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Accurizing a falling-block rifle

10 Mar 2018
@ 04:27 pm (GMT)

Greg K.

Does anyone have any experience accurizing a falling-block rifle? For some reason I have developed a keen interest lately in the falling-block action and have considered getting a single-shot falling-block rifle to mess around with.

I'm not sure what kind of hunting I might end up doing with it, but it definitely would not be long range hunting. Mostly I just love the classic look, design, and simplicity and would love to have one to tinker around with. Based on the research I've done the biggest accuracy limitation appears to be the two-piece stock that is typically used on falling-block rifles, so I doubt it would ever be as accurate as a quality, well-accurized bolt-action with its one-piece stock, but I would be happy if it was even close and I think it would be fund to try as a project.

There's no way I would pay the nosebleed prices of the really expensive, high-end falling-blocks, but of the reasonably priced production falling-block rifles, the Winchester 1885 High Wall seems to be the best bet for accuracy and overall quality of workmanship. It doesn't seem to have nearly as many problems with the forearm and trigger as the Ruger No. 1 does, so if anyone has experience with the 1885 I'd love to hear about it. Having read Nathan's books and spent a lot of time searching around this site, the only thing I have found regarding falling-blocks was Nathan's comments regarding Ruger possibly discontinuing the No. 1, but not many specifics about falling-block rifles in general.

Any falling-block fans out there?

Replies

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23 Mar 2019 @ 07:34 pm (GMT)	Quote this Loren Mulder Re: Accurizing a falling-block rifle I know I'm a year late but just got a Browning 1885 7 mm Rem Mag 2 months ago & hope this offers a little hope for someone. My brother in law got into long range shooting [1 mile plus ] and i drug my heels but finally got excited about it when I thought of shooting a sharps or 1885 falling block single action bright blued & walnut instead of those black poly stock bolt action meets AR and steam punked adjustable butt-stock length & cheek piece all rolled into a gun. Boy was I disappointed when my groups were 3" across & barely staying on a 8 x 11 page with a load change at 100 yards, and I'm sure most of the guys were thinking I should go join the children's range & snickered when I wasn't around not to mention my brother in laws embarrassment. All is not lost though, after a few weeks of load development I found some hope. 180 gn ELD Match - 61 gr H1000 .035 off the lands and it'l put multiple bullets through the same hole. The muzzle speed is critical though, 4 bullets through 2 holes, each hole corresponds to a different velocity neighborhood about 15 ft per second apart. Reloading also new to me [ a lot of u tube & forum research ] This is also after I polished the trigger & lighter spring dropping the trigger from 5 lbs to three. Then in an effort to tame the harmonics to avoid the velocity sensitivity I added a plug of hot melt glue under the barrel on top the bi pod mount making sure it had good contact & finally a barrel tamer [ one of the guys calls it a " butt plug " ] an $11.00 rubber plug, LimbSaver Sharpshooter X-Ring Barrel Dampener on eBay or Amazon. Now the speed isn't so critical. I also hollowed out the forearm & stock & added lead shot mixed with epoxy resin resulting in a 17 & 1/2 lb gun instead of 8 lbs, & a very [ i mean very ] careful file & polish job on the trigger catch leaving a 6 to 10 oz trigger depending on finger placement. Now I'm happy to mention a 3" group at 900 Yds. Ringing a 2 ft x 2 ft plate at a mile is usual, 2000 yds it gets a little tougher but still bangin it. Haven"t got the 2150 yds yet but have only tried twice so far.
16 Apr 2019 @ 01:11 am (GMT)	Quote this Loren Mulder Re: Accurizing a falling-block rifle Just an update; joined an ELR [ extreem long range ] shoot this weekend and landed 3rd place. Just got lucky. My Browning 1885 7mm Rem Mag was the only falling block [ not surprising ] and was the only shooter to hit the 2150 yard 4x4 target, it was a little windy.
25 Oct 2019 @ 09:39 am (GMT)	Quote this James Christopher Re: Accurizing a falling-block rifle I have owned a heavy barrel Browning 78 in .22-.250 and currently a Winchester 1885 in 6.5 CM. I use only factory ammo. I shoot every brand and bullet weight I can find until I get one that groups well. I shoot only at 100 yards because of the limits of the shooting club I belong to. I shoot 5 shot groups, never 3. That is too easy. I have found both rifles to be very accurate. The heavy barreled 78 shot steady 3/4" groups with many group at 3/8". The 1885 has an octagon barrel which I would call a heavy sporter. It also shoots 5 shot 3/4" groups with some at 1/2". I have done nothing to the rifles however I am going to have trigger work done to the 1885 to reduce the pull weight. I do not shoot competitively but I shoot a lot and have for 45 years.