedish and Norwegian Remington rifles. However, they are often incredibly expensive. A much cheaper solution is to use a die set for the .50-70 Government which in most cases works excellently.

Bertram Brass in Australia manufactures cases for 12 × 44, but the best option is to buy .50 Alaskan cases that you trim to correct length. You can also form cases from .348 Winchester.

There are several bullet alternatives available: You can also use bullets for .50-70 Government sized down from anywhere from .512" to .505". svartkrutt.net has its own heel base bullet design based on various original bullets. These moulds were made by Lee Precision but are currently not available.

The svartkrutt.net heel-base bullet.

From Musket to Metallic Cartridge has a chapter dedicated to shooting the 12 mm Remington. It has more information about bullets, cases, reloading tools, loads and powder. If you want to get thoroughly acquainted with the use of the Norwegian and Swedish Remington rolling block, it is recommended that you buy the book.

An exceptionally tight seven shot group shot from the bench at 100m (109 yards). The load used was 58 grains of Wano PP, a bee's wax wad and the Jämttången heel-base bullet.

Step-by-step guide for reloading Remington cartridges

Make sure your rifle is in a good shooting condition. This small guide shows you how to reload without using modern reloading tools. Start by inserting a primer into the case. Use a wooden or rubber hammer seat it gently into the primer pocket. Then pour a powder charge into the case. It is important to only use black powder! The original load was about 60 grains of 'Rifle Powder'. Slightly lighter charges tend to be more accurate though. Start low and work up the load until you find the most accurate charge. You can almost use any granulation from Fg to FFFg or Swiss No. 2 to No. 5. With the more faster burning granulations (Swiss No. 2 and FFFg), it's an advantage to not use too hot loads.

It is important to make sure there is not air gap between the bullet and the powder, and wad column helps prevent this. If there is air between the bullet and the powder, the gun can theoretically blow up. If you use a light charge, make sure you fill any air gaps with a wad or filler. The wad also help lubricate the barrel. Wads can be made from a range of different materials, and shooters use wads made from milk carton or other cardboard, felt or cork. You can also use discs of beeswax or stiff bullet lubricant. You can punch wads with a 13mm wad punch.

Lubricated felt wads helps lubricating the barrel, and keeps the powder residue soft, while cardboard wads help to scrape out the powder residue between each shot. Another alternative is to use, for example, semolina as a filler. To prevent wads from sticking to the bullet after it has left the muzzle, you can punch out wads from newspapers and place them directly under the ball.

The last step is to place a lubricated bullet on top of the wad. The original military bullet lubricant consisted of tallow and beeswax mix, but there are a lot of other recipes you can try - or use a commercially black powder lubricant such as SPG. Don't worry if the bullet is loose in the case, this will not harm accuracy, but it may be more difficult to handle the cartridges without the bullets dropping out.

My best load is 50 grains of Swiss No. 4, Federal Large Rifle primer, a milk carton wad followed by a semolina filler and then a svartkrutt.net bullet lubricated with SPG. I use either .50 Alaskan cases or fireformed .348 Winchester. They perform equally well.

Make sure you clean the rifle and cases well after shooting!