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The Winchester Model 1885, officially known as the Single Shot Rifle,[1] was an American single-shot falling block target shooting rifle designed by John Browning in 1878 and produced from 1885 to 1920 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Notable as being John Browning's first design, the Model 1885 was the weapon that started Browning's relation with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

History[]

The design roots of the Model 1885 go back to 1878 when John Browning designed and patented a design for a falling block single shot rifle in his hometown of Ogden, Utah and produced it with his brother Matthew with some success.[2]

In 1883, Browning's rifle design caught the attention of a man named T.G. Bennett, the vice-president of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Willing to increase the market shares of his company, Bennett made the trip down to Ogden to strike a deal with Browning; he bought the patents to two of the rifles that he designed, and thus began a long-standing relationship between Browning and Winchester that lasted until 1898.[3] The two patents Bennett bought eventually became what would be known as the Model 1886 and the Single Shot Rifle or the Model 1885.[4][2]

Offered in well over fifty caliber choices[5] and marketed to those who wanted to shoot but did not have enough money to afford a repeater, the Model 1885 was introduced in September 1885 and was an instant success.[6] The weapon was so successful that Winchester later tinkered around with it and produced it with two distinct frame types,[6] the Low and High Wall; the Low Wall guns would be chambered for smaller and less powerful calibers while the High Wall was chambered for more powerful calibers. Some High Wall guns were then chambered in .22 Long Rifle and marketed to Army marksman teams; these were colloquially known as "Winder muskets".[2]

Production ended in June 1920[6] with 139,500 produced.[5] During that time, a large amount of variations of the rifle were produced and featured a wide variety of special order options. Even after the Model 1885 was discontinued, Winchester used High Wall Model 1885s as testbeds for developing new smokeless cartridges,[2] and was highly regarded by some.[7]

In recent years, the weapon has re-entered production, with replicas being produced by Uberti, C. Sharps Arms Inc., Taylors & Company, Browning Arms Company (discontinued as of 2001) and Miroku Corp..[8][9][10][11][12][13] As with the original rifles, some replicas of the Model 1885 can be chambered in a wide variety of cartridges.[14]

Design Details[]

The Model 1885 is a simple falling block rifle; actuating the lever which also acts as the trigger guard causes the breechblock to lower to allow the loading of a cartridge; this lowering of the breechblock also cocks the hammer. When the action is closed, the breechblock slides back up to create a seal.[12] The action is regarded as one of the strongest and most accurate falling block actions to exist.[15]

The weapon has two distinct frame types: the Low Wall and High Wall. These refer to the height of the receiver sides with relationship to the breechblock.[6]

Ammunition[]

Over its long production run, the Model 1885 was chambered in a total of ninety-one different calibers;[6] a non-exhaustive list is provided in the infobox above. .22 Short was the most popular caliber choice, while .32 Ideal was the least popular.[16]

Variants[]

Over its long production run, the Model 1885 was offered in a number of variants.[6] These include:

  • Plain Sporting Rifle
  • Special Sporting Rifle
  • Special Single Shot Rifle
  • Musket
  • Carbine
  • Shotgun
  • Winder musket[2]

Gallery[]

References[]

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