Original Item: Only One available. This early bolt-action design was first patented in November 1878, as marked of this rifle's receiver, by JAMES PARIS LEE, an immigrant from Scotland who arrived via Canada. This is the same Lee who later became famous for his huge contribution to the British Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles of WW1 and WW2. He had previously spent time in various pursuits before beginning to work on firearms designs, which led him to enter an association with Remington for a time. His first designs during the late Civil War were not entirely successful, but he did end up working with Remington until the early 1870s, after which he went back out on his own.

During this time he made several designs for the U.S. Army Ordnance Dept, and more importantly, developed a box magazine design, patented in 1875. This was intended to be a safer alternative to tubular magazine, which unfortunately could have accidental discharges. He returned to Remington to refine the design, and developed a Bolt-Action military rifle, patented in 1878, with the purpose of entering it into military trials. Specifically, the design was partially made to fill a U.S. Navy Board of Ordnance request for magazine rifles to become their new standard service rifle. They had two designs already, the Hotchkiss and Remington-Keene, but both of these were tube magazine designs, and they wished to evaluate a gun with a detachable box magazine. This bolt action rifle design was revolutionary at the time.

Unfortunately, Remington had already produced the Remington-Keene, and were unlikely to want to produce another magazine rifle, so Lee started the Lee Arms Co. to market this design. He then entered into a contract with the Sharps Rifle Co. to use their production facilities, and was able to get a U.S. Navy Contract in 1882 for 300 Lee Model 1879 Rifles in .45-70. This also gave Lee access to designer Hugo Borchardt, who would himself design several noteworthy arms, who would help Lee refine his magazine design. He devised an effective production method, which involved the use of two stamped steel sections that were then brazed together. This resulted in what is known as the Lee-Borchardt magazine, or first pattern, which his has a distinctive protrusion at the top front of the magazine, and extended feed lips at the back, which was unfortunately not successful, as the cartridges often fell out during loading.

A second pattern called the Lee-Cook magazine was introduced, named after a designer at Remington, which did away with the protrusion on the front, and instead a small catch on the side of the magazine was introduced, which was then retracted once the magazine was put into the gun, somewhat of a forerunner of the "magazine cutoff". This however was eventually replaced with a more simplified design, which did not require the cutoff to keep the cartridges, similar to modern magazines. Instead, the cutoff was made part of the receiver, moving out of the way when the magazine is fully seated.

While this was going on, the business side of things had run into some hiccups, which explains why a designer at Remington became involved with the design that Sharps was supposed to produce. Sharps fell onto hard times during the lean Post Civil war years, and went out of business, which resulted in Lee entering into a new agreement for production with Remington, who would utilize the partially finished rifles made by Sharps to fulfill the original Navy contract for 300 rifles, and would produce all the additional domestic military contracts.

Using the then U.S. standard caliber of ammunition, the .45-70 round, this bolt action magazine rifle was revolutionary at the time. It was accepted by the U.S. Navy on a limited basis for the Model 1879 variant, with about 1000 being ordered, and the U.S. Army subsequently ordered 750 of the Model 1882 variant for trials. The U.S. Navy would later acquire 3,400 of the Model 1885 in two contracts. Remington however saw much more success with foreign contracts, with 32,000 being produced, including about 13,000 being sent to china. It was also sold in a quantity of 500 units to New Zealand in 1887. Eventually in 1892 it was passed over by the U.S. Military in favor of the M-1892 Krag–Jørgensen Rifle in 30-40 Caliber.

This lovely example is one of the ONLY 750 Model 1882 rifles received by the U.S. Army as part of their trials contract. It is marked correctly for an Army issued rifle, with U.S. next to V / P on the barrel nocks form, with a D.F.C. stamp on the left side of the barrel. This is for Army ordnance sub-inspector David F. Clark, who worked from 1861-1886, and is specifically noted for inspecting Remington-Lee rifles. He also inspected a wide variety of other small arms during his long tenure, even including some Colt Gatling Guns. His stamp is also seen on the magazine well, the receiver, and the bolt.

As is correct for the Army Contract rifles, it has the patent and manufacturer information stamped on the top and side of the receiver:-

To the right of these the top of the receiver is stamped with serial number 9602, which indicates it was produced relatively late in the Army contract. We previously had handled serial number 9132, which would be much earlier. The latest example we have seen was stamped with serial 9780, which would have been close to the end of the contract.

These were usually fitted virtually identically to the U.S. Trapdoor rifles of the period, with a Model 1879 rear sliding sight, two sling swivels with a stacking swivel, and a standard cleaning rod that threads into the receiver. This example has all of those things, including a very early pattern cleaning rod with a jag on the front. The R on the left side of the ramp indicates that this is the correct rifle rear sight. Per The Remington-Lee Rifle book, the Remington company acquired the hardware from Springfield Armory.

The rifle appears totally complete including its original cleaning rod, and is still in very good condition, with a good amount of the original bluing still retained on the metalwork, with other areas worn towards plum and gray. There is staining, but no peppering or major oxidation present. The rear sight is fully functional, and the sling and stacking swivels move relatively easily. The stock has a lovely color, showing the expected wear from long service and storage. There is some cracking by the rear left of the receiver, which looks to have possibly had been pinned in the past. There is also some missing wood around the cleaning rod channel, and the butt plate tang.

The rifle cycles correctly, with a strong dry fire, though we have no way to know if the magazine still feeds. The magazine definitely does detach from the bottom of the action when the release in front of the trigger is pulled, and the cutoff in the receiver moves into place. We checked the bore, and it is in very good condition, showing a bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. There is a bit of wear visible, and some past oxidation in the grooves, but it's really a great bore for any rifle from the age of black powder.

A lovely example of a rare U.S. Army Contract Remington-Lee rifle, ready to research and display!

Specifications:-

Years of Manufacture: 1882-1883
Caliber: .45-70 Government
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 32 1/2 Inches
Overall Length: 52 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action Magazine Repeater
Feed System: 5-Round Box Magazine

NOTE: This gun is NOT considered obsolete calibre, so we are not able to ship to the United Kingdom. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

More on the Remington-Lee Model 1885

The M1885 Remington–Lee (also known as the M1885 Lee, and "Navy M1885") is a bolt-action, box magazine repeating rifle designed principally by James Paris Lee.

It first appeared in 1879, manufactured by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Eventually Remington took over production and produced copies in .45-70. Arguably the most modern rifle in the world until the introduction of the 8 mm smokeless powder using Lebel M1886 rifle, the Lee utilized the first successful detachable box magazine, unlike the Lebel which still used a tube magazine.

The design was incorporated by the British into the Lee–Metford and Lee–Enfield rifles, thereby becoming one of the most widely used rifle designs of the 20th century. Remington's version of the Model 1879 saw only limited use by the U.S. Navy and the Model 1882 was tested by U.S. Army and issued on a very limited scale. Ultimately, it was passed up in favor of the Krag–Jørgensen in 1892.

New Zealand purchased 500 for its militia in 1887. These were chambered in Remington's .43 Spanish (11.15×58mmR) caliber. These were quickly replaced after complaints about ammunition quality.