The Remington–Lee is a

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

, box magazine repeating rifle designed principally by James Paris Lee.

Description

It first appeared in 1879, manufactured by the

Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was the manufacturer of the Sharps Rifle. The company was organized by Samuel Robbins and Richard S. Lawrence as a holding company in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 9, 1851 with $100,000 in capital. Despite ...

. Eventually

Remington Remington may refer to: Organizations * Remington Arms, American firearms manufacturer * Remington Rand, American computer manufacturer * Remington Products, American manufacturer of shavers and haircare products * Remington College, American c ...

took over production and produced copies in .45-70. Arguably the most modern rifle in the world until the introduction of the 8 mm

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...

using Lebel M1886 rifle, the Lee utilized the first successful detachable

box magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges with ...

, unlike the Lebel which still used a

tube magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges with ...

. The design was incorporated by the British into the Lee–Metford and

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...

rifles, thereby becoming one of the most widely used rifle designs of the 20th century.

's version of the Model 1879 saw only limited use by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

and the Model 1882 was tested by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and issued on a very limited scale.http://milpas.cc/rifles/ZFiles/Bolt%20Action%20Rifles/M1885%20Remington-Lee%20US%20Navy/The%20US%20Militry%20Remington-Lee.html Ultimately, it was passed up in favor of the

Krag–Jørgensen The Krag–Jørgensen is a repeating bolt-action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Norway, Denmark, and the United States. About 300 we ...

in 1892. In 1884 China acquired 13,000 Remington-Lees chambered in .43 Spanish (11.15×58mmR). Of these, 4,000 were M1882s rechambered for the .43 caliber. During the Sino-French War they proved to be highly effective against the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

, which predominantly used the single-shot

Gras rifle The Fusil Modèle 1874 or Gras was the French Army's primary service rifle from 1874 to 1886. Designed by Colonel Basile Gras, the Gras was a metallic cartridge adaptation of the single-shot, breech-loading, black powder Chassepot rifle. It was ...

. New Zealand purchased 500 for its militia in 1887, also chambered in .43 Spanish. These were quickly replaced after complaints about ammunition quality.Scarlata, Paul. ''The Military Rifle Cartridges of New Zealand''. ''Shotgun News'', 2008, Volume 62, number 28, p. 18.

Users

* : Purchased 2,000 Remington-Lee rifles of unknown model in 1891 in .43 Spanish, most likely M1885. * : Between 1884 and 1896, Model 1882 Remington-Lee rifles in .43 Spanish were purchased from the New York firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham and issued to the Haitian army, gendarmerie and private militias. * :Bought 500 M1879 Remington-Lee rifles in 1884 in .43 Spanish from Schuyler, Hartley & Graham * : Used the M1882 Remington-Lee in

.45-70 Government The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as the .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873, which is known to collectors as the "Trapdoor Springfield." The new cartridge was a rep ...

. * : Purchased 500 M1885 Remington–Lee rifles in 1887 in .43 Spanish for the New Zealand Militia. * : Purchased 4,000 M1882 Remington-Lee rifles in 1884 in .43 Spanish. *

Sources

*.45-70 Rifles by Jack Behn. C1958 by Stackpole Publishing. *Small Arms of the World by WHB Smith and Joseph Smith. {{DEFAULTSORT:M1885 Remington-Lee Bolt-action rifles of the United States Remington Arms firearms Military equipment of New Zealand Early rifles Guns of the American West