Beautiful, aren't they? One great improvement the 1873 has over earlier versions of this rifle, like the 1866 Winchester, are the easily removeable side plates. With the sideplates removed, it is a simple task to clean, lubricate, repair, replace or adjust any of the rifle's internals. Plus,they are a lot of fun to shoot. The 20-inch version, like yours, is hugely popular with the Cowboy Action crowd. Mostly due to its good balance, ease of use and relatively low weight. Congrats on finding yours.
"Winchesters" made by Miroku?
- Thread starter k_h
- Start date
Doc Rainbow
CGN Regular
- Location
- Beautiful B.C.
It most likely will shoot as good as it looks. I have the same gun and unmodified it is a very nice shooter in 357/38. And you have lots of options if you want to soup it up a little. Pricey tho.
I can think of few things in life better than, having your wife share your shooting passion and "appropriate" your guns, for her own. I count myself lucky in that regard, and never regretted giving up a single one. If she also shares your interest in Cowboy Action shooting...even better. In which case... you might be able to "share" the rifle with her. Maybe.
Meaning..... you're gonna have to get another one for yourself! And yes.....they do shoot as good as they look. Have fun!
Meaning..... you're gonna have to get another one for yourself! And yes.....they do shoot as good as they look. Have fun!
https://ellwoodepps.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=18730+44-40&x=0&y=0&order=relevance&dir=desc
Elwood eps at the moment
Not sure who else
My wife and I both have B-92s in .44 mag and I have an '86 in 45-70. These would be among the last guns I would part with.
The '92 is a 'mini '86' in most respects and a little 'notchey' when operating the lever, not quite as smooth as my '66 or the '73s. Once you get used to it, It's great.
The '86 is butter smooth and a pleasure to shoot unless you believe that a 45-70 must be shot as a sub-.458 Win mag. The two moose that have fallen to mine were dropped with BP equivalent smokeless loads and my 420 RNFP's. Both heart shots. The largest (38") ran 50 yds before piling up.
The '92 is a 'mini '86' in most respects and a little 'notchey' when operating the lever, not quite as smooth as my '66 or the '73s. Once you get used to it, It's great.
The '86 is butter smooth and a pleasure to shoot unless you believe that a 45-70 must be shot as a sub-.458 Win mag. The two moose that have fallen to mine were dropped with BP equivalent smokeless loads and my 420 RNFP's. Both heart shots. The largest (38") ran 50 yds before piling up.
On a related note... I've looked at two new 1886 Winchester rifles in 45-70 with the crescent shaped butt stock and found them to be quite nice, appeared as good quality and were smooth to cycle. I would have preferred an 86/71 style so a butt pad could be added. Sights were much like the originals and if I were to purchase one I would likely add a tang sight. Of course this is a different rifle then what the OP is asking about.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
These rifles have a tang safety added that the originals don't have that will interfere with a tang sight. I have one and it can be done but you have to remove the safety and build a block that fits into the safety cut-out so you have a place for a second screw. If you are very careful with handling the gun, a single screw (tang stock bolt) will work but you still have to remove the safety otherwise the sight base won't sit flat on the tang.
I have a 44 mag 16" short rifle mod 92, a 357 mag 16" short rifle mod 92, a 357 mag octagon 24" barrel case hardened mod 92 and a 357/38spcl case hardened model 73 carbine. All of them are top notch quality and shoot awesome, the shorty 44 mag is a handful though,lol
Doc Rainbow
CGN Regular
- Location
- Beautiful B.C.
I too am thinking I one day would hope to shoot Cowboy Action. I strongly recommend the Winchester Miroku 1873 case-hardened short rifle in 357 magnum/38 special. Good gun right out of the box and for about 1100-1200 bucks more you can slick it up/modify it into an even better cowboy action levergun!
infideleggwelder
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
You, Sir, are a lucky man. I believe my wife just tolerates it....
I had several "new Winchesters", the 92s in 357 doesn't feed the Semi Wad Cutter bullets reliably, the 92 in 44mag have a short action, too short for my reloads.
They are high quality rifles, as good or better than the US made ones, one thing I didn't like was the wood set, doesn't look like walnut.
They are all gone now.
They are high quality rifles, as good or better than the US made ones, one thing I didn't like was the wood set, doesn't look like walnut.
They are all gone now.
My early Browning '86 has no tang safety. Nor do my B92s. Shot it last week at a CAS event out to 200m with the barrel sights.
With the ramp set at the max possible, I held at the height of the ram's head over the entre of the back and squeezed - "Bang!" - "Clang!", the sheep fall down. I was sitting, the only one not using x-stix or parking his butt on a shooting cart.
This rifle has also taken two large moose for me - two shots, two moose down. A .338 could not have done better.
With the ramp set at the max possible, I held at the height of the ram's head over the entre of the back and squeezed - "Bang!" - "Clang!", the sheep fall down. I was sitting, the only one not using x-stix or parking his butt on a shooting cart.
This rifle has also taken two large moose for me - two shots, two moose down. A .338 could not have done better.
Here we go!
Looks kinda like this:
I'm awestruck by the ergonomics of this 143 year old design. The balance is great, it comes to the shoulder naturally, etc etc.
All this in an era without CAD, without focus groups, without design by committee.
Undoubtedly Winchester had learned a lot from its earlier models- and it shows in this one.
So now I’m convinced i need an 1886 to keep it company
Any experiences with the ‘new’ 1886’s? I found this....
Which certainly sounds encouraging
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