1886 33 wcf

[Marvin S]

Finally got out to shoot this rifle for the first time and really like it. It handles quite well and is light weight especially for an 1886 in a take down model. Boolit was from one of Tom's cataloged molds and is the knock off of the old Lyman design and as usual cast very well. Powder was Accurate 5744 lit with a large CCI rifle primer. Accuracy was was decent for the first time out but could stand some tightening up but other than that I'm quite happy with it.

[alrighty]

Very nice looking rifle in a neat caliber.Good looking group as well, it is amazing what these rifles are capable of.

[fouronesix]

Ahhh 33 WCF- one of the forgotten calibers! Have 2, one a solid frame and one a TD. Both excellent shooters and believe it or not the TD outshoots the solid frame by a tad. While all the buzz circulates around the 45-70s and 45-90s, the 33 is overlooked and much underrated IMO.

[Clay M]

I had one once upon a time. It was a nice rifle .I made the brass from .45/70, but it didn't seem to last for very many rounds.

[Cosmiceyes]

Nice! I just read Ken Waters authorship from Hand-loader yesterday. Really interesting!

[Piedmont]

That is a dream rifle for me--an 1886 in .33 or .40-65.

[Marvin S]

You can get the 33 for a resonable price as there is just not the interest in them as the big calibers. I dont think it got a fair shake as people started to develop magnumites and just had to have the latest most powerfull rifle.

[OverMax]

Without trying to be nosy. [ "A take-down model you say"] How did you manage to find this beauty? Seen a few 1886s {never a take-down} over the years and those 33s seamed to be the most common caliber one's I've always encountered. "You sir know your wheat from the chaff when it comes to Winchesters.

O/M

[TXGunNut]

Nice, very nice. Think I need to read up on the 33 WCF, sounds interesting.

[bob208]

i hsve an 86 in .33. it is a specal order light weight takedown button mag. has xxx wood pistolgrip with cap. winchester recoil pad and the layman no. 51 peep sight.

[fouronesix]

The M 86 was Winchester's lever repeater "answer" to the big BP cartridge "buffalo" single shots and the model was developed during the BP era. So the early production focused on the larger BP era cartridges- 45-70, etc. Then came smokeless in the mid 1890s along with higher vels/pressures and Jbullet technology. On purpose or by coincidence or by inherent genius or a combination of all those, Browning had designed-in enough strength with the M86 to handle the smokeless even though the design predates smokeless by quite a few years. Winchester tweaked the rifles with the latest metallurgy more suited to the smokeless. All manner of different cartridges started appearing, many in smaller calibers yet based on the earlier BP cases. One of those was the 33 WCF- simply a 45-70 with more body taper and a mild bottleneck necked down to 33 cal. But the race was on and the 33 just got caught as a 'tweener and passed by. But my experience in shooting both cast and Jbullets out of the M86/33 indicates one fine combination and with the right bullet, plenty of power and performance for most big game.

[Marvin S]

A great number of the 33s where take downs. I bought this one from a guy on the Winchester collector forum. I would venture to bet if you done a search on gunbroker right now there may be one or two there and another on gunsinternational.

[fouronesix]

Hard to say why there are quite a few TDs showing up since they were a special order item and produced in fewer numbers than the standard solid frames.

[ironhead7544]

The 33 WCF was a very popular TD in the early 1900s. Trains were the main transportation and a TD in a powerful caliber was easier to handle when traveling. The M71 was made to replace the 33 WCF 1886 as a big game rifle. I heard there was an outcry when the 1886 was dropped. Also, that the first year you could special order the M71 in 33 WCF as people still wanted it.