William Cody's Remington ''Rolling Block'' Rifle

By Crusader1307

William Cody as we have seen, was the ''Master'' Showman of The American West. In the mid-1870s to the early 20^th Century, His ''Traveling Wild West Show'', brought rough and tumble Cowboys, Trick Shots and of course ''real'' Indians – all to the great joy of Men, Women and Children (most of whom had never even seen The American West of fact or fiction. Cody did much to help create that image in not only the minds of most Americans, but to most European's (of who Cody even took His Show to Europe several times to perform). And while Bill Cody used many firearms, one of His favorites was The Remington ''Rolling Block'' Rifle. An innovative piece of firearms history first marketed in 1863 (for The American Union Army during The Civil War), the .45-70 Caliber (large shell) rifle was an attempt at an effective ''repeater'').

In theory, the spring turned Bolt held (4) rounds, which allowed for them to fire successively with but one lever pull and trigger squeeze. Naturally, The rifle was prone to many misfires and jams (The US Army passed on them). Still marketed as ''Plains Protectors'', the rifle was sold privately (of which Cody was presented with a prototype). Modified for His ''needs'', it was one of His favorite ''trick'' rifles used in His many ''shows''.