Win 1886 back shooting

[Rockingkj]

A few years ago I had gotten a basket case in parts Winchester 1886. Had fiddled with it off and on and set it aside. Finally decided to send it to a gunsmith to reassemble. Originally planed to have to old 40-82 as a wall hanger. After discussing it with my smith decided to make her a shooter again. The most viable option was to send the barrel to JESS to be bored out, rifled and chambered in 45-70. JESS did a super job and would not hesitate to recommend that shop. Here is the result. Looking forward to working up a cast bullet load.

[Chill Wills]

That is a happy story! I love when some of the old rifles get put back in service. Good job! Happy shooting.

[Rockingkj]

Thanks. Started being a cheap way to own an 86. Did not quite turn out that way. lol. The rifle will be here long after the cost is forgotten.

[doccash]

Why not a 45-90 the chamber is that long. How do you shorten the chamber? Guess by setting the barrel back. Idk

[Rockingkj]

Probably could have gone with 45-90. Basically knew that could go 45-70 and not worry if the parts would work. Never actually crossed my mind to consider 45-90. Oh well brass easier to get for 45-70. Seemed to recall reading that 45-70 can be shot in 45-90not sure about accuracy doing that.

[Rockingkj]

Fixing up this rifle reminds me of what Roger Welch (Nebraska humor writer) said about fixing old tractors. To determine if you have the mentality to restore old tractors go to the bank and withdraw a bushel basket of $100 bills and walk around outside on the windy day and watch em blow away. If that does not bother you, you can stand to be a restorer. Seems to be the case for old guns too. Lol

[John Taylor]

Shortly after I opened my shop a fellow gunsmith showed me an 86 that had a barrel bent ( like a dogs hind leg). The story was that grand-pa got the wagon stuck and used the rifle to pry it out. Barrels on old black powder rifles are not very hard. A little time in the press and it looked good to go. I have had quite a few 86s come through the shop and each one seems to have it own story.

[Chill Wills]

Why not a 45-90 the chamber is that long. How do you shorten the chamber? Guess by setting the barrel back. Idk

FWIW - A rebore out to 45 and then chamber to 45-70 cleans everything up. No need to set the barrel back. The 45-90 Win as Winchester made them has a 1 in 32 twist. It is an express cartridge. Which makes sense, ...longer case - shorter bullet to equal the over all length required to go up the lifter and load.

[fordwannabe]

Well done, sir! Whenever you can get an old wall hanger up and running again, I commend the effort. The 86 is my favorite rifle ( I have 5 of them) but they do get a little heavy by the end of the hunt.

[Shawlerbrook]

Just love when people bring these old treasures back to life.

[Rockingkj]

Should make a nice shooter. Last improvement will be addition of a tang sight. An old one would be nice but I see a fellow can get a new Marbles for around $125.

[Rockindaddy]

Glad I am not the only fan of fixing up old tired 1886 Winchesters. It's good to see there are other fans that enjoy making up a rifle or restoring a shooter to take out into the woods to hunt with. Several years ago I worked on four old cap and ball revolvers for a collector. Instead of paying me for my work and the replacement parts I used, he gave me an old rusty Winchester 1886 barreled action. The gun was a 38-56 WCF. The bore was shot out and rusty. Someone had disassembled the action and did not correctly reassemble it. We settled on $300 Green Mountain makes great replacement Winchester barrels. I had a 45-70 chamber reamer. Work started as I turned and threaded the new barrel. Centered the new octagonal blank in my 4-jaw, cut a new chamber and head spaced it. The forearm dovetail slot has to be in just the right location to hold the new forearm and end cap. That was next along with the rear and front sight dovetails. Making a forearm requires drilling a barrel hole and a magazine hole in a square piece of walnut held in the four jaw chuck. Sometimes I have to make two or three to get em right. Having a saw mill on the farm is a help as I can usually find a nice piece of stump wood or crotch wood to cut out a blank. A Bridgeport vertical mill works to rout the tang and trigger guard in the stock. An electric palm plainer saves time to shape the butt stock. NC Ordnance Co. makes a nice reproduction 1897 shotgun hard rubber butt plate. The steel crescent butt plates hurt too much launching 400 gr boolits at 1800 fps. Taylors & Co in Winchester, VA sells replacement magazine tubes and ends. So a short 1/2 magazine will work. The barrel address and caliber markings still need to be rolled on plus a nice blue job. But it is looking like a good shooter!!!

[Rockingkj]

Rockindaddy. Dandy looking 86. The butt stock in mine is the original I got from you. What is the tang sight in yours?

[Rockindaddy]

Hey Rockingkj: You cleaned up that ole butt stock. The rifle looks great. Glad you could use that butt stock. That tang sight came from Taylors in Winchester, Virginia. They sell alot of reproduction Winchester parts. The rifle is not 100% yet.

[Rockingkj]

Hey Rockingkj: You cleaned up that ole butt stock. The rifle looks great. Glad you could use that butt stock. That tang sight came from Taylors in Winchester, Virginia. They sell alot of reproduction Winchester parts. The rifle is not 100% yet.

Thanks. I like the adjustments on your tang sight. The Marbles no 2 sight is ok but like the vernier feature on the one you have.

[Ramjet-SS]

Should make a nice shooter. Last improvement will be addition of a tang sight. An old one would be nice but I see a fellow can get a new Marbles for around $125.

I have a Marbles tang sight sitting in a box PM me lets talk. As far as the cost if you have the money and it’s what you enjoy then it’s not an issue. I think it’s an awesome project and what I call a family legacy gun. Enjoy it and shoot it allot.

[Ramjet-SS]

Glad I am not the only fan of fixing up old tired 1886 Winchesters. It's good to see there are other fans that enjoy making up a rifle or restoring a shooter to take out into the woods to hunt with. Several years ago I worked on four old cap and ball revolvers for a collector. Instead of paying me for my work and the replacement parts I used, he gave me an old rusty Winchester 1886 barreled action. The gun was a 38-56 WCF. The bore was shot out and rusty. Someone had disassembled the action and did not correctly reassemble it. We settled on $300 Green Mountain makes great replacement Winchester barrels. I had a 45-70 chamber reamer. Work started as I turned and threaded the new barrel. Centered the new octagonal blank in my 4-jaw, cut a new chamber and head spaced it. The forearm dovetail slot has to be in just the right location to hold the new forearm and end cap. That was next along with the rear and front sight dovetails. Making a forearm requires drilling a barrel hole and a magazine hole in a square piece of walnut held in the four jaw chuck. Sometimes I have to make two or three to get em right. Having a saw mill on the farm is a help as I can usually find a nice piece of stump wood or crotch wood to cut out a blank. A Bridgeport vertical mill works to rout the tang and trigger guard in the stock. An electric palm plainer saves time to shape the butt stock. NC Ordnance Co. makes a nice reproduction 1897 shotgun hard rubber butt plate. The steel crescent butt plates hurt too much launching 400 gr boolits at 1800 fps. Taylors & Co in Winchester, VA sells replacement magazine tubes and ends. So a short 1/2 magazine will work. The barrel address and caliber markings still need to be rolled on plus a nice blue job. But it is looking like a good shooter!!!

That is outstanding.