US MARINES MODEL 1885 REMINGTON-LEE NAVY 45-70

Topics related to Pre - 1898 Remington Rifles
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cz75bfr
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:32 am

US MARINES MODEL 1885 REMINGTON-LEE NAVY 45-70

Post by cz75bfr »

Hi,

I like to dissasemble this gun for inspection.
But I have no clue how to get the bold out. I know there is a screw under it, which has to be removed to get the stock off.

Any help appreciated

thanks

CZ
tjack
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:15 pm

Remington M1885 Lee mag. Rifle

Post by tjack »

CZ,
You should have purchased something simpler, say a Rolling Block!! According to the NRA disassembly guide #3 (which includes diagrams), do the following: Remove the magazine assembly by depressing magazine catch. Lift bolt handle and slide bolt rearward approx. one inch. Insert a screwdriver in the slot between the extractor locking spring and the front face of the bolt lug. Rotate blade of screwdriver counterclockwise to force the extractor locking spring forward. Lift out from bolt assembly. Remove extractor by lifting away from bolt. Slide bolt rearward approx. half the distance of the opening in the receiver. Rotate bolt head 60 degrees counterclockwise and slide out from bolt. Remove bolt assembly from receiver. Three different crude diagrams are referred to in this.
Good luck!!
rudybolla
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:13 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Post by rudybolla »

Those are neat rifles. :lol: USS OLYMPIA had 242 of them onboard when she sailed into Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. Actually, at that time the Marines onboard were still armed with the 1884 trapdoor Springfield [from 1898 photo] and the swabbies got the Remington-Lees! Since they sailed for the Orient in 95, they never had the opportunity to get the newer Winchester-Lee 6mm rifles that the Atlantic Squadron had during the war. There is a great photo of the crew of USS TEXAS formed into a box and armed with Remington -Lee rifles. I think the manual described this as being a defensive formation for riots in urban areas. Even then!
Gene Myszkowski
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 12:06 pm
Location: Palm Coast, FL

Post by Gene Myszkowski »

CZ,
tjack's disassembly instructions are right on. They are great rifles to shoot. The "street riot drill" is shown on p. 21 of my book - The Remington Lee Rifle.

I would be interested in the inspector initials and Navy serial number on the receiver ring as well as the Remington serial number for my records.

Gene Myszkowski
Author - The Remington-Lee Rifle
alouw
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:47 pm
Location: Netherlands

Navy Lee

Post by alouw »

Gene,

This should be for your records then; USN 2476 (yes, buffington sight) inspector WWK and various star H markings on the gun.
There's a roman numeral XIIX (20) carved in the steel and 89 in the butt..

If you'd be interested in some pics, let me know, I'll send some.

Briliant gun, shoots like new and very precise ..

I had no chance to take it really apart sofar, so I'm not aware of any other markings except the address line and pattent.

Albert
alouw at ictravi dot com
Gene Myszkowski
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 12:06 pm
Location: Palm Coast, FL

Post by Gene Myszkowski »

Albert,
Sounds like you have a nice rifle. There should be a 5 digit number in the the 50000 to 52000 range just after the address line. This is the Remington serial number. The Buffington sight was a standard replacement on the USN Lees and in fact USN # 2541 to 2650 were issued with the Buffington sights. Five Lee rifles with Buffington sights were issued to each ship as part of their equipment.

The star with H enclosed is an unidentified subinspector stamp, Lt W.W. Kimball (WWK) did not use his subinspector stamp which is a star with K enclosed.

The Naval Militias sometimes stamped rack numbers in the stocks.

Gene Myszkowski
alouw
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:47 pm
Location: Netherlands

The remington serial

Post by alouw »

Gene,

The serial is 51511 just after the address line.
http://www.antiquefirearms.eu/images/2/ ... sLabel.jpg

And indeed, it's a very nice rifle and in briliant condition if I say so myself.. it's still a very good shot after all these years and kicks quite nice (try firing 25 rounds or so :) It'll hurt.

Tomorrow I'll be picking up a rolling block from the NY militia (Ser. #21) with all it's former glory and bajonet ...

I just can't help but like the remington revolvers/rifles ....

Cheers,
Albert
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