Winchester 1886 large finger lever?

[Kev18]

I want to make a large loop lever for my 1886. Its an original made in 1888-89. Original levers are hard to find and are very expensive. I want to cut a part of it out and weld a longer piece on to it. easy enough... Now my question is: Do repro levers work? For example, taylors&co has parts for sale. Would it work for an original?

People get wild when modifying original guns but a large loop would be nice for winter use. I dont care if the lever isnt an original winchester. Im cutting it open anyways.

[samari46]

Don't know what the originals were made of, probably nothing fancy so probably hot rolled steel would be good enough. Might show up when rebluing though. Could have been case hardened originally just a thought. Frank

[indian joe]

I want to make a large loop lever for my 1886. Its an original made in 1888-89. Original levers are hard to find and are very expensive. I want to cut a part of it out and weld a longer piece on to it. easy enough... Now my question is: Do repro levers work? For example, taylors&co has parts for sale. Would it work for an original?

People get wild when modifying original guns but a large loop would be nice for winter use. I dont care if the lever isnt an original winchester. Im cutting it open anyways.

Kev I am way more of a shooter than a collector but I reckon it would be a shame to cut your original lever - see if you can find a busted 86 lever someplace - or - if you lookin at repros - the word is the Chiappa is closest to original specs .
I have had similar thoughts as you regarding the lever on my Browning 71 - it burrs my knuckles - too much curve in it - and if I could be sure how that steel would react I would have at it with an oxy torch and make it like the marlin CB big loops - just dont wanna breakit - so I look, and I ponder, and I leave it alone.

[beltfed]

I did find that an extra Original '86 lever I had picked up
is malleable enough as I cut and bent it larger with no problems.
It was "scaly" enough that I was not concerned about doing this
on this particular lever.
beltfed/arnie

[veeman]

I found that the big John Wayne type large loops are about worthless, way to much airspace. They look cool, but are useless. Shaped like the Marlins is more useful, when wearing gloves, I would think.

[Kev18]

Im not doing anything to my original lever, thats why I want a repro lever. Im not doing a huge lever either, as mentioned above the old style John Wayne levers are ridiculous. I just want to enlarge it abit.Im not really a fan of the marlin shape levers, but something that size would be good.

Thats why I was asking about brands? Chiappa or taylors maybe?

[veeman]

There are a couple on ebay, but they are pricey.

[Kev18]

144$ on eBay...

[Wayne Smith]

Call Taylors and ask. They know what they are talking about if you get the right guy.

[Kev18]

Call Taylors and ask. They know what they are talking about if you get the right guy.

I emailed them and the guy answered saying that: They don't deal in originals so they won't tell me if it will be 100% compatible. The guy kinda just left me hanging, sadly.

[BigEyeBob]

Ive a Marlin 1895 ,Ive had it for close to 40yrs ,when I first acquired it I found the lever loop way too small for my big paw , the back of the loop sat between my pinky and the next finger in .On firing a couple of shots ,the skin in between the digits would give way and I would have a nasty spot where the skin was scraped off . I took the lever to work and cut it into two pieces of stock larger than the lever material and tig welded a piece top and bottom ,filed it to the correct shape and reblued it .IIRC I added 1 1/4 " to extend the loop .The modification is undetectable unless you put another rifle side by side to compare .The best thing is I get no damage to my fingers on firing , the whole three fingers on my right hand fit inside the lever loop and the rifle is more comfortable to shoot .You may have to bite the bullet and outlay some coin to get another lever to modify , but in the long run I reckon it would be worth it IMHO ,theres nothing worse than a rifle thats uncomfortable to use.I would have a look at Homestead gun parts for a lever ,he has a lot of original and repo parts for many lever guns .Ive bought from him on a few occasions ,and found him very good to deal with .

[Bent Ramrod]

I don't know if they support Italian replica repeaters, but the Parts Lady at VTI Gun Parts has shown an encyclopedic knowledge of what fits what across the various makes of replica cap&ball revolvers, muzzle-loaders and Sharps rifles.

I think VTI’s catalog is On Line now. If they have a parts list for replica lever repeaters, it would be well worth calling her.