The Winchester Model 1886 was a

lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...

repeating rifle A repeating rifle is a single- barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reloads. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine (within or attached to the gun) and then fed individually i ...

.45-90 WCF The .45-90 Sharps cartridge is a black powder round introduced in 1877 by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Also known as the .45 2 4/10, the cartridge was developed for hunting and long range target shooting. In the modern day, it is used ...

, and .40-82 WCF, it was later offered in a half dozen other large cartridges, including the

.50-110 Winchester The .50-110 WCF (also known as the .50-100-450 WCF , with different loadings) in modern 1886 Winchesters with modern steel barrels is the most powerful lever-action cartridge, with up to of energy. Overview Introduced in 1899 for the Winches ...

. Despite being originally designed for use with

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

, the action was strong enough to make the jump to

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...

with only minor modifications, and was subsequently chambered in the smokeless

.33 WCF The .33 Winchester Center Fire (colloquially .33 WCFBarnes, p.122. or .33 Win) is an American centerfire rifle cartridge. History Introduced by Winchester for the Model 1886 lever rifle in 1902, it survived until the Model 86 was dropped in 19 ...

cartridge beginning in 1903.

History

The Model 1886 continued the trend towards chambering heavier rounds, and had an all-new and considerably stronger locking-block action than the toggle-link Model 1876. It was designed by John Moses Browning, who had a long and profitable relationship with Winchester from the 1880s to the early 1900s.

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

also contributed, making some improvements to Browning's original design. In many respects the Model 1886 was a true American

express rifle The term ''express'' was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black po ...

, as it could be chambered in the more powerful black powder cartridges of the day, proving capable of handling not only the .45-70 but also .45-90 and the huge .50-110 Express "buffalo" cartridges. The action was strong enough that a

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

barrel was the only necessary modification needed to work with smokeless powder cartridges, and in 1903 the rifle was chambered for the smokeless high-velocity .33 WCF cartridge. During the early stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

purchased Model 1886 rifles chambered for the

.45-90 Sharps The .45-90 Sharps cartridge is a black powder round introduced in 1877 by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company. Also known as the .45 2 4/10, the cartridge was developed for hunting and long range target shooting. In the modern day, it is used ...

cartridge with special

incendiary bullet Incendiary ammunition is a type of ammunition that contains a chemical that, upon hitting a hard obstacle, has the characteristic of causing fire/setting flammable materials in the vincinity of the impact on fire. World War I The first time ince ...

s designed to ignite the

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

gas in German

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

s. In 1935 Winchester introduced a slightly modified M1886 as the Model 71, chambered for the more powerful

.348 Winchester The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever action rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever action rifle. Performance It ...

cartridge. Soon after the introduction of the Model 1886, Browning designed a scaled-down version of the 1886 action for smaller dual-use or carbine cartridges, which was issued as the highly successful

Winchester Model 1892 The Winchester Model 1892 was a lever-action repeating rifle designed by John Browning as a smaller, lighter version of his large-frame Model 1886, and which replaced the Model 1873 as the company's lever-action for pistol-caliber rounds such ...

. The 1886 was offered, on a custom basis, in the rare 32-Gauge shotshell. These rifles were especially chambered, and barreled for the 32-Gauge shotshell.Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. "32-Gauge" in the 11th Edition of "Cartridges of The World", p. 502 The Winchester 1886 played a minor role in the video-game ''

Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve. It was published by Valve through its distribution service Steam (service), Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half- ...

'' , as supporting character Father Grigori uses the rifle as his weapon of choice during a level where the player must traverse an abandoned village.

References

External links

Identifying A Winchester 1866
{{Winchester Cartridges Firearms Rifles of the United States Lever-action rifles Winchester Repeating Arms Company firearms Guns of the American West

History

See also

References

External links