86 WINCHESTER CLEAN-UP

  • 604 Views
  • Last Post 13 August 2024
mashburn posted this 09 August 2024

I stated on the forum, a couple of weeks ago, that I had purchased an 1886 Winchester in .33WCF. I have been doing a lot of tinkering with it since it was purchased and if you looked down in the action everything was black, and I do mean black. I had squirted some penetrating oil in the action and worked it several times a few days ago. Today I tore the action completely down and I have never seen such gunk in my life, it's going in a tank of naptha tomorrow and soak for a few days. Amazingly all of the screws came out pretty easily.  I wonder how long it has been since this rifle was given a good cleaning.

I serialized the rifle today and found it was made in 1905. It is one of the light- weight models but it has a 24 " barrel instead of 22". I've been doing a lot of reading, in my Winchester book, and found that some of the light-weight rifles were made with 24" barrels. the barrel is of a light- weight contour. The bore is almost perfect and slugs .338 exactly. I have wanted a Winchester 1886 for years and now I have one, however my bill fold is a bit thinner than it was before the purchase.

I found something very unusual during the tear down, when I took the butt plate off, there was a small hole drilled right in the center of the butt of the stock. I could see something, that looked like metal of some kind and pulled it out with a very small screwdriver. What was in the small hole was a rear sight elevator with some toilet tissue or something wrapped around it. The rifle was not missing the rear sight elevator. My idea is some previous owner had lost the rear sight elevator and had bought a replacement and then found the missing elevator and didn't want to lay it up and forget it or lose it, so he drilled the hole in the stock to store it and that way, he would always know where it is, or at least that is one of my theories. 

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

Attached Files

Order By: Standard | Newest | Votes
Aaron posted this 09 August 2024

I for one, would love to see some pics if you can post them.

 

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

Attached Files

  • Liked by
  • mashburn
mashburn posted this 10 August 2024

Hello Aron,

I post pictures on Gun Broker and Ebay. I have never tried the forum, but I hear horror stories. When I try to upload and download. My camera site has somehow been changed to another site and they tell me I have a virus, which I don't. I tried to do some gun pictures of a few firearms that I wished to sell and that is when I discovered my camera site problems, may- be they just don't like firearms.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

Attached Files

  • Liked by
  • Bud Hyett
Wilderness posted this 10 August 2024

David - my little 1933 Winchester catalog shows the Model 86 .33 WCF as a takedown with 24" barrel. By then the .45-70 is no longer listed. This would have been the last gasp of the 86s. My understanding was that the .45-70 had 22" barrel and the .33 was 24". The 1937 catalogue shows the Model 71.

Re pictures - my procedure is to have them on the computer, most easily on Desktop. Click on the Insert Image icon at the top of this editing box, click Browse and find the file on the computer, Open, and OK. If you get the message about max 2 mb files, go back and crop the image until it's under 2 mb.

You can attach multiple images just so long as none are over 2 mb.

On the Apple at least when you open the image there are some icons on the line above it. Down the right hand end is "Show Markup Toolbar". Click that and another line appears with more options. The one on the extreme left lets you put a box or a bubble or whatever around the chosen part of your image. The last step is to click on "Crop". The new image will be just that part that was inside the enclosure. That becomes the saved image, so make sure you have a full size image tucked away somewhere else as well. Then try attaching the reduced image.

Not sure if Windows follows the same procedure for cropping. I think you can also change image size to alter mb.

You are only as good as your library.

Attached Files

mashburn posted this 11 August 2024

One thing that I forgot to mention when I was describing my Model 86 Winchester is, the rifle also has a Climbing Lyman Receiver sight. Here in the hills, we would pronounce that as a Climbin Lyman.

The rifle also has the original sights and I'm thinking about putting the Climbing Lyman on my 95 Winchester.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

Attached Files

  • Liked by
  • Bud Hyett
  • delmarskid
Wilderness posted this 13 August 2024

David - your .33 would be a good candidate for the hard HP hunting bullets.

Start with the mould - CBE (Australia) has a 225 gn GC mould.

Then the hollow - the quickest way is to use the Forster hollow pointing tool. For that bullet weight, a 10 or 12 grain hollow would be about right for a 16 BHN bullet. A softer bullet would be better with less hollow, say 5 grains.

Then velocity - 2100 to 2200 fps is about right to make the 16 BHN bullets break their noses.

I have never owned an 86, but the Lightweight .33 would be my choice if I did. Power is adequate for anything I'd want to do, trajectory is similar to .30-30, and the bottleneck case lets you headspace up snug against the shoulder.

My only criticism of that model (and the 53, 54 & 55) are that the shotgun buttplates have just about zero pitch. This leaves you with the feeling that the butt is always trying to slip down off the shoulder. The later 64, 65 and 71 are much better in that regard. A spare butt for actual shooting would solve the problem.

Question: Does the Climbin Lyman attach to pre-existing screw holes, or does it require extra drilling?

You are only as good as your library.

Attached Files

  • Liked by
  • mashburn
mashburn posted this 13 August 2024

Hello Wilderness,

You must have read my mind. The HPGC bullets are what I'm planning to do as far as hunting ammo. The man that I bought the rifle from loaned me a 240gr-gc mold, which is a little heavier than I prefer but it might work out better, who knows. The mould is of a different make than what I'm aware of it is a four initial name on the mould, I can't remember exactly what they are. It had two bullets in the cavities, and they are very nice- looking bullets. I will hollow point mine on a lathe with each bullet held in a collet.

I can't say if all the 86's were pre-drilled for the climbin Lymans or not. Some of them were factory equipped with these sights, but that is all that I know for sure. As far as butt plates' this one is unusual, it has a crescent butt plate on it.

I have a gun safe with lots of high dollar deer rifles inside, but for about the last 12 years the only rifles that I deer hunt with are my old classics or some of the single shot and lever action rifles that I have built.

I appreciate your reply. It's nice to find another person with my interests.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

Attached Files

Categories
Search
Popular Tags
This Weeks High Earners
Hot Topics
Close