Winchester 1885

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:52 pm

My Winchester 1885 arrived today. - I bought it at a recent gun show, but ATF put the transaction on hold, so the dealer had to ship it to the local hardware store after the time ran out on the hold.

It is a used gun, but looks to be in good shape, no dings or bad spots that I can find. It is chambered in .270 WSM and has a 28" octagonal barrel. My Wheeler trigger pull gauge says it has a 2 3/4 pound pull. It came with Conetrol Custum rings and bases. The barrel has some carbon fouling in it, but no sign of copper so far. I haven't bore-scoped it yet.

Click image to see it larger

I don't have a scope or any ammo for it yet. - But I have a new Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 that I keep around the shop, and put that on it so that I could play around with it a little. Some 130 grain Federal ammo has been ordered, but I won't see that for 4-5 business days.

My son has volunteered to act as my gun-bearer if I get a chance to hunt, so the 8.8 lb. un-scoped weight doesn't seem too bad. Any way you look at it though, it's a heavy firearm. It handles well though, and feels good on the shoulder.

Looking around on the internet, I could not find a reference to manufacture date by serial number. - You can find that data for the old original Winchesters, but I've had no luck looking for dates on the Miroku-made guns.

Anyway, I've wanted one of these for years, and I'm looking forward to shooting it. - I've already found recipes for low-recoil practice reloads, shooting 110 grain bullets at 2000 fps that are alleged to be accurate. With full-power hunting loads it should kick less than a 7mm Remington mag, especially in this heavy rifle. With the 28" barrel, it should perform well and maybe not be so muzzle-blasty.

It took me over a year to come up with it, but finally I have something good for hunting in west Texas. - Now all I have to do is get my son to romance some rancher's daughter so I'll have a few thousand acres to hunt on!

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:36 pm

Nice find. The photo's look like it's brand new.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Sat Sep 06, 2014 11:11 am

From what I can tell, it was probably made in 2004, the same year that my Harley 1200C Sportster rolled off of the line.

My scooter has seen some hard use though, and has not held up nearly so well as the rifle.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:08 am

Now that I've had the rifle for a while, I found that the barrel crown needed attention. A few minutes work with a round head brass screw mounted in a drill and gobbed up with valve grinding compound cut the group sizes in half.

The crown did not look like Winchesters work, but I guess it could have been.

I am considering taking a hacksaw to it, reducing the barrel by 4" so that it winds up being 24". - The theory there being that it would lose close to a pound of weight, and then be at the length used to determine most 270WSM load velocities.

The rifle's only real drawback is its weight. - 8.5 pounds before the scope and mounts go on.

So I've decided to purchase an 11 degree barrel-crowning cutter, the kind that Pacific Tool and Gauge makes, that you crank by hand with a large tap handle. The cutter comes with inserts for several bore diameters.

First I'll re-crown it at the 28" length, try that out and then I'll have to decide if I really want to take a hacksaw to this beautiful firearm. If I do, I'll be sure to make a video so other 1885 owners can cringe and make "Bubba" comments.

I've also decided to fix it up with a Leupold 2-7x33 compact scope. The rear bell is smaller on this compact scope, making manipulation of the hammer, and loading much easier. Other 1885 owners who use the gun for hunting have recommended this scope. I've had a couple of them in the past and have always been happy with that model.

The bell on my Nikon 3-9x40 tends to get in the way, and I believe I can get by just fine with seven power for hunting.

Leupold has quit offering this scope with a gloss finish, so I'll have to dig up an old stock one somewhere.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:32 pm

Update:

I removed 4" of barrel so now it is a 24" barrel. This made a big difference on the rifle's balance and handling qualities.

I gave it an 11 degree target crown, all the way out to the edges of the octagonal barrel, and already good accuracy improved a little.

A Leupold 2-7x33 scope was mounted and sure enough, it is plenty of scope, and the reduced size at the rear made manipulating the hammer and loading much easier.

I've decided though that a Leupold FX3 6x42 fixed power scope will serve my needs better, so I'm saving up for one of those.

This rifle is going onto my short list of keepers, it looks like I'll be hanging onto it for the duration.

Yleefox · Post by **Yleefox** » Mon May 18, 2015 8:22 pm

It sure is a nice looking rifle!!!