Winchester Model 1886

2

2legit

Member
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Location
BC
Hello nutz

I recently recieved this Winchester model 1886 in 45/70 from my uncle, that has been passed down through the family. My great uncle bought itand I hear I am the 5th owner. It has the octagon barrel, like I sad model 1886. Looked up the serial number and its an 1894. Pretty cool piece of history and I thought i would share it with everyoen here. It is my second antique firearm, the first one i got is a 12 guage by New York Gun Co. that was my great grandfathers. It is not a shooter but still really neat to have.

anyone willing to place a guess as to how much each of these old timers would be worth? They wont be for sale, more so for sheer curiosity.
DSCN0224.jpg

CIMG2843.jpg
 
Last edited:
Beautiful, I love the '86s

Can't speak to the 12 gauge but for the 1886: Value depends on condition, including function, shootability (is the chamber and/or barrel pitted? How is the rifling? Does it cycle rounds well?), completeness (original sights and furniture, etc?) and originality (has it been refinished or parts replaced?)

Second, is the rarity of the particular model (half mag, pistol grip, chambering [.45-70 is relatively common in these] etc)

You have what appears from your pictures to be a standard model (straight grip stock, full octagon barrel) but beyond that (overall condition etc as above) we don't know.

The original 1886s are not as common as say the 1894 and they tend to command a higher price (substantially higher). If it's shootable, complete, original/unfinished and functions well it could be a $1500+ gun

I have an '86 in similar condition except the stock has been refinished, otherwise complete. My bore is rough too. I got mine for $400 but that was 20 years ago....seeing what some of these go for lately I'm glad I didn't sell it.


All that said there's lots of guys on here with a load of experience who will without a doubt supply more info and give ya some more ideas as to all that.

Good luck, they're both nice pieces.
 
Your '86 appears to be a standard model in pretty good condition, in .45 caliber. I won't go out on any limbs here (I am no expert by anyone's definition)but that rifle is worth a shocking amount of money, if the online ads are to be believed. They are worth a lot more than either model '92 or '94, probably double either one, especially in the bigger calibers. IMOH, there is good reason for that. The '86 was a huge step forward in technology from the '76. The action was both strong as hell and smooth as silk. The same can certainly be said of the '92, but the '86 was chambered for much more robust cartridges, your 45/70 being a perfect example. YMMV, as you can tell I am a pretty big '86 fan.

I applaud you for hanging on to your bit of history. If you sell the gun, it will just be another piece in someone's collection, but to you it is a wonderful bit of history. I encourage you to write down everything you can find out about the old guns. Talk to any old timers left in the family, you might be surprised at how cool it might turn out. 50 years from now, it might spark an interest in one of your grandkids, and what better gift could you give him/her?
 
Easyrider said:
...

I applaud you for hanging on to your bit of history. If you sell the gun, it will just be another piece in someone's collection, but to you it is a wonderful bit of history. I encourage you to write down everything you can find out about the old guns. Talk to any old timers left in the family, you might be surprised at how cool it might turn out. 50 years from now, it might spark an interest in one of your grandkids, and what better gift could you give him/her?
Click to expand...


Could not agree more. Record it now your great-grandchildren will thank you for it.
 
The bore is almost perfect. the action is smooth as silk and she weighs about 1000lbs lol. It is at the local gunsmiths shop to get cleaned up. there was some rust around the hammer and he was suggesting to get it clean so I left it with him. I was there when he cleaned the bore(small town smith and my neighbour works for him) so he invited me to the back room. Put a light down the bore and it was smooth and rust/pit free. the only wear is on the stock as you can see in that crappy picture. everything was still tight and easy moving, i really want to shoot it but he was saying to only use blackpowder. i got 2 boxes of rounds when my uncle gave it to me so i just gave it to the smith and got a box of .45acp in return. when i brought it into his shop all the old timers were all over it right away so I knew it was somthing special.

to me just the age, and the history behind it is special enough and like i said it will never be for sale. the value is just an interesting thing to know. I heard that it was originally purchased for around a dollar and that my great uncle that bought it was still pissed about spending that much on it the day he died haha(or so says my grandfather)
 
Ha ha great story - well it is something special, I love these rifles as well. Like Easyrider says these were designed to be a heck of lot heavier action than other repeating rifles at the time and the design lends itself to a smooth action despite all the moving parts (taking them apart is a little tricky the first couple times).
 
NorthCoastBigBore said:
Sorry OP couldn't resist putting up mine:

i7Hof.jpg


Built in 1889. Far from perfect but it shoots and attracts a lot of attention at the range. Chambered in .45-90.
Click to expand...

Looks pretty nice to me! Please give it the respect it deserves and take a nice picture of it in proper light with a background deserving of the rifle and its history.

Not trying to be a prick, would love to see a few pics of it "not" on top of your furnace :D
 
2legit said:
I really want to shoot it but he was saying to only use blackpowder. i got 2 boxes of rounds when my uncle gave it to me so i just gave it to the smith and got a box of .45acp in return.
Click to expand...

I think you got a lousy trade of the shells; should have kept them and shot them. I also think you would be well advised not to use black powder in the gun. Not because it is not safe but because you potentially get fouling in the action which more or less needs stripping the gun to clean. I think you would be far better advised to use light smokeless loads in them. Most people who do so use a fast burning powder with a pinch of dryer lint on top of the powder to keep it against the primer. In the absence of the lint, you will get very variable ignition and velocities.
Finally my guess is that the gun would have sold for somewhere in the range of $15 to $40 in the 1890s and definitely a lot more than $1

cheers mooncoon
 
crazy_davey said:
Looks pretty nice to me! Please give it the respect it deserves and take a nice picture of it in proper light with a background deserving of the rifle and its history.

Not trying to be a prick, would love to see a few pics of it "not" on top of your furnace :D
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha no offence taken

I agree - just didn't feel like venturing into the woods at 11:30 PM in -15 degrees last night in my bathrobe :)

I'll fix that soon
 
2legit: Hopefully, the gunsmith does not try to polish up the metal or anything like that, as that will radically reduce the value of the old rifle. I cannot tell from the photo whether the remaining blueing on the barrel and receiver is still blue or a dark brown. If it is a dark brown, and the wood has never been sanded and refinished (wood should be proud of the metal), then I would give you a very rough estimate for value of around $2,000. If that dark color on the barrel and receiver is still a dark blue in colour, then it is probably worth more, but putting a value on a gun from a photo like that is not going to be very accurate, since we can't really see key aspects of its condition re. originality and wear.

About ammunition: Don't shoot black powder in it. Modern factory 45-70 loads by Winchester or Remington are perfectly safe. I have had a few old Model 1886's 45-70, including one at present, and I can assure you that the modern factory 45-70 loads from those two companies are perfectly safe.
 
2legit said:
The bore is almost perfect. the action is smooth as silk and she weighs about 1000lbs lol. It is at the local gunsmiths shop to get cleaned up. there was some rust around the hammer and he was suggesting to get it clean so I left it with him. I was there when he cleaned the bore(small town smith and my neighbour works for him) so he invited me to the back room. Put a light down the bore and it was smooth and rust/pit free. the only wear is on the stock as you can see in that crappy picture. everything was still tight and easy moving, i really want to shoot it but he was saying to only use blackpowder. i got 2 boxes of rounds when my uncle gave it to me so i just gave it to the smith and got a box of .45acp in return. when i brought it into his shop all the old timers were all over it right away so I knew it was somthing special.

to me just the age, and the history behind it is special enough and like i said it will never be for sale. the value is just an interesting thing to know. I heard that it was originally purchased for around a dollar and that my great uncle that bought it was still pissed about spending that much on it the day he died haha(or so says my grandfather)
Click to expand...



You have at least a $2000 dollar rifle. If your "smith" advised you to use black powder he doesn't know much. He also ripped you off on the ammo trade especially if it was vintage ammo. Hope he doesn't destroy it by "cleaning" it.
 
Win 38-55 said:
Modern factory 45-70 loads by Winchester or Remington are perfectly safe. I have had a few old Model 1886's 45-70, including one at present, and I can assure you that the modern factory 45-70 loads from those two companies are perfectly safe.
Click to expand...

There are some new factory loads called "leverution" or something similar with light 300 or so grain slugs. I would hesitate to use them in your gun. They are a high velocity shell intended for modern Marlin rifles. The shells that you traded to the gunsmith would have been loaded to lower pressures, have a slug in the 400 grain range and were intended to be safe in all 45-70 rifles new and old. Such shells are still sold but you need to be aware that there are the two types. The 86 is a strong action but I would still stick with shells loaded to the lower pressures and roughly the original velocities of the late 1800s

cheers mooncoon
 
2legit, I own a couple of '86's, have for 30 years, one in 45/90, and one in .33 WCF. I have hunted with them, shot them lots, and enjoyed it immensely!. I have shot both smokeless and, in the 45/90, black powder. I shot the .45 lots at rendezvous in the 1980's, and won some trophies with it. Neither rifle is any the worse for wear, you just have to be clean afterwards. Your ancestor was scandalized by the amount of money he paid for his .45, but I bet that didn't stop him from shooting it, and my advice is that it shouldn't stop you either. You need to educate yourself about what loads are safe to shoot, and then giv'er hell. I bet that rifle did lots of shooting over the years, and is still a nice clean, tight, wonderful rifle. No reason it won't still be that way after you shoot it. I strongly believe that since these old rifles have started to escalate in value, too many folks have started treating them as an investment, or worse yet, a profit center. This "value" increasingly prevents their owners from using them to relive a bit of history, and in your case, family history. What a shame!
As always, YMMV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom