Remington-Hepburn No 3 and Remington-Lee Bolt Action?
 

Hello again. What can you fellows tell me about these two rifles? I know only what the Flayderman's Guide I have tells me. Were they both "good" rifles?

I assume that the Hepburn was a great target rifle, but I have not heard much about them. Did the rifle have any major shortcomings?

The same questions apply to the Remington-Lee bolt action magazine rifle in .45-70. What were the main problems with this piece? How many shots did it hold? Was it very accurate? I am mainly intrested in the "sporting rifle" model.

Thanks again.

I can't talk about the Remington-Hepburn; I have seen a few, but never owned or fired one.

But I did own a Remington-Lee, and liked the gun. It was very obviously a Lee product, and you could see the basic design that was later used in the British Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield. I thought that it was an advanced rifle for the 1880's, possibly too advanced, as bolt actions had not caught on at that time.

I don't know of anything I can tell you that is not in Flayderman's, and I don't know, off hand, of any book or extensive treatment of the guns. The various rifles of that period are sort of a "dark hole", with only moderate collector interest and few books. Too bad, as that period was the genesis of many ideas and designs that later became famous.

Jim

Mr. Keenan, did you shoot the Lee much?

How did it do in terms of accuracy?

Was the trigger the same type found on a Lee Enfiled? That is, pinned to the triggerguard.

How many shots did the magazine hold?

Was the bolt "quick" like a Lee Enfield?

Thanks again for the help.

Hi, Skofnung,

I never really fired it for accuracy, since the inside of the barrel was like unto a sewer pipe, the main reason I traded it off on another odd-wad, a Standard Model G which I still have.

The magazine held 5 rounds in .45-70. The bolt was quite quick and easy, but I forget how the trigger was fastened. Sorry, it was at least 25 years ago, and I have handled a lot of rifles since.

Jim