POTD: Creedmoor Money – C.B. Holden Falling Block Single Shot

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a rifle from a maker most people have never heard of. This is a C.B. Holden falling block single shot, the pattern usually called his long range or Creedmoor rifle, in 46 centerfire.

Cyrus B. Holden of Worcester, Massachusetts learned the trade as foreman of Frank Wesson’s shop before going out on his own in the 1870s. He shot competitively himself and held patents on a number of inventions. Guns with his name on them almost never surface.

The timing explains what this rifle is. Creedmoor range opened on Long Island in 1873, and once the American team beat the Irish there in 1874, long range target shooting turned into a real pursuit for anyone with the money for it. Shooters wanted heavy barreled single shots with good sights that would hold a group way out at 800 and 1000 yards, and every maker capable of building one did.

Press the small button on the front of the lever and the lever releases to drop the breechblock. There is a manual ejector sitting on top of the action. The barrel carries a dovetailed blade front and a two leaf rear graduated for 100 and 200 yards, but for serious distance work the aiming was done through a tang peep, which both the upper tang and the heel are set up to accept.

These cost real money. In 1888 the Boston Gun Club put up a Holden long range rifle as a tournament prize valued at $125, about five times what a Colt Single Action Army ran.

Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!

“Engraved C.B. Holden Falling Block Single Shot ‘Creedmoor’ Rifle.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4097/51/engraved-cb-holden-falling-block-single-shot-creedmoor-rifle. Accessed 30 July 2026.

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