Winchester M1886 in .38-56 WCF..(F 1084) SOLD
Created on March 26th 2023
Superb Winchester Model 1886 Lever Action Rifle
Of the usual high standard of Winchester production with a round 26″ barrel. Action blued as is barrel and magazine tube. Two piece Black Walnut Stock with Crescent moon steel butt plate. Overall this big Winchester is a nominal 44″ long with a trigger Pull of 13.1/2″ to centre. This rifle is Winchesters answer to big game hunting and came in many different calibres including the government .45-70. However in the time this also would be a formidable weapon to run up against in a gun fight with “Banditos or Injuns”. It can put up a rapid rate of fire with the smooth John Brown refined patented action, and with a magazine full of as much as ten shots, that’s going to keep heads down for quite a while.
The strength achieved in the action and lock up bars, enabled it to withstand much higher pressures than their predecessors. Hence this particular rifle is chambered in the rarely encountered, massive bottle-neck cartridge of .38-56. That’s a lot of powder for a mid-range bullet. As the Model 1886 was made for so many years it is found in many different forms including engraved and special order versions. This however is the Standard version of the sporting rifle, with blued finish and round barrel. It is a big gun and weighs a full 9 lbs but that helps soak up a lot of recoil.
The rear upper tang is marked; “MODEL 1886 / -WINCHESTER- / TRADE MARK.” The round barrel is marked at the breech end, between the rear sights and the action, on top; “38 – 56 W.C.F.” Adjacent to the end of the forend, on the crest of the barrel, is the following; “MANUFACTURED BY THE / WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN. CONN.U.S.A. ” On the underside of the rifle, once the loading lever is extended, one can see ” PAT. OCT. 14. 1884 / JAN.20.1885″ and further down the serial number “133464 A” This serial number puts production in 1904. The early patent date is John Browning’s patent, the later refers to Masons’ improvements made in-house with Winchester.
It has the full length tubular magazine under the barrel and large sprung loading gate on the RHS of the action. The rear sights are the standard “Sporting” type in buckhorn form which allow for rapid target acquisition, especially useful if your target is moving. Most things that were moving out there in those days were fairly deadly and stopping them moving was probably the best plan! Front sight a brass dovetailed affair with a locking screw. The condition of the finish is interesting in that, the loading gate side of the action has strong original high blue, this extends in part on the top of the action and the bolt, but is thinning on the underside of the action. There are traces of the same on the upper and lower tangs but the barrel and magazine tube have lost the vibrancy of the blueing, yet still maintain a good original, more matt blue. Case colours are evident on the loading lever and hammer. The obverse to the loading side of the action has lost its blue entirely and now sports the plumb-brown of time and very slight surface pitting. One could almost be forgiven for concluding that this rifle spent the majority of its stored life on its back.
The superbly smooth action will cycle and remove your spent cartridge while picking up the next round presented from below and chamber as quickly as you can rack it. These are splendid rifles in action and leave nothing but a huge grin on the face of the modern shooter after a few shots. Fantastic bore with perfect clean and strong rifling the full length of the barrel; perfectly clean with no pitting, spotting or misting. This not only is a fantastic piece of history but a strong investment piece as also currently benefiting from being on the UK section 58 obsolete calibre list. However the previous keeper had this on a section one FAC and so with this rifle can come all the reloading equipment you need to get started, including RCBS dies and a large quantity of cases and even some live rounds.
No license Required
£ 5250. SOLD
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