Schuetzen as interpreted by Schoyen (and friends)
Photo by National Firearms Museum, Fairfax, Va
In keeping with the post on shooting positions from the 1870s, here we have a super tricked out Winchester Model 1885 in .32-40 enhanced by noted Denver gunsmith George Schoyen. This falling-block also features a nice Winchester A5 telescopic sight, as well as a “tuning fork” front hand rest and double-set triggers. This John Browning design was originally offered from 1885 to 1913 and this rifle is undoubtedly from the Schuetzen type matches popular around the turn of the century.
Do you want more?
Ok, how about these:
Remington rolling block target rifle, in the National Firearms Museum
As NRA members competed at Creedmoor Range in the 1870s, one of the guns they used was the Remington rolling block rifle. Issued to NY National Guard regiments, the Remington was a reliable service as well as target gun, and this Creedmoor .45 example boasts a custom adjustable wrist feature.
Remington No. 3 Hepburn in .32-40 with Stevens scope, in the National Firearms Museum
From its introduction in 1880, the No. 3 Remington-Hepburn rifle was offered in a variety of sporting and target calibers, from .22 to .50. The above example, mounted with a Stevens telescopic sight, is chambered in .32-40. While perhaps 12,000 rifles were made, the unique falling block that opened with its side lever earned an excellent reputation with American hunters and target shooters. Designed by Remington’s superintendent of its mechanical department, the single-shot Remington-Hepburn design has a great “target gun” look to it. No surprise, as Lewis L. Hepburn was also a member of the Creedmoor International Shooting Team.
No. 2 Wesson Mid-Range in NFM
No. 2 Wesson Mid-Range rifle was likely quite a contender in the days of Creedmoor competitive shooting. Fitted with a vernier tang sight, this .44 caliber sidehammer rifle was manufactured circa 1879 by Frank Wesson.
Photo via NFM
Ballard A-1 Mid Range Rifle in .40/63, go ahead and see if you can find that round on the local big box shelf
Moving into the 1900s, here we see the (gently) modified Krag of Massachusetts militia rifleman John Caswell, whose competition K/J bears a target Stevens-Pope barrel. Caswell, also a renowned hunter, served as a major in the Ordnance Corps in WWI. The Caswell Trophy, still in competition at the National Matches each year, is a smallbore shooting award that was given by Colonel John Caswell in 1923.
