It first appeared in 1879, manufactured by the
Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Eventually
Remington took over production and produced copies in
.45-70. Arguably this was the most modern rifle in the world, until the introduction of the 8mm
Lebel M1886 rifle using
smokeless powder, the Remington-Lee rifle utilized the first successful detachable
box magazine, unlike the Lebel rifle which was still using a fixed
tubular magazine. The design was incorporated by the British into the
Lee–Metford and
Lee–Enfield rifles, thereby becoming one of the most widely used rifle designs of the early to mid-20th century.
Remington's version of the Model 1879 saw only limited use by the
U.S. Navy and the Model 1882 was tested by
U.S. Army and issued on a very limited scale. Ultimately, it was passed up in favor of the
Krag–Jørgensen in 1892. In 1884, China acquired 13,000 Remington-Lees chambered in
.43 Spanish (11.15×58mmR). Of these, around 4,000 Model 1882 rifles were rechambered in .43 Spanish. During the
Sino-French War they proved to be highly effective against the
French Army, which predominantly used the
single-shot Gras rifle. New Zealand purchased 500 for its militia in 1887, also chambered in
.43 Spanish. These were quickly replaced after many complaints about the quality of the ammunition. ==Users==