Help with a Winchester 1885 circa 1897 Calgary

J

JohnnyVolume

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Hello fellow gunnutz, I have a Winchester Model 1885 in .44WCF (.44-40) built in 1897.

I have no experience with firearms from this era. What I have been told about it after a quick inspection at a local gun store is that the rifling and all of the mechanical on the rifle are in good working order.

I have also been told that I will need to load black powder rounds to function in this rifle. Does that sound correct? Would I be able to fire modern ammunition in it?

It was mentioned that I should also have the barrel slugged to determine the actual size of the bore and my reloads should only be soft cast lead. I have no experience here and I am not about to pound something down the barrel on my own.

Also, what kind of a trigger lock have you used with success in the past.

I'd really like to get in touch with someone who has experience with this type of situation in or around the Calgary area.

Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

JV
 
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The Winchester 1885 low wall ( I'm assuming that this .44-40 is built on a low wall not a highwall ) isn't a super strong action, but better than some. I would feel comfortable shooting light smokeless loads in it with no trouble. I agree on the soft cast lead. I think jacketed bullets are hard on the old barrels.

Slugging the bore is pretty easy. Best to get a soft cast bullet way oversized, or find a round ball for a muzzle loadeer. Sinkers used to be good but are generally not pure lead anymore. Most seem to be a lot harder. Don't use anything you can't scratch with your fingernail. If you end up getting the rifle I can give you some pointers to do it without hurting the rifle.

In my biased opinion the Winchester 1885's are the finest single shot rifles made, although I'm partial to the Sharps rifles too :)

Chris.
 
Agree with above, I'd slug the bore it's fairly easy, get a .440 round ball and I personal use any preferred oil to lube up the barrel, and lowes sells 3/8 hardwood dowels pick a straight one and either cut into 12 inch lengths and tap it down the barrel, or with a friend support the dowel as a whole, dont use homedepots dowels there garbage and use a proper micrometer not cheap calipers to measure, hope your a reloader,
 
You can shoot standard smokeless factory loads in that all you want. The 44 WCF was designed for black powder but folks have been feeding them smokeless loads for over 100 years. Much the same as the 38/55, 32/40,45/70 and many others.
 
I'm in Calgary as well. I have a couple of 1885 Winchesters, have done quite a bit of work on / with them. Reload for mine as well.
I have tools to measure the bore without driving anything down the bore. I'd be happy to measure the bore / groove diameters for you.
PM me if you like.
 
I personally would not use smokeless powder or jacketed rounds when reloading for rifle of the type and age you described. If black powder is not your thing sell the rifle and buy yourself a modern reproduction as they are capable of firing modern rounds.

Just my $0.02 cents worth.

Retreever
 
I think slugging the bore is important; I have owned several late 1800 vintage rifles and bores that were dramatically oversize is not uncommon. I also feel that you would be safe with light loads of smokeless and suggest putting a small amount of clothes dryer lint on top of the powder to get consistent ignition. I also feel that shooting copper jacketed bullets should not be a problem assuming you are only shooting 50 to 100 per year For black powder, load with a drop tube and use soft bullets and a soft lube like SPG or Paul Mathews lube. The common harder lubes are fine for smokeless but a soft lube gives better accuracy with black powder

cheers mooncoon
 
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