Winchester Model 1885

About the Winchester Model 1885

The Winchester Model 1885 is a single-shot falling-block rifle and the very first commercial design by John Moses Browning. Originally patented in 1879 and adopted by Winchester in 1885, the rifle was offered in High Wall and Low Wall configurations to suit a vast range of cartridges, from .22 rimfire pistol rounds up to massive black-powder buffalo cartridges. Renowned for one of the strongest single-shot actions ever built, it dominated late-19th-century target shooting and remains in production today as a Miroku-built reissue prized for its accuracy and craftsmanship.

The Model 1885 was 23-year-old John Moses Browning's first commercial design - built by hand with his brother in a tiny second-floor workshop in Ogden, Utah. Winchester's general manager Thomas Bennett bought the patent rights for $8,000 (a fortune in 1883) and hired the Browning brothers as in-house gunmakers, launching one of the most prolific design partnerships in firearms history.

Winchester Model 1885 specifications

Modern production is by Miroku of Japan; receiver is heat-treated 1045 steel (Rockwell 38) and breech bolt is hardened to 45 HRC, allowing the action to handle modern high-pressure smokeless cartridges. Production was originally 1885-1920 (~140,000 made), revived in 1985 under the Browning name and returned to the Winchester name in 1999.