I think the acceptance patterns would reveal some clues if enough could be observed and recorded, it "might" be used to estimate a progression and group similar rifles to broad ranges, I do not think it will be especially revealing in block interpretation, but it might be useful in larger production ranges like 1887 & 1888 when large numbers are involved, but still is such a project worth it, only in some form of unit marking issuance, possibly, really for our purposes here, 1885-1886 it will reveal nothing except with a possibility of "maybe" determining an early 1886 from a latter, assuming there were a number of rollovers in 1886, First we would need to find more 1885's and see if acceptance patterns changed or differed from the one known and then find a 1886 to support a progression.
** actually I was surprised by the 1885 in my files, the auction pictures I saved but I must have been preoccupied and never added it to the research thread. I just did, it was an auction from last year, makes me wonder how many others I neglected to add, but it wouldn't be profitable to backfill or reconcile the two databases for the few possibilities.
