American Single Shot Cartridge Rifles

American single-shot cartridge rifles have always been a passion. Let's take a look at some of these fine old guns. The earliest Sharps rifles such as this 1853 model had a slanted breech and were designed to fire paper cartridges.

Made during the Civil War, this 1863 Sharps has a straight breech and has been converted to fire metallic cartridges.

This Model 1869 Saddle Ring Carbine was designed to fire centerfire metallic cartridges.

Sharps rifles had a well-earned reputation for durability and accuracy. This 1874 Model in 40-70 Sharps bottleneck was designed for target shooting.

The interest in Sharps rifles is still strong today with many different companies reproducing rifles, like this 1874 model from Shiloh Sharps, chambered in 50-90.

The Ballard Rifle is a falling-block design in which the hammer and trigger pivot in the breech block.

The earliest guns have a manually operated extractor and were designed for rimfire ammunition. Later guns like this one produced by Marlin have a firing pin that can be switched from rimfire to centerfire.

The #2 Sporting Rifle in 38 caliber is another example. It fires either 38 rimfire or 38 centerfire ammunition simply by flipping the firing pin.

Ballards were available in several calibers and 32 rimfire was one of the most popular. Most early guns would have had case hardening that looks similar to this modern reproduction made by Ballard Arms.

US Military Rifles from the Springfield, Massachusetts plant also made the transition from percussion to metallic cartridges. 58 caliber muskets used during the Civil War were converted to 50-70 Government centerfire by adding a trapdoor, and the barrels were relined for the smaller diameter bullet. These were known as Allin conversions after Erskine S. Allin of the Springfield Armory.

The last major development of the Springfield came in 1873 when the US Military changed from 50-70 to 45-70 Government. By this time, the guns featured newly-made barrels and a separate receiver. The Saddle Ring Carbine was developed for cavalry units and the ammunition had a 405-grain bullet, which evolved into the 405-grain jacketed bullet, still offered in factory ammunition today.

Remington produced a couple of million Rolling Blocks that got their unofficial name by the unique way the breech block rolls open.

The Rolling Block design began with what is now called the split breech model. The hammer swings through the center of the breech block, giving this model its name. These early guns were large-caliber rimfire only.

The most commonly encountered Rolling Block is the #1 military produced mainly for Egypt and Spain and chambered in 43 Egyptian and 43 Spanish. The US military purchased a few of these rifles in 50-70 government.

Remington also produced a civilian model called the #1 Sporter, some chambered in 40-50 Sharps Bottleneck. The majority of the #1 sporting rifles were in rimfire calibers including 22, 25, 32, and 38, but they were also offered in the larger centerfire calibers. The number one-and-a-half sporting rifle is a slightly lighter version of the #1 and is designed to shoot only the smaller cartridges. The #2 is an even smaller lighter design based on the 1871 Army Pistol frame and was produced mainly in 22 and 32 rimfire.

The model 4 is a boy's rifle and was made as a solid frame, as well as a takedown.

Although the #6 is not a true Rolling Block, it was a low-cost rifle in 22 and 32 rimfire.

The very scarce #7 was also based on the 1871 Army and is a true target rifle with only about 350 produced.

The Rolling Block made the transition to the smokeless powder era with the #5, most frequently encountered in 7mm Mauser and 8mm French Lebel.

Sporterizing Rolling Blocks has always been popular. This one's been rebarreld to 30 US or 30-40 Krag, restocked and refinished.

Recently, the Rolling Block was made available through Remington's custom shop as a reproduction of the early sporting rifle.

The Remington Hepburn, designed by Louis L. Hepburn, was a target rifle like this version in 40-50 Sharps Straight. It's a true falling block operated by a lever on the side of the action and was offered in the popular target cartridges of the day.

One of the most commonly encountered single-shot rifles is the Stevens and the earliest guns are referred to as tip-up models because the barrel tipped up when opening the action. An interesting feature is that they were made without a forend. One of the most popular boys' rifles was the Stevens Favorite offered in 22 and 32 rimfire. A larger version of the Favorite is the #44, and it was available in target cartridges like the 32-40 in addition, to the smaller rimfire cartridges. The last of the Stevens boys' rifles was the lever-operated Crackshot made for over 30 years until production ended in 1939. The 14-and-a-half Little Scout was introduced in 1911 and, when discontinued in the middle 1930s, sold for only $4.95.

The Winchester 1885 single-shot is the rifle that started the long relationship between John Browning and Winchester, as Browning was the inventor. The High Wall design was strong enough for the more powerful cartridges, and the Low Wall was only used for smaller calibers.

Factory chambered for well over 50 different calibers, the Winchester 1885 was available in practically every cartridge of the day. The design remains popular and is reproduced by several companies like this High Wall from Ballard Arms.

Single-shot cartridge rifles are a part of America's history and a lot of fun to shoot.

--Larry Potterfield