Cowgirl Corner: Single shot haunting
Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 8:40 pm
I've always had uncanny luck finding just the gun I want, when I want it, but this time it's got me spooked. Am I being haunted buy a ghost? Has my soul been taken over by an old cowgirl from a past life? I mean, in all my years of gun collecting, I had never seen an 1885 in rimfire, so I took a chance and ordered the two new ones I posted about, recently, one in 17 HMR and one in 22 LR. Great guns and everything I expected. Then, the very day after I shot new 1885 in 22 LR, I stopped into the shop to let the owner know what I thought. Incredibly, before I could even report, he walks up and hands me this rifle, another 1885 Low Wall in 22 LR, but in quite a different version. What? No way. Price was very reasonable,though. My ghost made me do it, I guess.
It's a special run of about 2400, made between 1999 and 2001, another Miroku made gun for USRAC/Winchester. It's the same action as the current 1885 Low Wall Hunter (top), but quite different in its configuration.
First up is the heavy barrel. It's a bull barrel, half octagon and half round, quite a bit more massive than the trim Hunter barrel. It's also finished in a matte blue, instead of high polished blue. Gives it that very old time look. Heavy gun, though, not one I would want to carry for hours. (The Low Wall Hunter, by contrast, is a nice carry gun.)
Hunter muzzle on the left.
Half octagon/half round
Features a straight grip stock with a tang, which is drilled and tapped for a tang sight, which I wasted no time in adding via this new Marbles.
Wood is a high grade walnut, no checkering. Buttplate is a classic steel crescent.
No ejection on this one, extractor only, meaning you have to pull the cases the rest of the way. Another reason I chose to go with the tang peep and not a scope. (A scope makes things a bit tight in pulling out those little 22 cases.) Besides, I have a scope on the Hunter version and it does have an ejector, made for that in mind.
Didn't get to do much more than a quick sight in, but it does show promise. Have no doubt it will do better, once I do a bit more shooting. Very easy gun to shoot. Not a gun you have to fight at all. The excellent trigger helps.
Bill loves it, too (and his eyes are better than mine).
Will head back, soon, to do more bench shooting and also see what the gun can do for offhand work. Shooting a gun that so closely resembles what the originals were like is like taking a ride in a time machine back into the late 1800s. My ghost approves. Says I shot okay and get to keep the gun.
It's a special run of about 2400, made between 1999 and 2001, another Miroku made gun for USRAC/Winchester. It's the same action as the current 1885 Low Wall Hunter (top), but quite different in its configuration.
First up is the heavy barrel. It's a bull barrel, half octagon and half round, quite a bit more massive than the trim Hunter barrel. It's also finished in a matte blue, instead of high polished blue. Gives it that very old time look. Heavy gun, though, not one I would want to carry for hours. (The Low Wall Hunter, by contrast, is a nice carry gun.)
Hunter muzzle on the left.
Half octagon/half round
Features a straight grip stock with a tang, which is drilled and tapped for a tang sight, which I wasted no time in adding via this new Marbles.
Wood is a high grade walnut, no checkering. Buttplate is a classic steel crescent.
No ejection on this one, extractor only, meaning you have to pull the cases the rest of the way. Another reason I chose to go with the tang peep and not a scope. (A scope makes things a bit tight in pulling out those little 22 cases.) Besides, I have a scope on the Hunter version and it does have an ejector, made for that in mind.
Didn't get to do much more than a quick sight in, but it does show promise. Have no doubt it will do better, once I do a bit more shooting. Very easy gun to shoot. Not a gun you have to fight at all. The excellent trigger helps.
Bill loves it, too (and his eyes are better than mine).
Will head back, soon, to do more bench shooting and also see what the gun can do for offhand work. Shooting a gun that so closely resembles what the originals were like is like taking a ride in a time machine back into the late 1800s. My ghost approves. Says I shot okay and get to keep the gun.
Looking forward to the off hand report & targets....
Those guns have nice wood to go along with very attractive single shots with classic lines.