1886 Winchester

dodge69

Bert;
Sorry about replying in this forum, the comp with your address crashed.
Re. my '86, serial number 134150 with suffix A.
Cody letter says: carbine, 45-70,
rec'd in warehouse May 18/05,
rec'd in warehouse Sept.25/05 Lyman front sight and sights fitted, shipped Sept. 26/05,
order number 26591-A

I haven't been able to find out if all '86 carbines had the saddle ring and strap studs (mine has both). I thought maybe the Cody letter would perhaps mention that sort of detail.
I don't know if the rear sight is a 'correct' one but it is a flip -back type(about 1 and 1/2 inches tall) but has no yard markings on it.
I am well pleased with the Cody letter, it and the local history of this Winchester go together well. At some point I will be able to have pictures to show how it 'aged' in northern Canada.
Regards,
Jim Purdy

dodge69

Hi I have an 1886 winchester in pretty nice shape. I was going to sell it for a friend,but after getting it home and looking it over real good I discovered that it originally was chambered for 38-56 WCF and sometime ago the former owner had it rechambered for 45-70 govt. my dilema is that the former owner has passed away and he had it valued at over 3700.00 but because of the rechamber I don't think it would be worth near that much. Am I correct? The serial number dates it at around 1890 and it does have the octagon barrel.Very nice condition as noted before,Very nice patina color.non-cracked stock and very very fine pitting, tight action and fully functional. Any Ideas as to possible actual value? Thanks to all who answer.I believe it is the original barrel.

dodge69

I have just purchased a 1886 33 Winchester. I have no idea if the gun would cycle before but as usual I always have a new purchase checked out by a smith. It needed cleaning bad so he went ahead cleaned it. I got ammo which was made by a well known company and received the 200 grain FTX Hornady bullet ammo. When I try to cycle the gun the round will come out of the magazine about half way at a angle and lock everything up. We checked the ammo for length and it is right. Could the pointed ammo be the cause of my problem? For an old gun it has very little wear.

dodge69

Can somebody tell me if only certain caliber 1886 Winchesters had a octagon barrel. I read where the 33 only came in a round barrel and I was told most of the 33 caliber guns where shot gun butt stocks with half magazine.

dodge69

what size is the magazine tube on the 1886 winchester and how wide is it. i have 2 26 inch tubes but different sizes.

dodge69

Hello

I have a 1886 Winchester in .45-70. It is in good shape; however when the gun is cocked to the second position (safety), pulling the trigger will cause the hammer to fall. I'm sure that it is not supposed to be that way (although I don't think there is enough force to cause a cartridge to fire). On inspection the hammer looks good and does not appear to be worn (although I did not remove it). Any suggestions?

thanks

Jim

dodge69

A friend gave me this Winchester 1886 yesterday. It was originally .38-56, but was converted (butchered) years ago by the owner of the Pony Express Gun Shop in California to .45-70. The barrel has been cut down, as has the magazine tube. The original barrel was re-bored and the sights relocated and replaced. The only redeeming feature of the chop-job is that the owner left a three-leaf express sight on it and didn't realize it until after he had let my friend buy it. I received the following historical information on it from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center:

Serial number applied on 4-2-1898
Date In: 4-12-1898
Type: rifle
Caliber: 38/56
Barrel Shape: octagon
Trigger: plain
Date Shipped: 4-1-1899
Order Number: 25465

As poor of condition as this rifle (though no pitting), I would like to bring it back as close to original condition as possible with the only variations being for practical use. I had hoped the historical data would have indicated barrel length and/or magazine tube configuration (as well as where it shipped to), but, since it doesn't, I will have to figure out what length it might likely have shipped with. Since I don't know exactly how it shipped, I can't very well return it to it's exact original condition, so I'm thinking about not returning it to .38-56. The .38-56 caliber, in factory loadings, is expensive and hard to find. With .38-56 WCF all but out of the running, I am considering a few others. .45-70 is practical, easy to reload for, and I already have a Marlin in this caliber. .45-90 would be a bit more interesting in the 1886, but it would be unlikely I would actually bother reloading it, so I would end up using .45-70 in it and probably getting a little less accuracy than if it were reamed for .45-70. .50-110 would be a great conversation piece, and probably worth reloading for when I take this rifle hunting, but otherwise very expensive and not the most practical. I have always admired Turnbull's restoration work, but I can't see putting that kind of money into a rifle that I am neither selling nor making a safe queen. I have been looking at Hunter Restorations lately, and have seen a few people post their high regards for the owner. His work looks good and starts at half the price of Turnbull's. I realize that I may get what I pay for, but the few photos I have found look good, and with a base rifle that was free, it would probably be worth having it semi-"restored." I am looking at keeping the three-leaf express sight on whatever new barrel I go with, as I think it is pretty neat. Any advice and recommendations would be greatly appreciated, as I know there is a lot of knowledge here. Thanks.

dodge69

What was total production for the 1886 Deluxe rifle? Were all stocks and for ends checkered or were some without checkering? Thanks for any help!

charliemeyer007

I would try and find a few factory loaded rounds at a local gun show and see if they will cycle. Or perhaps you could find some proper flat nosed Lyman cast bullets to load up for testing.

One of dads last Winchester's was a 86 in 33WCF. It came from a uncle without a butt stock. It was a little rough from hanging in the barn for about 50 years. After fitting a stock, I borrowed a mold and we made some brass from 45-70. It shot ok and cycled fine. I have no clue were it went. I might have some stuff for it.

added Lyman 338320

added2 Perhaps you could ask in the wanted forum for someone to make up a few action proving dummies (brass and crimped bullet) can just go threw the regular mail. You should also consider asking at the cast boolits place http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

I agree lot of gun assemblers out there, few gunsmiths.

Mod1892

Hello,

DO NOT use pointed ammunition in tube magazine rifles!! The small pointed tip can detonate the primer of the cartridge above it and REAL BAD things happen in the instances. Your gun smith does not realize what he is doing. You want this ammunition. It is not common to find and I believe it is mostly custom made and reloaded.
http://www.ammo-one.com/33Winchester.html
https://hendershots.net/product/33-winchester-extreme-custom-ammo/

Michael

Hawk Carse

The FTX bullet's red tip is rubber, meant for safety in tubular magazines. I can only guess that loaded in .33 WCF it is just not the right shape for feeding out of the Winchester magazine, it is meant for the .338 Marlin.

Hornady used to make a 200 gr flatpoint for the .33 WCF but it is not listed now. Not many of those old guns being shot. Buffalo Arms has something similar
https://www.buffaloarms.com/33-winchester-ammunition-200-grain-jacketed-fn-box-of-20-amo33win2

I did not load my .33 with anything but cast bullets because I was shooting it in CAS rifle caliber side matches. They fed fine.

dodge69

Actually this ammo came from Buffalo. Does anybody know where I can get some cast bullets ?

Bert H.

It is highly unlikely that the polymer tip on the bullet is causing the feed problem from the magazine. Something in the action is hanging up, not allowing the cartridge to feed into the carrier properly. You need to find a better (more competent) gun smith.

hillbille

pull the polymer tip off the bullet and then try two. you can allways glue them back on.

dodge69

I would think Bert is more than likely correct. It is getting hard to find a real gunsmith anymore.

fordsix

made for round nose bullets

guntrader49

Check the carrier spring under the tang. A friend of mine had the same problem with a 45-90 he bought. I checked it over for him and found that the carrier spring was completely missing so the carrier wouldn't flip into position. Just a thought.

pip5255

sounds like an issue in the action, I would try to clean it and look for any problems then try to feed and watch real close.