With the demise of the ban on sub-16" barrels...

by Paul , Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 17:01 (1 day, 5 hours, 1 min. ago)

and the new guidelines on formerly verboten firearms, I find myself fantasizing a bit... and no, nothing to do with CQB door kicking 11.5" carbines. Years ago my eyes fell upon a 15" bull barrel Winchester 1885 in 25-35 caliber in the NW Colorado Cowboys and Gunfighters Museum in Craig, CO. And it's been nibbling at the back of my brain pan ever since. There's just something appealing (to yours truly, at least) about that setup. Nice and compact. And it is a "one of one" rifle as it's the only such ever built by Winchester. Replicating it, even in a modern clone, was out due to the NFA's ban on doing so. But now, thanks to the new guidelines, the only thing holding me back is excessive lack of funds to follow up on the urge. And the more I think on it, the more I think that such a rifle built with an integral silencer would be "even cooler", if that's possible.