28 to 22

[King Medallion]

As we all know as shooters of the mighty 76, this is a big heavy rifle. I know Yahoody has one with a 22'" barrel, does anyone else have one with a 22" barrel. Or had one cut down to 22"? I just was wondering how much easier it would be to lug one of these beasts around with the shorter barrel, accuracy loss, better balance. I'm giving thought to taking mine to Wyoming for pronghorn, but damn, it's so heavy.

[yahoody]

Hi King,
My take on cutting down the '76.
You will have a shorter sight radius.  Never a good thing for accuracy.  Plus a drop in velocity if you are shooting BP.   I added 2.5" of wood to my stock to get a longer length of pull on the 20" heavy octagon 1876 short rifle.  That rifle currently weights in # 9# 5oz.  A 22" round barrel 76 carbine in 45-75 weighs 9# even on my postal scale.  And my 22" '86 saddle ring carbine is 7# 11oz.

I suspect a "76 rifle cut to 22" would come in right at just over 9# as well.

When you pick up all three I an side by side comparison you can see why guys who required a big bore rifle quickly switched to the '86 if they could afford it.

Here is my take on it.  I would not cut down the factory 26" barrel.  Two reasons.  The rear sight needs to be recut and moved back as far as possible if you use buck horn or a carbine sight.  That won't matter if you have a peep sight how ever.  But still something to think about.  The other reason is the heavy octagon could be made a lot lighter and still fit the forearm by using a rapid taper octagonal (expensive) or round barrel (cheaper) blank.  I may yet simply rebarrel my rifle and go to a round rapid taper 22" or more likely a 23"  moving the rear sight back and the front forward a little I can get a good bit of the sight radius back with a 23".  BTDT configuration prior.  Any custom barrel maker will likely give you a lot more accurate barrel as well.

Also thinking about simply converting a 1876 carbine to a lwt rifle by stripping it and adding a rifle forearm and butt stock.  Parts to do it are available easy enough.   Haven't had the courage yet.  But might well be cheaper than the alternatives.

[King Medallion]

Ok, thanks for the tip's. Nothing is ever "just that simple", is it. I'll leave well enuf alone. I did change the front sight to one with a bead on it, helps some. Anyone heard from Larryo_1? I sent him a couple pm's with no responce.

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[larryo1]

Oh I'm here alright.  Been under the weather all this time with a Verrry bad ticker but still here.

[PJ Hardtack]

I've known two guys with Browning '86 carbines. They are a bear to shoot with heavy loads!

After a BPCR session with our Sharps rifles, we gave a carbine owner five 500 gr silhouette rounds to fire - single loading.
When he was finished, he lowered his head on the bench and was still.

The guy that gave him the ammo touched him and asked if he was OK. Answer - "Yes, I'm just trying really hard not to cry."

I'm glad my '86 has a 26" barrel.

[King Medallion]

Oh I'm here alright.  Been under the weather all this time with a Verrry bad ticker but still here.

Good to hear from you Larry, hope you get better, always enjoy reading your posts.

[King Medallion]

I've known two guys with Browning '86 carbines. They are a bear to shoot with heavy loads!

I've got one of those Browning 1886 SRC's too. I had the stock cut down and added a thick butt pad, adding a couple inches of pull. Those giant killer loads are much easier to handle now.

[Sloan Dodgy]

I have one of the Chaparral 22" short rifles in .40-60 WCF.  It's still pretty dang heavy (being a .40 doesn't help there) but it does balance a lot better and it "feels" lighter to carry it.  Squirting that 210 grain bullet out with a case full of BP results in next-to-zero recoil.  Good thing; I hate crescent buttplates!

[yahoody]

I also have a LWT pencil barrel, half mag, '22 '86 chambered in 45-90.  Shotgun butt  Lwt rifle...I'll weight it later and add the info.  But with 300gr hot 45-90 express loads it isn't a fun rifle.  But it or the '86 carbine with the typical 300gr factory Winchester or Remington loads they are easy enough to shoot.  Hot rod the loads with any of these guns with a crescent butt or a lwt model and even a 26" aint going to be a lot of fun in my experience.

[dusty texian]

King I will agree with Yahoody , that cutting down the 28" down to 22" leaves you with a shorter sight radius, and not much weight saveings. I have a 22" 76 in 40/60 , still a heavy rifle but a bit more handy to carry. I added a tang sight on this one to help with the short radius and mostly for helping my eyes focus on the sights. The 24" half mag. is the one that feels the best for carry and shouldering in my opinion. That one is oct. 24" 45/60 wcf. I have a new barrel being made for this rifle , I chose the 26" half oct. half rd. in 50/95 wcf. With this configuration and the .50 cal. bore and the button mag. it should be a pointer and handy to carry . Well getting off subject a bit . Thats my take on the subject . I think any style 76 would be a good choice on an antelope hunt. ,,DT

[yahoody]

Nice.  1/2 octagon, 1/2 round is a good alternative to save some weight and still look traditional as is the bigger caliber.

The '76 that got started me down this road was a poster I bought 25 years ago by the Cody Museum.  Poster shows a deluxe, pistol gripped short rifle with a shot gun butt and a round pencil barre,l full mag tube, leaning again a old slick fork saddle.  Having my saddle repaired right now but I intend tot duplicate the picture soon as I can.

[larryo1]

King:
I got an old '86 in 45-90 that I have used for many years and it has taken its fair share of game and now my son has it.  It has a pretty heavy recoil with the smokeless load we use (58 grains of 3031 with a 300 gr hp).  But the real kicker in our family is a custom 40-82 I had made on a 348 action.  That one kicks the holy crap out of you but is damn accurate and has got game also.  The point that I am trying to make here is that both of these rifles have 26 inch barrels and I would have a hard time believing that a shorter barrel--ie-- 22 inches would be of any benefit other than easier to handle.  I certainly do not think that ballistics would be better and if anything would/could be worse. My 45-75 has the 28 inch barrel and besides the fact that it heavy, it is a damn good shooter.  It has the Uberti chamber and as far as I am concerned--in my case that is-- that is to my benefit.  One other thing here is that all of us should know is that each of these old girls are fussy and tempermental just like women.  They each have their likes and dislikes and what works for one weapon don't necessarily work for another.  My '76 likes 2400 and Swiss 1½ and Lord knows I have tried a whole bunch but that old girl just likes those two powders.  All I got to say for the moment.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to y'all.