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Nice looking rifle but refinished rifles aren’t really my taste. I find it interesting that is rebored from .40-82.
https://www.poulinauctions.com/waca-winchester-1886-auction-gun-lever-action-rifle/
Definitely a beautiful refinished rifle. 40-82 is my fav caliber in m86 but I guess most prefer 46-70.
November 7, 2015
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Nicely done and 45-70 too. I like it, only complaint is that it’s too pretty to shoot.
Scratch that, I’d shoot it!
Mike
Nice restore job, but I’m more into originals. 40-82 is one of my favorite 86 calibers as well.
Winchester Model 1873 44-40 circa 1886
Kevin Jones said
Nice restore job, but I’m more into originals. 40-82 is one of my favorite 86 calibers as well.
It hasn’t been “restored,” if the chambering has been changed & the original caliber marking on the brl restruck. It’s now a different rifle from the one with the same ser. no. built by Winchester.
November 7, 2015
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Tastes differ but I feel that collectors in the future will focus on guns that are original as well as restorations and quite possibly replicas. I don’t know why Mike changed the chambering on this beautiful M1886 but I suspect the bore wasn’t up to his standards. I hope the collector demand for Winchesters will someday exceed the supply of originals and we all know they aren’t making any more of them, with a few notable fraudulent exceptions. Restorations are a window into the past that when properly done allow us to see our guns as they were generations or even a century ago. After many of us are gone collectors may look upon this time as the “Golden Age” of Winchesters with so many original guns available. OTOH they may see a bunch of old guns and wonder what we saw in them. I wish I knew. All we can do is take care of the guns we’re fortunate enough to be custodians of and enjoy the guns that appeal to us. If we alienate those who see value in restored firearms we may become irrelevant before we become extinct. As the auctioneers say; “buy what you like, like what you buy”. Buying a gun because someone may pay a bunch of money for it in the future is too risky for me, I’ll be buying guns I like. OTOH it really doesn’t matter what I like; our hobby survives and is interesting because we have different likes and sometimes our tastes change. I want there to be a market for guns like this because I don’t want the skills required to build a gun like this to become a lost art. Today anyone who can assemble an M4 platform firearm calls himself a gunsmith and we know that’s not true.
Mike
TXGunNut said
I want there to be a market for guns like this because I don’t want the skills required to build a gun like this to become a lost art.
For that very good reason–providing work for those who’ve mastered these difficult skills–I’m glad there are fat cats (who’d probably turn up their noses at an honest gun) willing to pay the freight on “re-manufactured” guns such as this one. I want Turnbull & all his imitators to prosper.
Still, the bore, if really “that bad,” could have been lined back to the original chambering. How many times will this gun ever be fired? Remarking the brl. makes it what on any other Winchester we’d usually call “fake.”
Clarence and Mike,
A few off the cuff ideas of my own here. First, I would appreciate the fact they remarked the barrel without the remarking of the under barrel marks. That way in some future period of time, it would be harder for some one to pass off as a well preserved original condition rifle. And there are folks who have the knowledge and skills to remark the under barrel markings so true aficionados can not tell. Second, in the 1886’s the .45-70 chambering will likely appeal to a wider segment than the .40-82. Yes, there are those who appreciate the .40-82, but take your own likes and dislikes out of the equation and the more popular chambering is the .45-70. Wider appeal and likely wider participation in the bidding. And third and last, IF I were to buy it, I would be quite willing to SHOOT it as it is, where a nice, original rifle in pretty high condition may well not make the trip to my local range. Having said that, I have taken some really high condition pieces to shoot just the one time to say I did. They stayed in my truck until I had the range to myself, then I VERY CAREFULLY used the carpeted, concrete shooting bench to be sure I didn’t screw up myself and ding it another time or two! I have had one or two rifles damaged by other, well meaning but clumsy or ignorant folks at the range. No need to take those chances on original high condition rifles that are rare jewels that are not replaceable. My take, at least. To each their own!
Tim
tim tomlinson said
I have had one or two rifles damaged by other, well meaning but clumsy or ignorant folks at the range.
Brother, you’re right about that! “Well meaning but clumsy” is the worst possible combination! And it’s not merely that some idiot will mishandle your gun, knock it over, etc., it’s also that, when you’re distracted by someone else, you may yourself forget what you’re doing.
Interesting discussion. I enjoy the different perspectives. I have never felt the desire to shoot something I own to say I have fired it. When I gather up a group to take to the range, I tend to gather up lower condition pieces rather than higher condition. I have many I’ve never fired. I suppose if I had a rural property with my own range, it would be very different. The guys who are able to shoot on a nearly daily basis, in solitude, sounds like nirvana to me. As it is, I don’t get to the range often enough and when I do go, it’s far from a peaceful experience (e.g. a long line of people shooting high capacity semi-autos).
steve004 said
The guys who are able to shoot on a nearly daily basis, in solitude, sounds like nirvana to me.
That describes my club range perfectly. Sat & Sun, both beautiful days, no one but me after about 3 pm. (Though I could tell someone had been there earlier.) There’ll be somewhat more activity later in the summer, but not much. And since the range is laid out on an east/west axis, with targets (steel) at the east end, during the summer months,the light is good to shoot till well after 8 pm. But all is not joy–from Dec through March, it’s in the grip of the White Hell; not closed, but I’m way too old to risk getting stuck, falling down in the snow, etc.
Owning a couple special guns are good for one’s soul, whether or not one chooses to shoot them doesn’t really matter.
I have been a shooter all my life and a collector for half my life. I enjoy trying to figure out a proper load for all my guns. I do like to say I have shot all my guns. Lately I can’t say that. I do have some I’ve never shot but they aren’t Winchesters. Except the Henry and 66. I was always real careful with the 76’s but recently I shot a few shots using smokeless powder. I may never do it again but I know what load works. It’s like having a classic car that you never drive. Just don’t understand that?? But I can’t tell someone what or how they should feel.
clarence said
Kevin Jones said
Nice restore job, but I’m more into originals. 40-82 is one of my favorite 86 calibers as well.It hasn’t been “restored,” if the chambering has been changed & the original caliber marking on the brl restruck. It’s now a different rifle from the one with the same ser. no. built by Winchester.
Ok, l get your point, just like I expect you got mine. We will call it refinished, not restored.
Even though Poulin Auctions uses the term “restored’ in their write-up on the rifle.
Winchester Model 1873 44-40 circa 1886
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