I picked up one of these new recently as I have always wanted a 1886 and the price was rally good. I have a bunch of Uberti revolvers and have had good luck with them. Has the 26" barrel, pistol grip stock with checkering, and case colored receiver and fore end cap. Wood finish is not as good as the Deluxe rifles I see pictured. No safety. Has what looks like two tapped holes on the left side of the receiver with plug screws in them.
As I am new to the 1886 I have a few questions. I do not CAS anymore but I still like to shoot when I can. Thinking about a Lyman receiver peep site for it. It is really stiff out of the box. I have slicked up a few 92's but not sure about working on this one. Does anyone make a spring kit for the 1886 like they do the 92's? Or do I just need to cycle it a bunch to loosen it up? Any ammo I should avoid? I'm thinking about using Jacketed ammo for this rifle. Are there any known problems with this rifle I need to address?
Manny thanks for any advice before I head to the range.
1)If you need help pulling the trigger - the mainspring is overpowered (typical these days)
2) drive it like you stole it - dont pussyfoot around when you work the action with rounds in it
3) make three or four dummy rounds and cycle them through it until you are well and truly tired of that
4) accept the fact that a new made 86 is never gonna cycle like a worn 92
blackpowder is fun in these ................................
I always wanted a "Big" Winchester - had a run of vintage 92's, most of em well worn and slick, then a bloke showed me a Browning 1886 in the early 1990's - I am gonna get one of those!!! - well I got myself organised right at the last of the Browning 71's and settled for seconds - the thing was a tank! stiff like a rusted hinge. After quite a time I discovered there was a machining error underside of the bolt and after I took care of that it got a lot better. Still have it and plenty of gear to run it .
Then I saw an article in a gun rag touting the repro 1876 - man that was a cool looking piece of iron - so I saved up my bottle tops and ordered a brand new Uberti 76 - delivered early 2015 - another tank, out of the box 12pound trigger pull - did some messing round with springs and cured that one and for a big gun it is easy to lever real easy!
Next I see this 1886 Chiappa on the gunshop wall, second hand, a few hundred under new and not a scratch on it - I stayed out of that shop for three whole months so someone else could get it - went back and it was there waiting patiently! the shop owner offered me the box of ammo he sold to the last guy along with the gun 6 emptys 14 still full, said it kicked too hard. So gets it home, another tank - stiff hard to lever - make me a new mainspring for it before I even took it out to shoot - ten blackpowder rounds loaded - dang thing wont feed - jammed up inside - grrrrrr - so we shoot some single loaded - wow lookit that - shoot another five - nice !!!
OK what now ? This thing needs major surgery to fix it but I reckon I can do it - if I take it back and complain he will give me the money back but somebody is out 80 bucks for registration costs - I dont want an 86 bad enough to justify full new price - we gonna miss some fun - I already made that new mainspring for it, I kinda like a challenge so here goes. I had to bore out the rim recess in the cartridge lifter and spent a lot of time on that and working on the lifter hook got me a nice reliable 86 from the deal
So a comparison - the Browning 71 is a little easier to work than the Chiappa 86 - (not much and its had a couple hundred more rounds fired) - but it sounds kinda tinny when the action works (the pressed steel cartridge lifter I think) The Chiappa sounds more solid - and it might soften up a little more yet.
The biggest glitch in these big guns guns is overstrength mainsprings - both the Uberti and the Chiappa were ridiculous heavy trigger pull - I believe I worked the (coil) mainspring in the Browning too but have had it a long time, really not sure but seem to remember bits flying around the gunroom in effort to reassemble it.
The biggest remaining glitch (71 and 86) is caused by the strength of the magazine cutoff spring pushing (sideways) back against the bolt as it closes the last bit - a 92 is different here and better I reckon - can see no way to fix that other than maybe skeletonising that cutoff spring - I would want a spare on hand before I tried it but I believe it would improve the smoothness - maybe also a weaker ejector spring would help - but I think thats less important and we want those big heavy shells to clear the action properly.
Something else I spotted (have read about this but never looked before) the 71 has a very distinct slope to the front of the cutout in the bolt where the locking lugs engage so when its locked up there is only a small area of metal to metal contact between bolt and locking lugs right at the top of the cutout slot - its actually a weaker design than the 86 where the locking lugs and bolt cutout are parallel (except for a small section at the bottom of the slot) and give full engagement. I thought this curious as the 71 was touted stronger than an 86 - it makes a different feel when they cycle.