A friend has asked for ID on this rifle. The information sent is as follows:this is the take down trap door i was telling you about .
25 50 is stamped on the underside of the barrel just ahead of the forestock.
there are crown markings on the reciever that i believe are belgium (wish the camera could take macro's)
stamp on the buttstock - J.VENABLES & SON
GUNMAKERS
OXFORD
as you can see the over all size of the gun is very small .suitable for a ten year old. and very light -3lbs max
the pistol grip area is 1.5 " across
overall lenght =37"
barrel length =21"
on pic. # 3 you can see the 25 50 not sure if thats a cal. marking as the chamber appears to a 9mm parrabelum and infact i tried one in there was a very close fit.just not qutie right.
anything you could tell me about it would be more than i know now ....thx bud see ya soon

I know one of you guys can help out. These are the pictures sent.







Thanks very much,
470 Mbogo

Looks kinda like the Martini take down rifle from Belgium a rolling block design.

Well, it's obviously a rolling block, most probably a Remington #4. The weight is right as is the side lever take-down feature. According to Frank De Haas, these were mostly made in .22 Long and .32 Long rimfire but with a number made in the .25 Long rimfire. These last would usually be marked "25-10 R. F." which is the .25 Long Stevens rimfire cartridge. Your markings might indicate that it had been rechambered from the .25 rimfire to the 25/20 cartridge and the action is plenty strong enough for that. I would chamber cast it and then compare the measurements to Cartridges of the World to make sure. If it is what I imagine, you have a dandy working collector's gun that any boy would drool over. Take it out and find a grandkid to go hunting with.

You have a Remington Rolling block action that has obviously been customized in Oxford for the 25-20 cartridge...

I would have a chamber cast made and slug the bore before I shot it...It may be an old 25 rimfire or converted from a 25 Rimfire and all may or may not be up to snuff....Also check the headspace if all else is OK.....the action is OK for the 25-20 cartridge...Many have been converted to 25-35 and some were made in 7x57...

Hi Gents,
I'm curious about the 25 50 that is stamped into the barrel. 25 cal is probably correct but what would the 50 represent. I could have the chamber cast done without a problem.
Take care,
Dave

with the old cartridges as I understand it the 50 would mean 50grns of black powder.

That is a #4 Rimington Rolling Block, and the take down feature was done by Rimington! The rifle was, most likely, shipped to Oxford for the J.Venables & Son to chamber for a customer! Most of these were rimfire .22,.25 Stevens, or .32 short RF. They were made with a 22.5" octagon barrel, and the 24" barrel available in .32 only. Wt was 4.5 lbs. they were made from 1890, to 1933! Current value is in the neighborhood of $300 for the plain one,chambered for .22 lr, the other rimfires are less. If it had been a Premier Grade it would be worth about $3500! The J. Venables & Sons lable may be a plus in price, as well!

As Ray says, the barrel should be slugged, and a chamber cast done before any shots are fired. The Britts may have chambered it for one of the rook rifle cartridges. If it is center fire, it was converted, and could be chambered for anything. These are neat little rifles, I have one chambered for .22 lr.

My post doesn't change but I thought I read 25-20, guess that comes from speed reading eh what?