The Winchester Model 1887

Back in the day, when few US Marshals were as big as Matt Dillon and even fewer saloon owners as hot as Miss Kitty, there was a guy riding shotgun on every stage coach in or out of town. The gun carried across his lap was usually portrayed on TV and in movie westerns as a 10 or 12 gauge double. Frequently, it had drastically sawed off barrels. I shouldn’t have to remind you that a pump shotgun with a legally short barrel (18 inches) has become favored by many as an ideal home defense gun.

First, it is among the most devastating of close-in weapons. Secondly, should any household member be shy of firing it, the easily recognized sound of a pump being cycled can scare off all but the boldest, or dumbest, intruder. Yes, I speak from personal experience here. If there was a limitation to the fearsome double gun it was its capacity of two rounds at close range. "Close" can be defined as anything from about 40 yards away from a violently moving stage to a bandit hanging on the coach itself.

When sawed-off barrels were present the 40 yards might be expecting too much even when 00 buck was the load. There was another factor, but this one not based on personal experience but resulting from frequent observation of motion pictures and televised images. Bad guys wearing black hats rarely attempt to rob a stage coach solo. They move in on their objective as a group that most often exceed two dusty and highly hostile types wearing kerchiefs over their scruffy faces.

So the folks riding shotgun, the companies they rode for and LE guardians of not Designed by John Browning, it was the first truly successful repeating shotgun. It was a lever action at the insistence of Winchester and the immediate successor to the Winchester 1901, a stronger, 10 gauge smokeless powder version. quite peaceful towns started looking around for more firepower. Primarily in response to their search the first repeating shotgun came to be: The Winchester Model 1887.

It was a lever action despite the recommendation of its designer, John Browning, that it be a pump. At the time company thinking was that Winchester was known well for its lever actions, such as the Model 1873 and others, and wished to capitalize on that reputation. Browning dropped his suggestion accordingly and developed a breech loading, rolling block lever gun chambering the black powder 10 and 12 gauge shells of the day.

When smokeless powder was introduced as a shot shell propellant it became apparent the action of the Model 1887 wasn’t strong enough to withstand the extra power. A redesign gave birth to the Model 1901 in 10 gauge only. Winchester chose not to offer the 1901 in 12 gauge due to the success of their then-current 12 gauge pump, the Model 1897. Another Browning design and commonly credited with the overall popularity of pump guns then and now, the ’97 had succeeded his Model 1893. It seems Mr.

Browning was right after all. No surprise there. Despite the appearance of the self loader and the recent introduction of some .410 lever actions, large gauge pump action sales have far outdistanced their competition. Before getting into field stripping, which goes farther with the 1887 than required for most guns, a few technically oriented items should arouse interest. Century Arms has named their import the PW87.

It is a lever action falling breech block action in 12 gauge with a 2.75 inch chamber, 19 inch barrel length with modified choke and a magazine capacity of five rounds. In states limiting magazine capacity the PW87 can be reduced by installing a plastic or wooden rod within the tube to make hunting with the shotgun legal. The trigger pull, as listed in the owner’s manual, is 8-12 pounds. The manual further advises a slow and steady pull on the trigger be used.

Well, excuse me but an 8-12 pound pull is entirely too heavy and the advice given on slow and steady is inaccurate. As you serious scatter gunners know, when going after birds of the live or clay variety you don’t use

a "slow and steady" pull. You "slap" the trigger. Slow and steady may be dandy when the target is stationary and time is no factor but when a fast rising pheasant is taking off or a clay is crossing the firing line just as fast you have to swing the barrel to lead the bird, forget about holding a sight picture and concentrate on pointing instead of aiming the gun. The dedicated live bird seekers I know preach and use the slap or smack. They seldom come home without dinner.

Most have broken 100 clays in a row on more than one occasion and have the trophies to prove it. Success begets respect, so mentioning the departure from a slow and steady pull on the trigger to a slap isn’t inappropriate here. Which approach is employed always depends on what’s happening out beyond the gun muzzle. Field Stripping An empty chamber, a likewise magazine and the wear of eye protection are required as usual.

At this point, removal of the stock isn’t necessary, however, if detailed disassembly lies in the guns immediate future you might as well do it sooner than later. The tang screw (19) secures the butt stock to the receiver. Back the screw completely out, grasp the stock and pull it off to the rear. Holding B A The fork interfaces with the groove.

Mark the right (C) and left (D) cartridge guides to assure correct reassembly. on to the stock firmly as you gently move it up and down while pulling often makes the separation easier. Get too violent and there’s danger of splitting the wood so go easy with the up and down stuff. In this case, a slow and steady pull is the right thing to do. It matters not whether you have removed the butt stock or left it attached for field stripping. To finish up with detailed disassembly it has to come off.

Rotate the lever down all the way to move the breech bolt to the rear and open the action. There’s Ca cartridge guide screw (13) on each side of the receiver located aft of and above the lever axle pin (29). Loosen but do not remove the left side screw. Long nose pliers are applied to compress and remove the hammer spring (25). Using the proper size punch, drift out the lever axle pin.

In the following order remove the left cartridge guide screw, the right cartridge guide screw and withdraw the breech bolt assembly down and out of the receiver. If the shotgun has been reasonably cared for the only cleaning the assembly may need is a flushing out, blown air drying and light lubrication. If seriously dirty, you’ll have to go deeper and into detailed disassembly. I’ll get into that.

First, before removing the breech assembly from the receiver prepare yourself with a parallel side punch that just fits in and easily spans the cartridge guide screw holes. Add to that an extra fine point felt tip pen. The instant those C The axle pin cannot be drifted out while the hammer spring remains in the breech block assembly.

holes appear in the removal of the bolt assembly run the punch through both holes. If it extends beyond the left side hole, that’s good. Hold the guides in place. Now mark each guide. One with an "R" the other with an "L." Despite there being an obvious physical difference between the two guides, the time used to mark both is well spent when the time comes for reassembly. Detailed Disassembly As you’re going through this take a magnified look-see for burrs, rough machining or rub marks inside the receiver.

The latter are usually accompanied by matching marks on the part doing the rubbing. I found nothing serious, meaning worrisome, in the PW87 I received. Any imperfection I did discover was eliminated by carefully stoning it with a fine Arkansas stone. After the masonry work was complete any grit it left behind was air blown away. When you drifted out the lever axle you freed the hammer (49). Right now it’s probably rattling around loose inside the bolt. There’s no reason it should stay where it is.

When it was removed, I saw right away the axle wasn’t a roll pin. I wasn’t positive the manufacturer hadn’t used any roll pins at all in B C Athe shotgun I received or had altered their plans and installed them in later models or was planning to do so. This forced me to include a check of every pin in the gun during my magnified examination. If one was spotted removing it would require a roll pin punch. I suggest you avoid complications and do the same as I. You can start with the firing pin retaining pin (37).

Mine wasn’t a roll pin but yours might be. Place a finger over the firing pin tunnel at the rear of the bolt. When the retainer clears them, the firing pin (39) and its spring (38) may be tempted to flee backward. If they remain in place you can pick them out. Alternately, a rearward tilt of the bolt followed by a tap on your bench could jar them loose. After both parts have been taken from the bolt, dip a pipe cleaner in solvent, then run it back and forth in the vacated firing pin tunnel a few times.

Reverse the pipe cleaner or use a fresh one to dry and lightly lube the tunnel. By the way, pipe cleaners and paper clips are handy to have standing by in any tool inventory. That felt tip pen can get back into this act. Use it to place a dot on the left extractor (35) to differentiate Not pictured is the trigger spring which lies within the upper tang. it from its right hand partner (36). They must not be reversed in reassembly. To remove them both you need a very small blade screwdriver or similar tool.

Insert the tool between the extractor and its detent (34). Push the detent to the rear to compress the extractor spring (33). Lift each extractor in turn to remove it from the bolt. Place the two extractors in a magnetic parts tray. Control the detents and spring in removal after the extractors have been lifted out. Only two components remain attached to the breech bolt, the cam (31) and its screw (32).

I say two more parts but, by this time, I believe the lever (26) subassembly has probably slid out of the bolt on its own. In a badly fouled or horribly mistreated PW87, check out the lever spring (27) after backing out its screw (28). This does it for the breech block and lever assemblies but work remains in the tang area. One of the features making the PW87 a slightly different animal than the original 1887 is a lever locking system.

For those present day scattergun fans whose great grandpas used to ride shotgun or patrol the dusty main streets of the Wild West, the lever of early model 1887s had to be held upward tightly against the butt stock to prevent the lever from dropping downward. If the drop was sufficient there was a chance the breech bolt would open far enough to cause a misfire of an already chambered shot. To avoid the misfire the action would have to be fully cycled again. Not good in a time-is-critical situation.

You can begin disassembly of the lever lock system by drifting out the trigger pin (17). The trigger (40) will fall free. Unless there is a dire need for replacement I’d leave the lever lock (23) alone because its locking

pin (24) is staked in. The trigger spring (20) may have abandoned the tang when the trigger fell. If not, it has no reason to remain there. Neither do the lever lock spring screw (21) and spring (22). There are right (7) and left (48) forends on the PW87. Assorted escutcheons (2), washers (46) and two screws (45 & 47) hold them together.

Need I say more? 1 Magazine Locking Screw 2 Barrel Band Screw 3 Barrel Band 4 Magazine Plug 5 Front Sight 6 Barrel 7 Right Forend 8 Forend Escutcheon (2) 9 Carrier Pin 10 Carrier 11 Cartridge Guide Pin 12 Right Cartridge Guide 13 Cartridge Guide Screw (2) 14 Receiver 15 Shell Detent Screw 16 Cartridge Guide Screw Stop 17 Trigger Screw Pin 18 Trigger Spring Screw 19 Tang Screw 20 Trigger Spring 21 Lever Lock Spring Screw 22 Lever Lock Spring Yes.

If you haven’t noticed by now the thumb piece of the hammer is almost non-existent. This makes setting the PW87 on "safe," which is by half cocking the hammer, less than 100% assured. What thumb piece there is may have to be built up achieve that level of reliability.

It depends entirely on the owner but be prepared for adding to, rounding off and refinishing a model PW87 23 Lever Lock 24 Lever Lock Pin 25 Hammer Spring 26 Lever 27 Lever Spring 28 Lever Screw 29 Lever Axle Pin 30 Breech Bolt 31 Cam 32 Cam Screw 33 Extractor Spring hammer. The increase in height can be done with welding and perhaps with a "button" of drill rod soldered into the stub. Either way, figure on cutting non-slip grooves in the addition.

Do you suppose a hand checkering file/cutter would be the tool to do that? Have a chat with Brownells on the possibility. They might suggest a set of their screw head refinishing files instead.

AG Century Arms PW87 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 45 Forend Screw Front 46 Forend Washer (2) 47 Forend Screw Rear 48 Left Forend 49 Hammer 50 Hammer Inner Washer Pin 51 Inner Washer Pin 52 Butt Stock 53 Butt Plate 54 Butt Plate Screws (2) 34 Extractor Detent 35 Left Extractor 36 Right Extractor 37 Firing Pin Retaining Pin 38 Firing Pin Spring 39 Firing Pin 40 Trigger 41 Left Cartridge Guide 42 Magazine Tube 43 Magazine Follower 44 Magazine Spring