1885 in 45-60|Winchester Rifles|Forum|Winchester Collector

William Cawley said

Question,was a pre 1920 1885 ever chambered in 45-60.

 

Thanks

Bill

Bill,

Yes, there were (193) of them to be precise.  Winchester eventually chambered a total of (91) different cartridges in the Model 1885.

Bert

Bill,

I would say reasonable… two of the three high-walls in my signature picture are rarer than one in 45-60 WCF.

Top rifle – 50-95 WCF, it is (1) of (253).

Center rifle – 405 WCF, it is (1) of (43)

Bottom rifle – 40-90 Ballard, it is (1) of (120)

The majority of them were made before serial number 20000, with the first one being serial number 687. In the past 20-years, I have found three of them in 45-60 WCF.

Bert

hokie said

  Hey Bert,

Just out of curiosity,

What Caliber is the rarest, for the Model 1885 Winchester?

The 405 Caliber must be running a close second ?

Mark,

Actually, No, it is not a close second. I just put this table together from my complete caliber survey.  A total of (57) different cartridges were used for just 1,412 rifles, and there are (29) cartridges that had fewer than (10) each made.  Conversely, the top (17) calibers accounted for 99,192 rifles. The table below is for the first 109999 Model 1885 single shots that were made.  I have a separate survey for serial numbers 110000 – 140000.

rarebearcat said

That is a nice list.  I’m sure it took quite a while for you to compile it.  Of course, none of my 85’s fall in the “rare caliber” category.

If you only knew… my estimate is that I put close to 1,000 total hours of work into it over the past 12-years. Fortunately I got a lot of help from the CFM research office over the years.  Do you have any with serial numbers > 109999?

Bert

Jolly Bill said

Bert,

Thanks for sharing your work.

Is the .22 EX LONG in the same group as the .22 LONG R at 4,125?

Jolly

No, it is not.  There were (288) made in 22 EX LONG.

Bert

rarebearcat said

Mine are all pre 1898.  Couple of .38-55’s and a .44 WCF.  Looking at your list I realized that I did have a fairly rare one at one time.  A high wall in .25-20 WCF.  It was in average shape and I traded it off on another gun.  I still have the Winchester bullet mold and loading tool that I got with it.

Yes, and surprisingly, the 25-20 WCF is relatively rare in the Model 1885.  The 25-20 S.S. was introduced at least 5-years before the 25-20 WCF, and quickly earned a reputation for superb accuracy.  Just today, I had someone contact me that has one of the (42) high-walls made in 40-50 Sharps Straight. The rare rifles are still out there, just waiting to be found.

Bert

Ed,

The “45 ELEY”, “45 ELEY EX”, and “450 EX.” are all the same thing, just marked differently.  They are all the same 3 1/4″ cartridge case.

The serial number (as applied by Winchester) should only be marked on the lower tang.  Can you post pictures showing the other locations?

The nominal size for a No. 3 barrel was 1.05″ at the breech, and .905 at the muzzle (30″ barrel).

Bert 

Ed,

I am not of the opinion that Winchester marked it, but before making a definitive statement, I would like to see the pictures full size.  If you would, please email all of the pictures directly to me at [email protected], and send them full size. If you can, please add pictures of the top of the barrel forward of the rear sight (where the Winchester address marking should be).

As with most Model 1885 rifles I have surveyed in the past 30-years, most of then in this caliber have British proof marks on them.

Bert