doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com First Single shot Rifle

Hi guys,

After vegas, I am about to make my first single barrel rifle purchase (other than my unique non-military martini-henry). Money is tight, but I have some put away.

Was thinking about a new 1885 Winchester in .45/70 (I "lost" my 45/70 so I have components for it. Long story.)

I figure it is a starting point. could customize it as $ permit. Can purchase wholesale for $800. An other suggestions.

Jerry

Just make sure it has a shotgun style buttplate, not a crescent, which will kick you badly.

Let me add my voice in chorus to that!!

I've had a lot of fun with the Pedersoli Roller and Sharps knockoffs that I picked up pretty cheap used. (Neither one had been shot much) The Creedmore Style Roller was the more accurate of the two and the barrels for both were finished very nicely. I can't begin to imagine how many pounds of lead I put through those two.

I like the C.Sharps 1885s, as I have posted--twice the dough but made in USA and twice the choices.

For most people, a .45-70 is overkill at both ends. I agree with the shotgun buttplate choice; the "rifle" style is OK if you only hunt with it (adrenaline is a GREAT anesthetic!) but if you ever intend to shoot targets, DON'T buy a crescent "rifle" butt.

Thanks

I was intending on buying a model with a shotgun butt, 24" heavy octagon barrel I love the 45/70 and in a heavy gun I don't think the recoil is excessive at all. I like the 300 grain Barnes at 2100fps (no lead in my part of CA)

I am puzzled a bit by the Hogdon reloading data. One for old trapdoors, one for marlin 1895's and one for "modern" rifles. Which is the correct one for the new 1885's?

45-70s have been made since 1873 or thereabouts. You can encounter all sorts of designs from weak to strong and can find rifles made out of all sorts of steel. Several writers, experimenters & the major loading manuals place 45-70 rifles into 3 or 4 categories. Cat. 1 rifles are the old ones; Trap Door Springfields, Peabodys, Remington (& other) Rolling Blocks, Side Hammer Sharps, 1881 Marlins, Ballards and the like. Those are OK for black powder & lead bullets or maybe light loads of smokeless. Cat. 2 rifles are a bit stronger. Those are original Sharps-Borchards, 1886 Winchesters, the case-hardened 1885 Winchesters, Remington-Lees, etc. Original 1895 Marlins probably go into this category. You can pour a bit more smokeless into those. Cat. 3 rifles are even stronger. Some writers put original 1885 Winchesters with blued actions into this category, but others disagree. Presumably the new Marlin 1895 rifles are Category 3, as are new made Winchesters, Sharps-Borchardts, etc. If there is a Category 4, it is probably limited to Rugers, converted Siamese Mausers, and the lesser-known single shots similar to Rugers. I guess those are "modern" rifles.

Waterman, although I suppose it has happened, I have never seen, read of or heard of a blown Winchester High Wall in any style frame, thick or thinwall, blued or colored. At the least they all belong in your Category 3.

I'll go even further than that. Please refer to Dick Simmons' seminal work Custom Built Rifles for a monograph by J.R.Buhmiller on his premeditated attempts at blowing up a high wall.

He didn't succeed.

Buhmiller was an internationally-known barrel maker and
African hunter/game control killer. His FIRST-HAND observations and experiments are very interesting reading to say the least.
Regards, Joe

We have a member here who was successful in blowing-up a High Wall, via erroneous Lyman loading data.
Do a search.

Stever, again, the exception proves the rule. But it would be good if he would come forward and tell us the tale.