Weirdest rifle I've ever seen. Kinda want one now

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Appalachiannative

Appalachiannative

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So I stumbled to upon the wacky little rifle called the Winchester model 55 "automatic" single shot. Not to be confused with the model 55 lever action. The thing loads in the top of the receiver, fires from open bolt, and automatically ejects the spent case out the bottom of the receiver. The bolt looks kinda like a mini sten gun bolt, I know because I've handled one of those old parts kit stens. Ive only seen videos of this rifle and none where it is fired. Anyone ever fired one? I'm just curious about how the trigger pull feels with it slam firing that open bolt. I really like oddball stuff they don't make anymore but I don't want to get something and end up not liking it
 
Had a couple. Neat guns. Rarely for sale anymore and must be very collectible now. You can feel bolt operate and IIRC "firing pin" is just a projection on it and not a separate part. Only have a stripped factory replacement receiver left as a memento.
 
The only other rifle I've seen that competed for the red hot semiauto single shot market is the H&R 755 Sahara. However, the H&R fires from a closed bolt with a conventional hammer. Insert a cartridge, push bolt forward, pull trigger, bolt goes backward and is stopped in the open position by a bumper. Repeat.

The Winchester 55 fires from an open bolt. Insert cartridge, pull trigger, the bolt goes forward and fires the cartridge, then goes backward and is held in the rear position by the trigger mechanism.

Like all open bolts, the the trigger has to deal with the strength of the recoil spring, which results in a long heavy trigger pull.
 
natman said:
The only other rifle I've seen that competed for the red hot semiauto single shot market is the H&R 755 Sahara. However, the H&R fires from a closed bolt with a conventional hammer. Insert a cartridge, push bolt forward, pull trigger, bolt goes backward and is stopped in the open position by a bumper. Repeat.

The Winchester 55 fires from an open bolt. Insert cartridge, pull trigger, the bolt goes forward and fires the cartridge, then goes backward and is held in the rear position by the trigger mechanism.

Like all open bolts, the the trigger has to deal with the strength of the recoil spring, which results in a long heavy trigger pull.
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That's what I was worried about concerning the trigger pull. But then again I tend to do pretty well with a longer pull on a rifle
 
They are a neat/interesting rifle. I picked one up several years ago at a gunshow. I asked the seller if magazines were hard to find as this didn't have one. He chuckled then explained how it worked. Learned something new that day. Fun to shoot but make sure your hand is not covering where the empty drops out. It'll leave a nice little burn mark. I learned something new that day as well. : )

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Had one. A novelty that IIRC was incredibly inaccurate. For a Winchester.
 
Great snag on windy 55. I’ve never seen one.
I’ve got a HR auto single shot a friend gave me a while back. It’s missing a few parts so I’ve never shot it. Seems I read somewhere about an issue with 68 GCA caused them to be discontinued. It’s on my bucket list to be fixed.
 
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AMraider said:
Fun to shoot but make sure your hand is not covering where the empty drops out. It'll leave a nice little burn mark. I learned something new that day as well. : )
Click to expand...
The Browning SA22 has bottom eject and the same issue. You soon learn to button the cuff of your left sleeve tight so a hot piece of brass doesn't go down and get trapped on your arm. :eek:
 
Appalachiannative said:
Anyone ever fired one?
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Oh, yeah! I've had one since 1958 - my mom and dad gave it to me for my 10th birthday.:)
Appalachiannative said:
I'm just curious about how the trigger pull feels
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It's no target rifle. Nowadays, the trigger pull feels absolutely "mushy" to me. But when I was 10 years old, I didn't know how a trigger is supposed to feel, and before I learned, I perforated about junkyard full of tin cans, killed about a ton of jackrabbits, and even killed a few cottontails with my "automatic-single-shot" 22.:thumbup:
Appalachiannative said:
I don't want to get something and end up not liking it
Click to expand...
Two things you might want to look at before you buy a Model 55:
1. The "trap door" in the top (where you load it) is nylon, and it's prone to cracking where the hinge-pin goes through it. Mine's cracked, and one of these days I might get around to building a new one out of aluminum. Or maybe not - I'm 74, so one of my grandchildren might inherit "grandpa's first gun" before grandpa does anything about the little crack in the loading gate.
2. The ejection port in the bottom of the stock is right where an average sized, 10 year-old boy puts his left hand (or right hand if he's a lefty), and the ejected, HOT cases drop right into the boy's palm! I had an almost constant blister in the palm of my left hand until I grew taller and got longer arms.:eek:
Oh, and just one more little quirk about the Model 55 - when you shove a fresh round in, the rifle "automatically" puts itself on "safe." I suspect that was one of the selling points when mom and dad bought mine.:)
 
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