Remington Light Baby 44-40

[RPMComputer]

HI gang

I found this gun today and was told it is a Remington "Light Baby" Carbine 44-40
1892-1902 Listed as Scarce in my buddys gun book.

We looked in his gun book and Value at 10% is $600 and in 100% was like $7000

The gun is in Rough shape. They drilled a hole in the top of the barrel to disable the gun for travel and the firing pin looks to be missing. I know it is probably only good as a wall hanger now. But a rare gun indeed. If you look inside the barrel it looks OK and can see the swirl.

There is some strange markings on the stock almost like Indian
markings. The person I bought it from said it was bought at a Antique store in Lima,Peru

Any information would be appreciated and offers will be accepted!

Thanks in advance!!!
Roy in Wisconsin

[ehull]

Hello Roy in Wisconsin-
A little more info will be helpful in identifying your carbine. What is the exact barrel length from the muzzle end to the face of the breech block? What are the markings on the top tang of the frame, where it extends over the butt stock? Can you provide a photo of the buttplate, to see the contour?

The true Light Baby Carbine was basically a short Remington No. 2 rifle, and the buttplate is a sporting type. From your photos it almost appears that the buttplate is the standard military type, which would not be correct.

How did you determine the caliber?

Glad to help,
Ed

[RPMComputer]

Ed

I am not a gun collector so bear with me. I brought the gun over to a friends dad who was a registered gun dealer but is really not that familiar with Remington History. I believe this gun might have some colorful History. Just a gut feeling. The scribble on the stock looks either Indian marks or who knows..Maybe a Cattle Rancher mark? I put a tape on the top of the barrel from the tip of the barrel to the back of the receiver. I'm sure I am doing it wrong so here is a picture of how I did it. It measures 20 1/2 inch this way. Also here is a picture of the butt curve. Roy

rembutt 001.jpg (135.77 KiB) Viewed 3213 times

rembutt.jpg (167.16 KiB) Viewed 3213 times

[RPMComputer]

Ed

My battery is going dead on my Caliper but it looks like the bore on the barrel at the end is a range of 42.1 and 42.4 in there somewhere. These are just rough measurements. I have not cleaned the barrel or anything. Roy

[RPMComputer]

I tried to take a picture down the barrel on the inside. I thought it was cool because you canstill see the swirl in the barrel.

rembutt 004.jpg (68.75 KiB) Viewed 3208 times

[RPMComputer]

I took some 600 grit sandpaper lightly to see if there was numbers in places on the gun but see some faint marks. I'm not sure but this gun might have been nickel plated? Look at the picture
it looks too bright were I lightly sanded. I think the right guy could restore this gun. It is not pitted beyond repair. There is a hole drilled in the top on the barrel before the breach but think a copper plug could be made and a foundry could fill it in. Of coarse the bore would have to be chased. My dad said half filled at the foundry and the rest welded tight.We do have a bunch of Metal foundry's in my town here.Then again maybe just use it as a wallhanger or Display in a Museum....LOL
Roy

remsand 005.jpg (145.68 KiB) Viewed 3201 times

[ehull]

Roy- Your pictures tell the whole story. The barrel length of 20-1/2 inches and the buttplate shape identify this carbine as the standard "Spanish Model." The caliber is .43 Spanish, from which the model gets its name. It is the most common type of carbine found in South America, and was popular with many different countries. I am still doing research to see if Peru received such carbines. Thanks for taking the time to post photos--I wish all people asking questions were so thorough. Ed

[Floop]

If you're interested in making this rifle shootable it's probably possible. See a topic here called "Another RB Restoration". I lined the barrel (to .357 Mag), had a non-factory dovetail in the barrel filled, replaced the wood, restored the blue and case coloring, etc. You might not want to do all of that to yours, but the guy I used to do the work is an expert on RB restoration.