Why do I want a current 1885 high wall trapper?

[Lance Boyle]

My favorite single shot is the browning high wall design..

Winchester had made some by Miroku not too long ago. Most have been sold but the 16” trappers. I didn’t really want one that small and prefer the version with the pistol grip stock and action tang. These are straight grip but they have neat ladder sights.


I keep thinking I want one in .30-40 or maybe even .38-55. Not sure how good the short barrel on the .30-40 would work.


Your thoughts? Advice.

Thanks in advance.

[ajjohns]

Wouldn't be the end of the world to own one, I think they're pretty sporty. But, short. If anything you have an excellent platform to build whatever you want down the road.

[Lance Boyle]

That has crossed my mind too but at $900 that’s an expensive kit.

[Taco Belly]

I have a Trapper in 38-55 and it is my most favored rifle for recreational shooting...shoots great to about 300 yards, and is clay-target accurate at 100 all day long! Short, handy, and easy to load for. I have about 2,500 rounds through mine and it is just a pleasure to handle. I bought a 2012 shot show special Sporting Winchester in 38-55 to have a long target model, and my trapper ended up shooting just as good or better! Highly recommended...one important note: at 5'8", it fits me perfectly...taller people have to cram it into their body as the length of pull is pretty short....I could go on, lol



My favorite single shot is the browning high wall design..

Winchester had made some by Miroku not too long ago. Most have been sold but the 16” trappers. I didn’t really want one that small and prefer the version with the pistol grip stock and action tang. These are straight grip but they have neat ladder sights.


I keep thinking I want one in .30-40 or maybe even .38-55. Not sure how good the short barrel on the .30-40 would work.


Your thoughts? Advice.

Thanks in advance.

[Lance Boyle]

Well I got the short thing going for me for once.

Taco, do you know your .38-55 groove diameter? My Taylor Arms Uberti .38-55 has a .382+ groove diameter. It’s a heavy pig though, I don’t see me going up the mountainside with it.

[marlinman93]

Not a fan of short barrels on a single shot, especially with iron sights and the rear sight on the barrel. Makes for a very short sighting radius, and not conducive to great accuracy, even if the gun is very accurate.
I wouldn't saddle myself with such a handicap.

[skeettx]

My Ruger #3 in 30-40 Krag is the bomb!!
It is fun to shoot and easy to carry
I do have it scoped
Mike

[Lance Boyle]

The.30-40 is a sweet set up for cast bullets.

[daved63]

I bought one in 30-40 and one in 45-70 when CDNN had them for $799. The 45-70 is pretty harsh recoil wise with the steel butt plate, but it is an accurate rifle. The 30-40 is a pleasure to shoot and is a great cast bullet rifle. I mounted an old Redfield 2 3/4X20 Wideview scope on mine and it is very accurate. I've taken deer with the 30-40 and it did a nice job. I've been kicking myself for not getting a 38-55 before they raised the price a hundred dollars.

228751

[Texas by God]

I would like one and I would call it Stubby. 30-40 would be fine.

[bigted]

So question ... are those ultra short "trapper" models with or without the top wrist tang to mount a peep on?

[oldred]

Yes they have a tang.

[bigted]

Thanks old red.

[arlon]

Seems like the stubby barrel would be perfect for fast powders and cast bullets. I wouldn't like loosing the sight radius but it wouldn't be much worse than an AR and I shoot those fine. I like single shots, have a few but only modern one is a first year Ruger #1.

I'm pretty fond of the 38-55 but the price seems a little high to me as far as the bang for the buck thing goes but I've sure more for less. If one landed in my lap, I'd sure keep it and shoot it but I don't think I'd go out and pay $900 for one myself.

[bigted]

I have to say that those Miroku 1885's are a very well built, strong rifle that are nicely finished. They shoot excellently [ had 4 of them and still have a Browning in 38-55 ]. You will like the fit n finish for sure. WORTH 900.00 dollars ... absolutely! These are as good and in my estimate ... better than ... the Ruger # 1.

As for short rifles ... i like short barreled rifles a lot. Handy in brush, easy in n out of the vehicle, swings very fast and looks great with a scope sight or wrist mounted or action mounted peep sight.

I have several short barreled rifles and like you ... have been sorely tempted to make a stab at landing one of these snazzy short barreled '85's in my personal fav ... the 38-55. Should be a super great carbine with a scope mounted ... the only thing i would change is the caliber. I am really entranced with the .380 inch boolits. THEY are THE original cal for this round.

Nothing wrong with the current .375 tho. Many good boolits for it and they are tried n true performers.

[daved63]

One thing I had problems with on my 30-40 Trapper was mounting the scope. Finding the rear base that mounts to the action was no problem, but no one makes a front base for the tapered round barrel. I ended up buying a tall weaver base and using my mill to fit it to the barrel.

[Lance Boyle]

That’s good to know about the mounts.

[sparky45]

I absolutely love my Uberti 85 and it has a 30” barrel and a Tang sight. Got a good deal on it and it’s in one of my favorite calibers, 30-30.

[Lance Boyle]

I have a tang sight on the way for my Taylor arms Uberti highwall in .38-55, hopefully that helps my target! I am pretty bad with buckhorns.

[eastbank]

i have all three calibers in the carbines, 30-40,38-55,4570 all with the same serial number with a different prefix to denote the calibers. i have not fired them yet.

[Lance Boyle]

I looked at CdNN and saw they were recently sold out. They cut the $100 that they added two years ago.

[daved63]

I looked at CdNN and saw they were recently sold out. They cut the $100 that they added two years ago.

Did you ever get one? CDNN dropped the price to $699 for a day or two and I finally bought the 38-55 version. Now I have all three. The 38-55 is very accurate with the Ranch Dog TLC379-235-RF sized to .378". I slugged the bore on mine and it measured 0.377". I have several other moulds for the 38-55 which I will get around to trying in the Trapper. I started with the Ranch Dog because I had almost fifty rounds loaded for my Marlin Cowboy. The Trapper groups them better than the Marlin, three shots just under 1/2" at 50 yards.

I had made a jig for the mill to make the front scope base for the Trapper barrel contour. I use the Weaver #68 base and mill off .050" and add the .005" slope from the back to the front of the base. With the jig made, it only takes a couple of minutes to modify the base. The rear base is the standard Weaver #11.

The Trapper is a fine rifle in my opinion, they are light and accurate. I expect to be hunting with the 38-55 next season.

[eastbank]

daved63, would make me a base for one of my win carbines, i would be glad to pay for it up front if needed. thanks.

[daved63]

daved63, would make me a base for one of my win carbines, i would be glad to pay for it up front if needed. thanks.

PM sent.

[warren5421]

I have a Browning that someone in the past took the barrel off and put a .38-55 barrel Full Octagon 30". It out shoots my sharps .45-70 under 500 yards. It is very heavy to carry in the woods. I can see where the short barrel would be nice if hunting or woods walking but a good .44 on the hip would be easier to move with.

[eastbank]

easier to carry, but not easier to hit with. i,m going to put a older 3x leupold scope on my 30-40 krag carbine when i get the front base from ed63dav.

[daved63]

I have a Browning that someone in the past took the barrel off and put a .38-55 barrel Full Octagon 30". It out shoots my sharps .45-70 under 500 yards. It is very heavy to carry in the woods. I can see where the short barrel would be nice if hunting or woods walking but a good .44 on the hip would be easier to move with.

I find that a .44 on the hip and a nice light rifle slung over the shoulder is even better. It makes it easy to take care of any situation that might arise.

[eastbank]

274141i retired my two S&W 29,s and when i carry a revolver in the woods its this S&W 624 in .44 spl with 240 gr hard cast bullets a 950-1000 fps.

[daved63]

274141i retired my two S&W 29,s and when i carry a revolver in the woods its this S&W 624 in .44 spl with 240 gr hard cast bullets a 950-1000 fps.

eastbank, You and I are like minded, although mine has two more inches of barrel....274150

[wcp4570]

When CDNN ran the sale on the Trapper models recently I just could not resist any longer so I added a 38-55 to the stable. I think the little Trapper is about the coolest gun in the safe. The sights on this gun are easy to see for my old eyes but a good peep would make it easier for me to shoot. I have considered one of the Marble Tang sight for this gun. I would like to hear if anyone has used one of the Marble tangs before and how they like it. I have not put it on paper yet but hitting steel at 50 yards is no problem. My 10 year old grandson has clamed the Trapper as his own. I now have three 38-55's and they are a joy to shoot.

wcp

[onelight]

I have a marbles tang sight on a Rossi 92 357 . I like it .

[jazzman251]

I have a marble tang on my 1885 in both 223 and 32-40. I also have one on my Stevens Favorite. They work great for me and hold their zero. Never had a problem with any of them.

[jazzman251]

I have a Trapper in 38-55 and it is my most favored rifle for recreational shooting...shoots great to about 300 yards, and is clay-target accurate at 100 all day long! Short, handy, and easy to load for. I have about 2,500 rounds through mine and it is just a pleasure to handle. I bought a 2012 shot show special Sporting Winchester in 38-55 to have a long target model, and my trapper ended up shooting just as good or better! Highly recommended...one important note: at 5'8", it fits me perfectly...taller people have to cram it into their body as the length of pull is pretty short....I could go on, lol

I just purchased a Trapper in 38-55. May I ask what your load is, might save me some research. Thanks.

[daved63]

I revisited the 38-55 Trapper I bought back around the holidays today. I had bought a set of Leupold steel turn in bases that were for a Browning 1885 Low Wall with an octagonal barrel several years ago, part #51260, because they were on a closeout table for $10. The front base was too high for the Trapper and had an octagonal profile. So, I spent some more time on the mill today and milled the front base to the proper height with the correct tapered round profile. While it doesn't shoot any better than the aluminum Weaver bases that I had made for it earlier, I like the way it looks and it adds a couple of ounces which is of benefit on such a light rifle. The 38-55 was the last of the Trappers that I bought, but I think it is a dandy. I have shot 1/2" three shot groups at 50 yards with the Weaver aluminum bases and a Chinese Tasco 3-9x32 scope and I have shot 1/2" three shot groups with the steel Leupold bases and an old Bushnell 2 1/2x20 Scope Chief. I'm shooting at 50 yards because we have had so much snow and walking the extra 50 yards to make it to 100 just isn't worth it!:)

I was shooting Ranchdog's TLC379-235-RF loaded with 34.8 grains of H335 in Starline 2.080" brass. In the Trapper's short barrel this load gets 1684 fps and is pleasant to shoot, even with the steel buttplate. I think this combination will be deadly in the deer woods next season.

275434275435275436275437275439

[wcp4570]

Great shooting and group from the little trapper. I like the way the scope looks on the trapper. I've been looking for a weaver 2.5 to put on my trapper.

wcp

[eastbank]

i have a 4x baby redfield with 3/4" tube made to take heavy recoil to mount on my trapper 30-40 krag.

[Jim22]

I have been lusting after something like this - a good falling block single shot in either .38-55 or .375 Win.. Can't make up my mind. But I have a Ruger #3 rebarreled to .375 JDJ that I have been casting and loading for. I have plenty of projects between it and the Henry single shot .357 Mag. that has been rechambered to .357 MAX. I no longer hunt in Alaska so my rifle needs are less powerful. Both of these rifles should handle whitetail and Mule deer just fine within reasonable range. Also have a couple rifles in .357 mag., a Marlin and a Ruger 77-357. Prolly good 100 yd whitetail guns but limited.

[Lance Boyle]

Did you ever get one? CDNN dropped the price to $699 for a day or two and I finally bought the 38-55 version. Now I have all three. The 38-55 is very accurate with the Ranch Dog TLC379-235-RF sized to .378". I slugged the bore on mine and it measured 0.377". I have several other moulds for the 38-55 which I will get around to trying in the Trapper. I started with the Ranch Dog because I had almost fifty rounds loaded for my Marlin Cowboy. The Trapper groups them better than the Marlin, three shots just under 1/2" at 50 yards.

I had made a jig for the mill to make the front scope base for the Trapper barrel contour. I use the Weaver #68 base and mill off .050" and add the .005" slope from the back to the front of the base. With the jig made, it only takes a couple of minutes to modify the base. The rear base is the standard Weaver #11.

The Trapper is a fine rifle in my opinion, they are light and accurate. I expect to be hunting with the 38-55 next season.

I did not. I might have been tempted by that sale price.

I guess I decided that I really like a longer barrel better. Didn’t invest in a version that did not have the features I prefer. A curved pistol grip, a nice 22” barrel, round to keep it lighter. Add a shotgun butt pad and it’d be perfect.

[gnoahhh]

The carry-ability of that super short barreled rifle is far outweighed by increased muzzle blast, increased recoil from a lighter gun, crummy short sight radius, and loss of weight-forward balance. Y'all can have 'em, I want nothing to do with such a beastie! As for short and handy for use in the thick stuff, I've prowled MD, PA, and WV brushy laurel-choked mountains for decades with 40" barreled Pennsylvania long rifles, and 30 barreled side by side doubles and never once felt handicapped. To each his own but I firmly believe that folks who insist on super short rifles for that purpose are deluding themselves, or have read too many magazine articles!

[wcp4570]

Nothing delusional here and I stopped reading gun magazines years ago, waste of money, so no gun writer made me want to buy a trapper. I live in the wide open spaces of Texas, I have 4 Browning highwall's and 2 Winchester highwall's and one of the Winchesters is a 38-55 trapper plus an Italian made 1874 Sharps and I like them all. My trapper has a little low power Weaver installed and is a lot of fun to shoot. There is nothing wrong with the accuracy of the short barrel trapper as shown by daved63 in post #34. After all it is a rifle designed by the greatest gun designer ever and the 1885 action started his many gun patterns. Here is a great documentary video about Mr. Browning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oYJW8WbupQ&t=25s

Its like this, when someone starts a conversation about the 300 blackout, (a caliber filled with love & hate) it is not uncommon to see comments about what is wrong with the caliber or say it want do anything that a 30-30 or some other caliber can't do better. Also like car guys arguing about which car is better, Ford or Chevy. No bad feelings here and I hope none are taken from my comments.

wcp