Disassembly of the Remington-Keene Bolt-Action

An interesting old rifle, the Keene, manufactured from 1880 through 1888, was Remington’s first commercial-production bolt-action rifle. Not many Remington-Keenes were made; the total quantity of weapons produced is estimated to be about 5,000. This was a unique design. The Keene had an external, manually cocked hammer and, like other contemporary lever-action rifles, it sported a tubular magazine mounted under the barrel. The Keene magazine shows a strong U. S. military influence.

It was equipped with a manual cut-off device to allow the rifle to be used as a single shot if the shooter desired. As the bolt is closed, the Keene’s hammer is automatically placed into the half-cock position from where it must be manually pulled back into the cocked position before the rifle can be fired. Once the hammer is in the half-cock position, the bolt remains locked closed. Remington offered the Keene models in a sporting-rifle version called the Hunter’s Rifle with a 24-1/2-inch round barrel.

Half-round/half octagon barrels were available on special order, while carbines were made with 20- to 22-inch round barrels. A special Navy Model rifle used a 29-1/4inch barrel, while the Army Model rifle sported a typically long 32-1/2inch round barrel. Both military versions were stocked almost to the muzzle. The U. S. Army models were purchased for trials in 1881, but the Army purchased no Remington-Keenes after this. A run of 250 Navy Model rifles were procured by the U. S.

Navy, then issued to the Marine Corps for field tests. To my knowledge, no further orders came out of the Navy/ Marine Corps tests. Remington also made a so-called Frontier Model sporting a 24-inch round barrel for the U. S. Department of the Interior around 1881 to 1882. It’s estimated that upwards of 800 of these were purchased by the department, then issued to Indian Police.

The Remington-Keene is one of those great, over-built, early bolt-actions, and as you might have guessed, it was available in .45-70 caliber Government (the largest quantity produced), .40 caliber, and in .43 caliber. Remington supplied the rifles with a standard blue finish along with a casehardened hammer and rear band. Straight-grip walnut stocks were stan- Top of page: The Remington-Keene was an early, big-bore bolt-action that had a ton of class.

Pictured here is a 20-inch-barrel carbine in .45-70 from the Ed Wade collection. Author photos. dard, while pistol-grip stocks, checkering, and extra-fancy grades of walnut stocks were also optional. Disassembly Procedure 1. As always, let’s be sure the rifle is unloaded before we handle it. Grasp the rifle around the wood, just forward of the trigger guard, being always mindful to keep your fingers away from the trigger (#10) and to keep that muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

With your free hand, open the bolt (#29) by pulling up on its handle and then pulling the handle all the way to the rear. If the bolt won’t open, pull the hammer to the rear to cock it and then open the bolt. If a cartridge is present in the action resting on the carrier (#4), reach in and remove it. Now is the time to check to see if more cartridges are present by opening and closing the bolt. Don’t turn

This occurs once you have removed the carrier screw, allowing the carrier to drop down far enough for the bolt to pass by. That lever and spring go in between the trigger and the carrier on reassembly by pushing on both parts. the bolt handle down, which would lock the bolt; instead simply push the bolt all the way forward and then pull it all the way back several times.

If no cartridges come up into the carrier, flip the cutoff lever (#14) in the opposite direction and try cycling the bolt several more times until you’re sure no more cartridges are going to present themselves in the carrier. 2. Removing the bolt begins by closing the bolt and unscrewing the carrier screw (#49). This is the large screw located on the right side of the stock, just above and forward of the trigger. Be advised that the carrier screw is a left-handed thread, so it must be turned out clockwise.

Its thread is also a large square or Acme thread. As the carrier screw comes out, lift it out of the rifle and you’ll notice that the carrier itself has dropped down slightly below the level of the stock. Open the bolt and pull it straight out to the rear. When it comes time to reassemble the bolt into the receiver (#1), insert the bolt and push it forward to within about an inch of being closed.

Then, grasp the carrier on its top and bottom sides by reaching into the top and bottom of the action opening and grasping the carrier with your thumb and forefinger. Manipulate the carrier around until you see the pivot hole in the carrier align with the carrier-screw hole in the stock. Now you can reinstall and tighten the carrier screw. 3. To remove the Keene’s bands and magazine tube, unscrew and remove the front band screw (#25), then slide

1 Receiver 2 Barrel 3 Trigger Guard 4 Carrier 5 Carrier Catch 5a Carrier Catch Lock (not shown) 6 Carrier Catch Spring 7 Trigger Lever 8 Trigger Lever Spring 8a Trigger Lever Spring Screw 9 Trigger Lever Pin 10 Trigger 11 Trigger Pin 12 Upper Tang Screw the front band (#24) forward and off the barrel. For reassembly, notice that the band-screw head is on the same side as the bolt handle. The lock-rib (#23) is now loose, and it will slide out to the front.

The rear band (#22) is also loose and will slide forward and off the barrel.

Take note of what is up and down on the lock-rib. (I like to mark the top side of the lock-rib with a brightly colored marker.) Also, for ease of reassembly later, note how the 13 Lower Tang Screw 14 Cutoff Lever 15 Cutoff Lever Screw 16 Cutoff 17 Cutoff Spring 18 Draw Screw 19 Magazine Tube 20 Magazine Follower 21 Magazine Spring 22 Rear Band 23 Lock-Rib 24 Front Band 25 Front Band Screw 26 Front Sight rear end of the lock-rib locks into the rear band.

Insert a large screwdriver into the slot at the end of the magazine tube (#19) and unscrew the tube in a counter-clockwise direction. Pull the magazine tube along with the magazine spring (#21) and follower (#20) out through the front of the stock (#48.) The rear sight (#27) is retained by two screws (#28) located on top of the barrel.

Remington-Keene Bolt-Action Rifle 27 Rear Sight Assembly 28 Rear Sight Base Screws 29 Bolt 30 Ejector 31 Ejector Screw 32 Extractor 33 Extractor Plunger 34 Extractor Spring 35 Striker Lock 36 Striker Lock Spring 37 Striker Lock Screw 38 Striker 39 Striker Spring 40 Fly 41 Sear 42 Sear Link 43 Bolt Sleeve 44 Striker Spring 45 Hammer 46 Link Screw 47 Hammer Screw 48 Stock* 49 Carrier Screw 50 Buttplate* 51 Buttplate Screws* 52 Rear Swivel* 53 Rear Swivel Base Screws* *Not shown 4.

Remove the trigger guard by unscrewing and removing the upper and lower (#12 and 13) tang screws. Pull down on the rear of the trigger guard (#3) to remove it from the stock. Hold the barreled action assembly and lift the stock off the bottom of the receiver. The carrier (#4) is now loose; it can be lifted up and out of the receiver. Notice the carrier-catch lock (#5a) on the right side of the receiver. This part is now loose and can be lifted out of its

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hole in the receiver. The buttplate (#50) can be removed by unscrewing and removing the two buttplate screws (#51). 5. Disassembly of the carrier, receiver, and trigger guard come next. The carrier catch (#5) and its spring (#6) simply pull out the right side of the carrier. Use a pin punch and hammer to drive out the trigger pin (#11), and then the trigger (#10) can be lifted out of the bottom.

Unscrew and remove the cutoff-lever screw (#15) and lift off the cutoff lever (#14), cutoff spring (#17), and cutoff (#16) from the left side of the receiver. Be sure you make careful note of their positions for later assembly. Use a pin punch and hammer to drift out the trigger-lever pin (#9) from the trigger guard and lift out the trigger-lever assembly (#7). Unscrew and remove the trigger-lever spring screw (#8a) and remove the trigger-lever spring (#8). 6.

To begin disassembly of the bolt, hold the hammer (#45) back slightly and twist the bolt sleeve (#43) to the left (counter-clockwise) about onehalf turn until the tooth on the sleeve leg comes out of the slot on the bolt (#29). Pull the entire striker assembly out to the rear of the bolt. Unscrew the ejector screw (#31), then use a small screwdriver blade to push up on the extractor slightly and lift out the ejector (#30) from the front of the bolt face.

Notice the ejector also acts as a hardened firing-pin bushing. Mount the bolt in a padded vise and use a stiff punch to depress the extractor plunger (#33). Carefully pry the extractor (#32) straight up until it comes off the bolt head. Gently release tension on the extractor plunger, then remove it and the extractor spring (#34) from the front of the bolt lug.

Unscrew and remove the striker- A Word to Our Readers About American Gunsmith’ s Mailing-List Policy Like many other publishers, we make portions of our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we believe you may enjoy. Indeed, in all likelihood, we were able to first reach you only because another company graciously permitted us access to its customer list.

If, when we make our list available, you do not want to receive those offers and/or information, please let us at American Gunsmith Opt-Out Program, Norwalk, CT 06854-1631. Please be sure to ining label. lock screw (#37) from the bolt knob and lift out the striker-lock spring (#36) and striker lock (#35) from the bolt handle. Take note of the direction the striker lock faces for later reassembly. (If you replace it backwards, the rifle will work, but the bolt operation will be stiff.) 7.

To disassemble the Remington- Keene’s striker, loosen the striker screw (#44). Unscrew and remove the hammer screw (#47) and the link screw (#46), and lift the hammer (#45) off to the rear of the bolt sleeve (#43). Pull the striker assembly (#38) out to the front of the bolt sleeve. The fly (#40) can then be lifted off the left side of the sear (#41). Further disassembly of the Keene’s striker is not recommended for normal maintenance. I