Picked up a really nice 55 winchester 22 single shot.
Has a cut on top of reciever, trying to figure out what it might have been for

Standard rear sight is on gun

Anyone seen anything like this?

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Strange, mine definitely doesn't have that. Maybe some sort of peep sight, is that a threaded hole?

It looks like someone fitted a peep sight onto your gun. Maybe one of the old Williams Receiver Peep Sights with a flat bottom made that was made for a different rifle.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

I knew a guy more than 30yrs ago that had a Winchester Model 55, what a strange design that was! Acted like it wanted to be a semiautomatic but with no magazine and none planned, it ended up being a self-ejecting single shot rifle… that fired from an open bolt.

Does that sound correct?

My first gun was a Winchester model 55. Was called the automatic single shot. Excellent idea and design. Dont remember the cut.

A custom non Factory sight would be my guess as well.

I don't remember seeing any Winchester 55s with that feature. It was, to the best of my knowledge, a unique design - essentially a semiauto single shot. Over the years I have seen quite a few examples, but I have never owned one. Nor have I wanted to.

I find the idea and design extremely interesting. Not to nitpick too much, but I can’t see where “excellent” fits in here. It’s a curiosity and as far as I am aware, I haven’t seen anyone make anything that works in a similar fashion. I would imagine that’s because it’s not a design that most anyone would choose over everything else available on the market.

It was a quality rifle that worked as designed. Set up as it was, it was very well geared towards a brand new, young shooter.

I would snag one just for giggles if the price was right.

To each his own as they say. Being a single shot fanatic, I have seen most. Inexpensive, first guns, type are almost universal bolt actions. Open the bolt and draw it rearward, insert cartridge, push the bolt forward and rotate downward, pull the striker back by hand each shot, grab the striker with one hand and pull the trigger with the other to "un-cock" the bolt guns is a standard design. However, the design of the Winchester 55 is unlike any I have ever seen before. An automatic single shot action is far from common and very safe. For those that have never shot one, the ease of use becomes apparent. Having never actually timed one I remember I could get off far more shots per minute than my counterparts with their single shot bolt actions. Cock the gun one time with the right side protrusion, insert a cartridge into the Kings patten style gate at the top of the receiver, at which time the tang safety engages, with the thumb, disengage the safety and fire. The rifle then re-cocks itself and ejects the spent cartridge automatically. Simply slip a new cartridge into the chamber and thumb the safety and you are back in action. For me this is a quite unique and excellent design for the beginning shooter.

H&R had a similar single shot self ejecting that fired from open bolt. Good enough for plinker. Somebody should know model number.

H&R 760 Auto Eject Single Shot. But it is a substantially different design from the Win 55.

Isn't one of the fancied-up versions of the Model 94 called the Model 55 as well? Confusion much?

55 was used on a lever action as well as the 22 single shot.