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My father left me this rifle but I am unable to find out anything about it.
Has anyone here ever seen one? Is it really a .50 cal?
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LuckySOB said
My father left me this rifle but I am unable to find out anything about it.Has anyone here ever seen one? Is it really a .50 cal?
Yes, I have seen several of them. Yes it really is .50 caliber. The cartridge is 3″ inches long, and it was originally loaded with with FF black powder. After the turn of the century, it was loaded with cordite. The Eley line of cartridges were of British decent, and the 50 Eley rifles were used extensively in India. Winchester received several orders from the Brits and the guns were marked for there destination in India (e.g. “Made for Oakes & Co Madras“, “P. Orr & Sons Madras“, “W. Locke & Co. Calcutta“, and “Lyon & Lyon Calcutta“. All told, Winchester manufactured (512) high-wall single shot rifles in the 50 Eley cartridge.
With the serial number, I can confirm that your rifle was one of them, and exactly when it was manufactured.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Thank you Bert…That is quite interesting. this gun does not have any of those markings for any of those Britt you named.
The # is 93858
LuckySOB said
Thank you Bert…That is quite interesting. this gun does not have any of those markings for any of those Britt you named.
The # is 93858
Not all of them did. A small number of them were sold domestically, and your rifle was definitely one of them (based on its configuration).
S/N 93858 is listed as a 50 Eley, 30″ No. 3 octagon barrel (most of them were made with a round barrel), plain trigger, sights not listed (which indicates that it had standard open sporting sights). It was received in the warehouse in November 1902, and it did not ship (sell) until March 1903.
The vast number of the Eley caliber high-walls intended for the British colonies (in India) were made with a 30″ No. round barrel, Express sights, and a shotgun style butt.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Thank you once again Bert, is there any type of registry or some way of finding out where my father would’ve acquired this gun?
I can’t believe he has this gun and we knew nothing about it.
LuckySOB said
Thank you once again Bert, is there any type of registry or some way of finding out where my father would’ve acquired this gun?I can’t believe he has this gun and we knew nothing about it.
In answer to your question, No, there is not. Your best bet is to ask family members questions about when he might have acquired it.
What condition is it in? A .50 caliber high-wall in decent condition can be worth a fair amount of $$$$.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Amazing, I don’t think even he knew what he had.
It appears to be in decent shape for 117 yrs old. Everything works. I believe it would fire if it had ammo which i assume would have to be special made at this time.
I can upload some pics if you’d like. An estimated price would be nice to know.
LuckySOB said
Amazing, I don’t think even he knew what he had.
It appears to be in decent shape for 117 yrs old. Everything works. I believe it would fire if it had ammo which i assume would have to be special made at this time.
I can upload some pics if you’d like. An estimated price would be nice to know.
Absolutely, some pictures we would very much like.
LuckySOB said
Amazing, I don’t think even he knew what he had.
It appears to be in decent shape for 117 yrs old. Everything works. I believe it would fire if it had ammo which i assume would have to be special made at this time.
I can upload some pics if you’d like. An estimated price would be nice to know.
Yes, please do upload some pictures (or send them to me at – [email protected]).
Ammo for it is a bit problematic, but can be overcome if you reload your own. Cartridge case can be made from .50 Basic brass.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
I thought I would share some pics but I don’t seem to know how. 🙂
LuckySOB said
I thought I would share some pics but I don’t seem to know how. 🙂
Send them to me and I will post them for you.
Bert – [email protected]
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Bert –
While were on the topic of big caliber High Walls, what can you tell me about the .577 Eley. How many made, etc.
Bert –
I see you already answered the question – 11 .577 Eley’s were made. A lot of good information in this thread. It was a good review for me.
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-rifles/interesting-winchester-1885-in-50-express/
steve004 said
Bert –I see you already answered the question – 11 .577 Eley’s were made. A lot of good information in this thread. It was a good review for me.
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-rifles/interesting-winchester-1885-in-50-express/
Steve,
Stay tuned… I just recently finished and submitted a detailed article for the Winchester Collector magazine that should answer nearly all the many questions about the Model 1885 Single Shot rifle caliber/cartridge production history. It is the culmination of many years of research.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
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