The 12.17×42mm rimfire and its slightly longer but still interchangeable variant, the 12.17×44mm rimfire, are rifle cartridges adopted by the armed forces of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1867 and 1871, respectively. They were primarily chambered in the

Remington M1867 The Remington M1867 is a rolling-block rifle that was produced in the second-half of the 19th century. It was the first rifle using metallic cartridges to be adopted by the Norwegian and Swedish armies. Nominally, it had a caliber of 4 decimal l ...

rolling block rifle, which became the standard firearm for both countries.

12.17×42mm RF and its subvariety the 12.17×44mm RF

The 12.17×42mm RF rimfire round was developed by a joint Swedish-Norwegian arms commission quite likely based on the American .50-70 Government which was already tested in the Remington Rolling Block rifles they were considering, and was adopted by the armed forces of both Sweden and Norway in 1867. It was used in the M1867 Remington rifles adopted as new standard rifles by the armed forces of Sweden and Norway the same year. Many thousands of older 12-mm rifles, both Swedish

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

Model 1860 and

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

Model 1864 ''Hagström'' and Norwegian

Kammerlader The ''Kammerlader'', or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegian breech-loading rifle, and among the first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single-shot black-powder rifle, the ''kammerlader'' was operate ...

rifles of various models were also converted to rolling block rifles, chambered for the new standard round. A lengthened version of the round, the 12.17×44mm RF, was adopted by the Norwegian armed forces in 1871. But the two cartridges were interchangeable, and could thus be fired from the same weapons. The cartridge, nominally known as 4 Linjers (actual bore diameter 4.1 Swedish decimal lines or 3.88 Norwegian decimal lines, that is 0.41 Swedish or 0.388 Norwegian inches), had a lead bullet 12.615mm (0.497 in) in diameter, with the diameter of the bore, measured between the lands, being 12.17mm (0.479 inches). It used a copper case. In Swedish service, the standard cartridge used a lead projectile (shaped like a

Minié ball The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié for muzzle-loaded, rifled muskets. Invented in 1846 shortly followed by the Minié rifle, the Minié ball came to prominence during the Crime ...

) weighing 24 g (370 gr). The muzzle velocity fired through a 955mm (37.6 in) rifle barrel was 386 m/s (1,266 ft/s), with a muzzle energy of 1,788 J (1,319 ft/lbf). Fired through a 460mm (18.11 in) carbine barrel the muzzle velocity was 340 m/s (1,115 ft/s), with a muzzle energy of 1,387 J (1,023 ft/lbf). In Norwegian service, the standard cartridge used a cast lead projectile weighing 5.85 kvintin (22.8 g/352 gr) and 1 kvintin (3.89 g/60 gr) of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. Later rounds had a pressed lead projectile weighing 6 kvintin (23.4 g/361 gr) and the gunpowder load was increased to 1.05 kvintin (4.09 g/63 gr). There was also a blank round - an ordinary cartridge case loaded with 54 gr (3.50 g) of gunpowder and sealed off with a piece of cardboard or a cork disc.

12.17×44mmR centerfire

A civilian/paramilitary

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...

version of the cartridge, the 12.17×44mmR using a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

cartridge case with the same dimensions as the 12.17×44mm RF, was introduced during the 1870s in both Sweden and Norway. The centerfire cartridge could be fired from both Swedish and Norwegian M1867 military Remington rolling-block firearms with only a minor modification, converting the weapon from rimfire to centerfire and vice versa, which could be done by the shooter in the field provided he or she carried the replacement parts. The advantage of the centerfire cartridge was that spent cases could be reloaded, making centerfire ammunition significantly cheaper to use than rimfire ammunition, so the 12.17×44mmR also saw extensive use in Swedish paramilitary service, being used by Frivilliga Skarpskytterörelsen ("The Volunteer Sharpshooter Movement"), a voluntary paramilitary organization patterned on the British

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

and training civilians in the use of arms, with the units raised intended as local defense units (the first such volunteer "sharpshooter" units were raised in Stockholm in 1860, with the total number of active members throughout Sweden reaching 40,000 in 1865; volunteer "sharpshooter" units were armed with military M1867 rifles modified to use the 12.17×44mmR centerfire cartridge, and wore military-style uniforms).

Alternative names

The 12.17×42mm RF is also known as "12,17mm patron m/1867" and "12×42RF Swedish Remington Model 1867".
The 12.17×44mm RF is also known as "12×44RF Norwegian Remington Model 1871" and "12.7×44RF Norwegian".
The 12.17×44mm R is also known as "12×44R Swedish Remington", ".50 Swedish/Norwegian Remington" and "12.7×44R".

Today

Many Remington Rolling Blocks were converted to use the centerfire 12.17×44mmR cartridge or rebuilt to

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s. Many of these guns still exist and are still used by

black-powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

enthusiasts both for competition and hunting. Centerfire 12.17×44mmR cases are available, but a more cost-effective way to acquire cases is to cut .50 Alaskan cases down to 44mm (1.732 in) total length.Flatnes, Oyvind. ''From Musket to Metallic Cartridge: A Practical History of Black Powder Firearms''. Crowood Press, 2013, pp. 134–138.

12.17×42mm RF and its subvariety the 12.17×44mm RF

12.17×44mmR centerfire

Alternative names

Today

See also

References

Further reading