Well I always wanted one and finally picked up an 1887 lever action shotgun. This one is from the batch that was imported by lever arms. It has a 28” barrel and full stock, holds 5 in the mag tube, but has a total capacity of 6+1 because an extra shell can rest in the action and one in the chamber for 7 overall.
These have also been imported by marstar in the past (18” barrel/full stock) and recently by canada ammo as the T2 terminator special (18”, pistol grip only). In the states they were imported by IAC. Of course I wanted one because I did see it 1st in terminator 2 and then the mummy and thought it was just really cool. Recently it has become a hit in the call of duty games, but I have never played the game.
Here is the video review, but the write up is below:
A bit of history on the gun: it was designed by the famous firearm designer John Moses Browning and went into production in 1887, and was for black powder shells only. In 1901, an updated model came on the market that could handle smokeless powder but was offered in 10 GA only. The Chinese copy is of course offered in 12 GA, 2 ¾” shells only.
The gun seems pretty solid overall, the blue finish is very good, and the stock is decent, though I am seeing some dings in it already from very light use.
The internals of the gun are pretty rough (and filled with cosmoline!). I suggest tearing the gun down completely and giving it a good clean and file/sand down all the rough surfaces. This will help with the function and allow smoother feeding, extraction and ejection.
You have to work the lever like you hate it to get the gun to function 100%, and there is a very specific way to work the action, otherwise there could be issues like double feeding from the magazine (sometimes called a “train wreck”), shells can get hung up while chambering (feed ramp area is rough), and the biggest issue is ejection of the last shell (can get stuck on the extractors).
This video shows the issues:
The way to properly work the action is to apply forward / upper pressure to the lever while working the action, however natural instinct when the shotgun is shouldered, is to pull down on the lever, which will lead to the issues above. It doesn’t help that the two piece lever does not have the leather wrapping around it, because the lever can pinch your finger when applying the needed upward pressure.
When it works, it is a joy to shoot, when it jams, it is very frustrating!
These have also been imported by marstar in the past (18” barrel/full stock) and recently by canada ammo as the T2 terminator special (18”, pistol grip only). In the states they were imported by IAC. Of course I wanted one because I did see it 1st in terminator 2 and then the mummy and thought it was just really cool. Recently it has become a hit in the call of duty games, but I have never played the game.
Here is the video review, but the write up is below:
A bit of history on the gun: it was designed by the famous firearm designer John Moses Browning and went into production in 1887, and was for black powder shells only. In 1901, an updated model came on the market that could handle smokeless powder but was offered in 10 GA only. The Chinese copy is of course offered in 12 GA, 2 ¾” shells only.
The gun seems pretty solid overall, the blue finish is very good, and the stock is decent, though I am seeing some dings in it already from very light use.
The internals of the gun are pretty rough (and filled with cosmoline!). I suggest tearing the gun down completely and giving it a good clean and file/sand down all the rough surfaces. This will help with the function and allow smoother feeding, extraction and ejection.
You have to work the lever like you hate it to get the gun to function 100%, and there is a very specific way to work the action, otherwise there could be issues like double feeding from the magazine (sometimes called a “train wreck”), shells can get hung up while chambering (feed ramp area is rough), and the biggest issue is ejection of the last shell (can get stuck on the extractors).
This video shows the issues:
The way to properly work the action is to apply forward / upper pressure to the lever while working the action, however natural instinct when the shotgun is shouldered, is to pull down on the lever, which will lead to the issues above. It doesn’t help that the two piece lever does not have the leather wrapping around it, because the lever can pinch your finger when applying the needed upward pressure.
When it works, it is a joy to shoot, when it jams, it is very frustrating!
