winchester model 1886 lever action shotgun
 

acquired this winchester model 1886 lever action shotgun today, 12 ga, seems to be solid, and tight, serial number says made in 1892. neat old gun, not sure it's safe to shoot with smokeless powder.

well second pic is not the shotgun/lol.

Those lever action shotguns are so unique. I have never owned one, but they look like something that I might enjoy owning someday. Congrats.

Shotgun
 

I'm glad to see you are following Joe Biden's advice....."Get a shotgun...!":thumbup: Nice looking shotgun!

thanks, it is my first lever, have been impressed with this model since i saw one in terminator 2, not sure if this one is safe to fire modern shotgun shells , but i am planing on finding out.

has the emble ra on the side in a scroll, that seems odd on a winchester.

Very cool old gun! Yeah I would buy one if I came across it.

did not see the w, thanks. still trying to find out if it's safe to shoot with smokeless powder, really want to try it. thanks everyone.

Find a shop that caters to Cowboy Action Shooting and you can get shells that are loaded with black powder. Because of the age I would hazard a bet that it cannot take a full charge modern load. You can also but mini-shells or low powder shells.

I have a similar era Ithaca 16ga and use the cowboy action shells in it without problem.

http://www.sassnet.com/
http://www.buffaloarms.com/
(I frequently go to Buffalo Arms for 45/75 bp ammo and reloading supplies and for all my other Cowboy Action needs)

If you are interested, I also have 12ga brass cases for reloading. Shoot me a note.

+1 on Buffalo Arms. Great company. I've bought from them before.
Marc

This is a great gun to SBS.

I was thinking that, but if you check the prices on these, may be too valuable to cut down

very cool!!!

Dan
Have owned a couple of these over the years. Definitely would not shoot with anything but black powder loads that they were designed for. They made two models the 1887 and 1901. Very much the same but the 1901 I believe was 10 gauge only. Interesting old firearms. Bill

Thanks mr Bill, i will just find some black powder loads for it then, it is a model of 1887 then not 1886 as i assumed/ hope all is well with you and your family, your erfurt still gets shot from time to time, i allways think fondly of you when i fire it. take care.

Dan,

Load your own black powder shells from loading data available.

Very cool! Another of John Browning's designs (Just before he designed the pump action shotgun). Just saw these last night on a new episode of "Triggers: Weapons That Changed the World" that focused on shotguns. :thumbup:

Yes, it's an 1887 model. The script on the side of the receiver is WRA Co. for Winchester Repeating Arms Co.

I have one that belonged to my father, and on his passing I had it restored by Doug Turnbull, though this was long before he was famous. A very nice man and a true craftsman even back then.

For what it's worth, I fired hundreds of rounds of 12 ga. trap loads through my 1887 back when I was a kid, with no problems. My father used to shoot even 2 3/4" magnums through it when he used it for ducks and geese, again with no apparent problems. When I decided to have it restored, the bore had some slight pitting, so I took it to the premier shotgun barrel smith, the late Stan Baker. Stan honed and polished the bore. I asked Stan about shooting it with smokeless loads, and his reply was that it was actually a fairly strong action and if it was his gun, he wouldn't feel bad about shooting light trap loads through it.... In my opinion, Stan Baker knew more about shotguns than any man alive or dead. He was a true artist with a shotgun.

Were it me, I would find some 1 or 1 1/8 oz. low recoil trap loads and have fun (Provided your 1887 is in good mechanical shape....). Anyway, just my 2 cents....

You can shoot whatever you like in these old guns. Just remember they were designed for Black Powder!!!! There is no reason to risk eyes and nice old weapons. It's the same idea as people shooting +P ammo in old guns. Why???? Bill

This is a Winchester Model 1887. These are cool guns and fun to shoot. Winchester beefed upon the 1887 and introduced the lever action Winchester Model 1901. Winchester introduced the pump action Model 1893 shotgun and then the beefed up Model 1897 pump shotgun. Pump shotguns became more popular, so Winchester stopped production of the lever action Model 1901 in 1920.

Black powder ammunition is very popular in Cowboy Action Shooting. The smoke, flash and boom of black powder is great. However, with black powder special care is required for loading the ammunition and special care cleaning the guns.

For Cowboy Action Shooting, I use Winchester AA Low Recoil, Low Noise Target Loads, # AA12FL8. I use this round in my double barrel Stevens with external hammers and an early Winchester Model 1897 pump, both circa 1900. In fact this round is used by some of my friends with their Winchester Model 1887 lever action shotguns.

I know you will enjoy shooting your Model 1887. When you shoot the 1887, maybe, just maybe, you will feel the old west and hear distant hoof beats.