Easy XS wrote on Jun 11
th, 2014 at 11:49am:
Gentlemen, I have acquired a Remington Hepburn Rifle. It appears to be a Match Grade A but it is chambered for 30 WCF. This chambering seems to make it a Hi-Power. The serial number is 58** and the barrel is marked E.Remington & Sons. All the numbers match. What I'm trying to determine is if this is an antique (pre-1898) or a modern rifle. Anyone have any ideas on this dilemma of mine?
Without seeing the barrel markings, we have to assume that the chambering you mention is "factory" and not a rebore or reline.
I believe the.30 WCF was introduced with the model 1894 Winchester, so your Hepburn had to be made sometime after that. That leaves a narrow window for it to be an antique.Hepburns were made up until 1908-1910 I believe.
And even though it MAY have been made before 1898, there is still the issue of it being chambered for currently produced ammunition .
Since you didn't mention why you wanted to determine whether it is antique, I'm not sure why it would matter unless you intend to sell it.Then you may need to run it through an FFL.
For shooting purposes,even though the round may be a smokeless loading and considered "high power" for the day, your gun apparently uses an older E.Remington barrel; which for all intents and purposes, probably should NOT have jacketed bullets shot through it.
If your intention IS to shoot it,determine your bore/groove diameters, then get an old Lyman reloading manual and look up cast bullet loads.
Then start low and work up.