Hello all. A good friend who has been interested in SS rifles for years (mainly Boys rifles) decided to let his collection go as he's tired & worn down by the increasing firearm regulations & BS in our state here in Oz. My only advice to you boys is not to let it happen over there.
Anyway I've always admired this particular No.2 as they are almost impossible to find here in this kind of condition. It still has most of the colour-case on the action & blue to the barrel (though there is a light covering of surface rust on the barrel - I'll have to work on that).

Now this rifle really was someone's pride & joy.....imagine finding this under the Xmas tree with your name on it!
It has a 28" barrel and is chambered in .32 Long RF, the bore looks perfect. Then there is the Rem short staff tang and the Gold washed Beach's combo front sight. That tang is a lot of sight for a 50-75 yd RF round!

The serial number is 118XX. I'd be interested to hear suggestions as to a likely production year for this rifle. The only info I've been able to find is that the No.2s were made from 1873-1902 and production was in the tens of thousands.

This is a nice little rifle.
Spud 

I like #2 Rolling Blocks! You have a really nice one, and that 28" barrel is kind of unusual. I think most of them have 24 and 26 inch barrels.

JerryH

I agree with Ten-Mile.  Does it say E. Remington or Remington Arms Co?  Most likely its the former.  That's a real beauty!

A couple other observations.
- it has the half moon wooden panels, an indicator of early versions.

- it has the patent date info on the side of the action. Very late versions do not have that.

-The tang sight looks like an original period sight, but I'm not very knowledgeable on them. However. Very early #2 rifles were not drilled and tapped for a tang sight. But of course that could have been done by a gunsmith at a later time. I have this one that is not drilled & tapped. I believe it is from the 1879-1881 period. It is similar to yours, but is .44 cal.

I suggest that you carefully measure the chamber length. I've had three 32 rimfire #2 rifles. They all took the .32 Extra Long cartridge. I just have one now, and its been converted to centerfire. The centerfire equivalent is .32 Ballard Extra Long. I load mine with an Accurate 31-090S heel bullet of 93gr. My cases are 1.050" long. But I also use cases 1.150" long with the Ideal/Lyman 299153 heel bullet.   

The .32 XL, is pretty close to the 32-20 ballistically. I've found it to be quite accurate if I do my part. I've converted centerfire cases to rimfire too. Its they way to go if you don't want to alter the breech block.

Thanks for those comments guys. I checked the marking on the top flat of the barrel to rear the of sight and it reads " E REMINGTON & SONS. ILION. N.Y." , so Vall was right.
Removed the tang sight and there were no markings there but the case colours were as vivid & bright as the day it left the factory so I'd say that the sight has been there for the life of the rifle. A caliber stamp of "32" is on the underside of the barrel just ahead of the forearm.

I measured the chamber and yes, it appears to be for the .32 Extra Long cartridge (approx. 1.20" long), so thanks for that suggestion ndnchf. That's a nice target by the way and has inspired me to have a go at getting this old girl going again. I "rediscovered" an Ideal No.1 tool in the collection that has a mould for a heeled bullet that should cast around 90 grs so that will get me started. Plan to convert some .25-20 SS to rimfire as that's the closest parent case that I have on hand that is a snug fit in the chamber & ejects nicely.

Lee, seeing you liked the colours so much on this No.2, here is a better photo (they are 100 % brighter under that tang sight).

Today I was reading up on the No.2 in James Grant's "Boys' SS Rifles" and noted that he said he had searched for years find one in excellent condition without success. That made me feel especially lucky....always amazes what turns up out here in Oz. 
Pete   

This is a thread I started back in 2014 about loading 32 XL rimfire that you may find interesting.

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Great - keep us posted on your progress