Winchester Model 1886

Winchester Model 1886

A Winchester Model 1886 rifle.
Type Rifle
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designer John Browning
Manufacturer Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Produced 1886 – 1935
Number built ~160,000
Specifications
Weight 9 lb (4.1 kg)
Length 44.5 in (1,130 mm)
Barrel length 26 in (660 mm)

Cartridge .45-70, .45-90 WCF, .40-82 WCF, .40-65 WCF, .38-56 WCF, .50-110 Winchester, .40-70 WCF, .38-70 WCF, .33 WCF[1]
Action Lever-action
Feed system 9 round tube magazine
Sights Graduated rear sights, Fixed-post front sights

The Winchester Model 1886 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning to handle some of the more powerful cartridges of the period. Originally chambered in .45-70, .45-90 WCF and .40-82 WCF, it was later offered in a half dozen other large cartridges, including the .50-110 Winchester.[2] Despite being originally designed for use with black powder, the action was strong enough to make the jump to smokeless powder with only minor modifications, and was subsequently chambered in the smokeless .33 WCF cartridge beginning in 1903.[3]

History

The Model 1886 continued the trend towards chambering heavier rounds, and had an all-new and considerably stronger locking-block action than the toggle-link Model 1876. It was designed by John Moses Browning, who had a long and profitable relationship with Winchester from the 1880s to the early 1900s. William Mason also contributed, making some improvements to Browning's original design. In many respects the Model 1886 was a true American express rifle, as it could be chambered in the more powerful black powder cartridges of the day, proving capable of handling not only the .45-70 but also .45-90 and the huge .50-110 Express "buffalo" cartridges.[4][5] The action was strong enough that a nickel-steel barrel was the only necessary modification needed to work with smokeless powder cartridges, and in 1903 the rifle was chambered for the smokeless high-velocity .33 WCF cartridge.[6] In 1935 Winchester introduced a slightly modified M1886 as the Model 71, chambered for the more powerful .348 Winchester cartridge.

Soon after the introduction of the Model 1886, Browning designed a scaled-down version of the 1886 action for smaller dual-use or carbine cartridges, which was issued as the highly successful Winchester Model 1892.[7]

See also

References

  1. Dave Scovill, "The Winchester Model 1886," Rifle Magazine's The Legacy of Lever Guns, Winter 2000, 7.
  2. Dave Scovill, "The Winchester Model 1886," Winter 2000, 7.
  3. Dave Scovill, "The Winchester Model 1886," Winter 2000, 7.
  4. Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".577/500 Magnum Nitro Express", in Cartridges of the World, p.116.
  5. "Winchester's Big 50", American Rifleman.
  6. Dave Scovill, "The Winchester Model 1886," Winter 2000, 7.
  7. "Winchester Model 1892 Deluxe Takedown Edition". American Rifleman. 2009.