Anyone have first hand experience with these rifles? I've been looking at them online and they sure are sweet. It's hard to get the straight poop though as there seem to be more than one series perhaps...1 of 125 (per year?) and 1 of 500, 28" and 34" barrels are claimed. I'm interested in the 38-55 chambering. Wonder how much throat these have and whether they would exhibit the same oversized bore with undersized throat problems noted in some more recently chambered 38-55 rifles? Also have to wonder how much elevation you could get out of that tang sight? Long range would be nice but my range only has 200 yard max anyway. The 45-90 chambering seems to be specifically for BPCR only but the others (38-55, 405, 45-70) appear to be capable of handling of smokeless loads.

I have one of the Winchester 1885 LTD BPCR rifles in .45-90. It's a beautiful and beautifully made rifle. There's just something about a 12-lb, 34 inch barreled 45-90 single shot that makes you feel like Quigley just holding it! :)

Only the .45-90 versions have 34 inch barrels; the other calibers have 28 inch barrels. Although it says black powder only, the 45-90's handle smokeless loads without any problem. I can't answer your questions about the .38-55, since I don't own one in that caliber.

The quantity made each year is limited, and I believe the 45-90's are made in fewer numbers than the other calibers, so that may explain why you see different values listed.

As for the tang sight, it works well enough but you probably won't get the amount of elevation you need for really long range shooting (should be ok to 200 yards, though). The front sight works ok with the open rear sight, but I felt it was inadequate with the tang sight, so I installed a Lyman 20 globe front sight with an aperture insert. I plan to eventually install a vernier tang sight on this rifle. When you get the supplied Marble's tang sight extended towards the end of its travel, it seems to have more play than I would care to have for accurate shooting. I was also surprised that it only came with the installed insert (if you buy it separately it comes with 3 inserts).

I haven't shot mine enough yet (cold weather hit us not long after I bought mine) to give you a lot of detail, other than to say hot 500 grain 45-90 loads kick pretty hard through that curved metal butt plate! :)

At any rate, I think you'll really like it if you get one; it's one of my very favorite rifles.

Thanks Red,

I came to the conclusion about the 34" barrel on 45-90 after doing some more searching. One gun shop I queried said that they don't recommend any modern high pressure loads in any Hiwall. I find that hard to believe. I also find it hard to believe about the 45-90 unless they use milder steels in these rifles. I want to get to the bottom of this befire buying though as I MIGHT want to load some hot ones but probably would be happy with something a little less most of the time. But I want the option. That could make a difference in my buying one. Might opt for a B1885 or B78 instead if that turns out to be the case. Those 1885's sure are nice looking. Might have to call USRAC or whoever they are these days. Did you find it expensive to gear up for loading the 45-90? Brass looks to be a little steep at Starline. Haven't priced dies yet.

I called Winchester before shooting smokeless, and they told me it was fine. Since I have two other 1885's, one in .454 Casull (Browning) and one in .270 WSM (Winchester High Wall Hunter), both high pressure loads, I don't think there's a lot to worry about with the modern Winchester/Browning High Wall. Even the old 1885's have been chambered for almost every round in existence - this is a strong action. I think the barrel is probably optimized for black powder velocities/lead bullet loads.

I have been shooting 500 gr. Oregon Trail Laser-Cast bullets over 45 gr. of IMR 4198 (mid-level recommended loads in Lyman's 48th reloading manual). These are pretty potent (even though the pressures are supposed to be pretty mild, in deference to original 1886's) - I'm showing 1880 fps on my chronograph - nearly .458 power levels! I assume the 34 inch barrel has a lot to do with it, along with the large case capacity (allowing more performance at lower pressure levels, at the cost of using more powder). As I said before, you know it when you light the fuse! :) I'll probably back these off a bit to drop more into the black powder velocity range.

It was a little pricey getting started, but not bad. Since Lee doesn't make .45-90 dies, I had to pay a bit more for Lyman dies (around $40 at Midway), plus pay for the shell holder (around $8.00), and the brass is fairly expensive. I bought my brass from Midway, and picked it up on sale. I believe I paid $66 for 100 cases. You probably won't be shooting a lot of rounds each outing, so that much brass goes a long way.