Winchester M1885 Low Wall: Best 17 WSM Rifle

Shooting with the Winchester M1885 Low Wall in 17 Winchester Super Magnum is not only satisfying and efficient, but also a distinct connection to our hunting heritage. Single-shots inspire discipline and hark to the days of the Mountain Men and pioneers who depended on their single shots to bring home the bacon.

      See the sleek, rather simple rifle in this picture? It's old fashioned; it's a lever action; it's a single-shot and right now it's the best rifle chambered for the fastest, most powerful rimfire cartridge on the market. The 17 Winchester Super Magnum. 

        Over the past two years I've tested the 17 WSM in four prototype rifle designs and 12 individual rifles. To date John Browning's old 19th century single-shot has proven the most consistent, dependable and fun. And, despite it's minimal weight, slim stock and light barrel, it's one of the most accurate 17 WSMs I've shot.  

        Although it's "been around" for about two years now, the 17 WSM remains something of a promise, something of a mystery. Coming on line as it did during the unprecedented rush on guns and ammo, this newest rimfire cartridge suffered from scarcity. No ammo makers were going to gear up production of a new cartridge for which there was limited demand when millions of customers were screaming for billions of 22 Long Rifle rounds. 

Winchester's M1885 single-shot in 17 WSM is the perfect stalking rifle for chucks.

Nevertheless, aficionados of rimfire and tiny caliber performance panted after the promised potential of this new 17. It throws a 20-grain, polymer-tipped bullet 3,000 fps. It more than doubles the performance of any other rimfire. Shoots flatter, harder, farther and with half the wind deflection of anything else. If you can find a rifle and ammo to shoot it. With the backlog on production about cleared up, that should become easier this year.     

  The Winchester M1885 Low Wall is that rifle. Last spring I cycled hundreds of rounds through a couple of these tools, often burning through a 50-round box at the rate of four shots per minute. It takes a lot of shooting to make a barrel too hot to touch when each round only vaporizes eight grains of ball powder. Despite that heat, not to mention fouling from 200 to as many as 500 rounds before cleaning, the little rifles maintained MOA accuracy. A couple of quick passes with a snake-style cleaning rope cleaned them right up. 

The M1885 in 17 Winchester Super Magnum has the punch for small game like badgers, coyotes, foxes and bobcats as well as jackrabbits and woodchucks.

 While accuracy is the hallmark of any rifle, balance and function elevate them from machine to tool, a tool that feels good in the hand and is a joy to operate. Cocking the lever, dropping a round into the chamber, closing the lever and thumbing back the hammer enhance one's connection with a M1885. You and the rifle become a team, functioning smoothly to direct bullets downrange. Even with the oversized Nikon scope aboard, the M1885 felt sleek and quick. 

        Because of its short action, I could carry it by the pistol grip, barrel down, without touching the ground. And that was with a 24-inch barrel. 

        If you're the kind of shooter who enjoys flat trajectory with minimal expense (about 35 cents per shot,) virtually no recoil, and reasonable report, you may want to investigate the 17 Winchester Super Magnum. If you really want to maximize your fun, do it with a Winchester Model 1885 Low Wall falling block single-shot. It's as good in 2014 as it was in 1885.