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September 22, 2011
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Recent discussion of smoothbore Winchester 1886 rifles causes me to recall an 1886 Winchester rifle I noted for sale during the summer of 1992. I seem to recall it was an extra lightweight rifle, takedown, in a case, 2 barrel set, one set being .45 70, rifled; the other being .45 70 smoothbore. I believe the price was $10,000 at the time, which precluded proper examination of the aforementioned, as, at the time, $500 was a princely sum for me. Given that these were my observations nearly a quarter century ago, any and all of the description above could be faded due to time, other than I distinctly remember the .45 70 smoothies part. Is this a possible configuration as described above, or is it an impossibility and/or a modern recreation/deception/tomfoolery? As I dabble in firearms more and more, I often suspect outright fakery more often than original & rare.
March 19, 2014
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Who knows? The only Winchester smoothbore rifles I have read of were made for aerial shooting for the wild west shows in the late 1800’s. Others may know more on the subject.
April 2, 2009
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April 15, 2005
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There were a fair number of Model 1885 Single Shot rifles that letter with smoothbore barrels… I doubt that they were used for aerial exhibition shooting.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
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