1886 Winchester

[hpbear101]

My dad gave me this 1886 (@1891) quite a few years ago, and it is by far my favorite rifle as it has a lot of sentimental family value. He paid $15 for it back in the 60's, he also gave my brother a $12 86 from the same time frame. I have two other 86's but I've decided that dad is now 84 and this will likely be his last year of hunting (his words) so I am going to hunt with this rifle. I purchased the tang sight recently and got it mounted and sighted in. The tang sight has been a big improvement for working on my hunting load.I have decided I am going to kill an elk the old school way with black powder loads. So far my best group of 1 1/4" was with 62gr of Goex Cartridge, I have worked up to 75 grains and it still shoots plenty good enough for minute of elk shoulder. I have two molds that should do the trick a Lyman 420gr and a 330 gr hollow point. Both shoot good in this rifle but I haven't decided which one to actually use for hunting.

[osteodoc08]

Very nice. Any more photos or history on it?

[hpbear101]

171714Here is a close up of the action area. When my dad was in the army he shot on the 8th Army pistol team, and continued in pistol competition when he got out. He also liked going to "Turkey Shoots" (Montana) and he saw a guy with a 1886 45-70, he had never seen one before and decided he had to have one. With very little money to work with he found this rifle on the Flathead reservation. It was originally a 40-65, and it has had a lot of rounds through it. The metal in front of the loading gate is worn very thin, I can't imagine how many rounds it would take to wear that much. It also has a pretty good groove in the fore-end from being in a scabbard. Since 40-65 ammo wasn't to common and he wanted a 45-70 he had Vernon Groom (local gunsmith of the era) re-bore it to 45-70. His younger brother was having some health problems and dad gave him this rifle, when he passed away he got it back. Later when we were hard up for money he sold it to his boss, many years later his former boss showed up at our door and gave it back to dad for a Christmas gift. I got out of the service in the summer 1985 and dad used this to shoot his first moose that fall. Dad gave me this rifle in the early 90's. I've since acquired two more but this one is my favorite. It has always been a family tradition to go out and shoot the "45-70" and I have carried that on with my kids as well.

[smokeywolf]

Great story around your Model '86 and a truly magnificent looking rifle. Don't ever sell it.

[rondog]

What an awesome rifle and story!

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yes, those pictures are marvelous. I like that sight better than the usual screw-stem Lyman or Marbles. It is much better for moving from one setting to another, and though some might say it is more vulnerable, I doubt if it works out that way in practice. It is certainly far superior to open sights under just about any circumstances. I have done quite a bit of shooting (with other rifles) using a 1.5x Weaver scope, and I can't see that the tang sight is much less effective.

I'm not sure whether you are talking about the same .45-70, but the first rifle you mention sounds like one of the .45s by the bullet weight. I would much prefer the heavier bullet. The 330gr. won't retain velocity as well, and with a medium alloy such as Lyman No2 you will get useful expansion without a hollow on anything that needs expansion. If you are trying for the greatest power safety and recoil permit, you are more liable to run into leading with a higher velocity 330gr.

I'm not sure I believe in wearing the steel by loading cartridges, though. Frequent repolishing after loading with a sweaty thumb seems more likely.

[PbHurler]

What a beautiful rifle. Give it a hug, but give your dad one first.

[TXGunNut]

Very nice, a grand old rifle with a story.

[Malamute]

Thanks for sharing.

The 86 is my all time favorite rifle. Yours being a family heirloom makes it even better.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Yes, I imagine John M. Browning sitting and toying with something like an 81 Marlin and a light-bulb appearing above his head as he thinks "Who made the rule that the lever needs a fixed pivot?" No, it was bigger than a light-bulb. Possibly the Buddha's flame of enlightenment.

171814

[Rifle 57]

This is a great story and a very nice rifle, and yes I agree do not sell it!!