I've had a hankering for one of these for quite some time. The 1886 Winchester was designed by John Moses Browning to answer the need for a big bore repeater that could handle the likes of the big cartridges of the day...a hurdle that Oliver Winchester couldn't seem to leap over without making compromises as with the 1876 'Centennial' Winchester that was chambered in the following calibers:
.45-75 W.C.F.
.45-60 W.C.F.
.40-60 W.C.F.
.50-95 Express
As with all past Winchester lever actions, the weak link on all these rifles was the toggle link action that operated the bolt and kept the bolt closed against the cartridge base. The weakness becomes apparent when viewing the toggle link action. In the case of the '76 Centennial, the receiver length continued to grow in length...and subsequent weight...to accommodate the larger and longer cartridges used in the far lighter, slimmer, sleeker big bore rifles such as the Browning-designed 1885 High Wall Winchester or Remington Rolling Block actions. The story goes that the Winchester folks had finalized the purchase of JMB's 1885 Low and High Wall production rights, and while visiting him to finalize the transaction, they saw his superior design for the Big Bore '86 and made the arrangements to purchase that as well.
The 1886 was a totally different animal. Browning was able to shorten and lighten the receiver by ditching the Winchester 'elevator' and using an ingenious angled ramp design, and using solid steel locking lugs that slammed home on either side of the bolt when closed to firmly lock the bolt in place when closed. Coupling this with an 8 round tubular magazine made this one fearsome piece of artillery.
The rifle I purchased is Winchester's 'DeLuxe' version, featuring beautifully figured pistol-grip stock in Grade III/IV walnut and featuring CCH (color case hardened) hardware. Since I still haven't received my rifle yet, all I can do is post a pic from the Winchester catalog, so here you go...
Yeah, it's a looker!
