Original Item: Only One Available. While the idea of Winchester "Repeating" Arms Co. making a single shot rifle is somewhat ironic, the rapidly growing "match shooting" market was too lucrative to for the company ignore. Rather than design a new gun from scratch, Thomas G. Bennett, Vice-President and General Manager, looked for a patented single shot design that the company could produce. What he found when he traveled to Ogden, Utah however was far more than just a good single shot rifle design: He found John Moses Browning, arguably the most influential gun designer in United States history. He had designed his the single shot rifle at the age of 23 in 1878, and was granted his first patent for this design October 7th, 1879. His 1883 meeting with Bennett would begin a 20 year collaboration that revolutionized the design of the Winchester Repeating Rifle, as well as their shotguns. It was the design for one of the latter that eventually led to his falling out with Winchester management, after which he worked with other companies, both in the United States and in Europe.

Browning would go on to design numerous civilian and military firearms, eventually receiving 128 patents over the course of his career, of which the single shot rifle was only the first. Many of the designs and improvements that Browning made continue to be in use today, and there are few firearms designers who have had such a wide ranging influence worldwide.

Browning's patented design was slightly modified by Winchester, mainly to make the breech seal better, and was released as the Model 1885. This was available in various different calibers, and featured a "Low Wall" receiver with a fully exposed hammer for lower power cartridges, while the guns chambered for higher power cartridge had a "High Wall" receiver with much more reinforcement behind the breech block, which mostly hid the hammer.

This wonderful Winchester Model 1885 single shot match shooting rifle is a "High Wall" type, chambered in the powerful .38-55 Winchester caliber, correctly marked with CAL. 38-55 over the chamber. It features a special order long 30" octagonal barrel, fitted with the classic front sight and iconic "buckhorn" rear adjustable sight. The serial number is 1564, indicating it was made during 1886, the SECOND YEAR of manufacture, one of about 6,300 produced that year. With such a low number, it was almost certainly produced within a year of when production actually started.

The engraving on the top of the barrel present and legible:

The bottom of the action just rear of the trigger bears the - PAT. OCT. 7TH 79. - marking for John Browning's patent on the action design, the FIRST of many that he would receive over his career. Condition of the rifle is very good, with the metalwork showing a lovely worn gray patina, faded from the original factory blue. The receiver area still has some of the original case hardening on the internals, visible when the action is open. There is some light staining in areas, but no peppering or other more serious oxidation, and no sign of serious restoration or refinishing, just how we like to see these old match shooting rifles.

The wood stocks are in very good condition, showing the lovely red brown color of aged oiled aged walnut. The fore stock still has the dark hardwood insert on the bottom front, though it does have a small wood repair on the left front side. The butt stock has lovely grain, and even a bit of curl, with a fantastic color. It is fitted with a crescent butt plate, which does not have a storage compartment, typical for this model.

The falling block action works well, with no deficiencies noted, and a crisp dry fire. The ejector presents correctly, and the action is smooth without any sticking. The bore is in very good condition, showing a bright finish with clear lands and grooves. There is a bit of wear visible, but no major fouling or oxidation issues. Definitely a very nice bore, probably rating 8-9 out of 10.

A wonderful example of what some consider one of John Browning's greatest firearm designs! This is an iconic gun with a great gently used look, ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1886
Caliber: .38-55 Winchester
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30 Inches
Overall Length: 46 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Falling Block
Feed System: Single Shot

The Winchester Model 1885 is a single-shot rifle with a falling-block action. It was principally designed by John Browning. Two models were produced, the Low Wall and the High Wall.

History
In 1878, the 23-year-old Browning designed a falling-block single-shot rifle, for which he was granted a patent the following year. Browning and his brother commenced making the rifles by hand in their second-floor workshop in Ogden, Utah, with limited success.

In 1883, Thomas G. Bennett, Vice-President and General Manager of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, traveled to Ogden and negotiated the purchase of the single-shot design, as well as the prototype of what would become the Model 1886 lever-action – the beginning of the fruitful 20-year Winchester–Browning collaboration. Winchester's engineers made some improvements to Browning's design, including angling the block at six degrees to create a positive breech seal, and released the rifle as the Model 1885. Two popular models were made, the so-called Low Wall which showed an exposed hammer, firing less powerful cartridges, and the so-called High Wall for stronger cartridges whose steel frame covered most of the firing hammer when viewed from the side; but both were officially marketed by Winchester as the Single Shot Rifle.

It was produced principally to satisfy the demands of the growing sport of long-range "Match Shooting", which opened at Creedmoor, New York, on June 21, 1872. Target/Match shooting was extremely popular in the US from about 1871 until about 1917, enjoying a status similar to golf today, and the Winchester company, which had built its reputation on repeating firearms, had in 1885 challenged the single-shot giants of Sharps, Remington, Stevens, Maynard, Ballard et al., not only entering the competition, but excelling at it, with Major Ned H. Roberts (inventor of the .257 Roberts cartridge) describing the Model 1885 Single Shot as "the most reliable, strongest, and altogether best single shot rifle ever produced."

Winchester produced nearly 140,000 Single Shot rifles from 1885 to 1920, and it was found that the falling-block Model 1885 had been built with one of the strongest actions known at that time. The falling block action was so strong that the Winchester Company used it to test fire newly created rifle cartridges. To satisfy the needs of the shooting and hunting public, the Model 1885 Single Shot was eventually produced in more calibers than any other Winchester rifle. Winchester also produced a large number of Single Shots in .22 caliber for the US Army as a marksmanship training rifle, the "Winder musket."

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.