Winchester Model 1887/1901
| Winchester Model 1887 shotgun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Shotgun |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Various law enforcement agencies, stagecoach companies |
| Production history | |
| Designer | John Browning |
| Designed | 1887 |
| Manufacturer | Winchester Repeating Arms Company |
| Produced | 1887–1920 |
| Variants | M1901 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 8 lbs. (3.6 kg) |
| Length | 39¼ in. (997 mm) |
| Barrel length | 20 in. (508 mm) |
| Caliber | 12-gauge, 10-gauge |
| Action | Lever-action |
| Feed system | 5 round tubular magazine |
| Sights | front bead |
The Winchester Model 1887 and Winchester Model 1901 were lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Overview
The Model 1887 was the first truly successful repeating shotgun. Its lever-action design was chosen at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, best known at the time as manufacturers of lever-action firearms such as the Winchester model 1873. Designer John Browning suggested that a pump-action would be much more appropriate for a repeating shotgun, but Winchester was a lever-action company and felt that their new shotgun must also be a lever-action for reasons of brand recognition. To Winchester's credit, however, they later introduced Browning's pump-action shotgun design as the Model 1893 (an early production version of the model 1897), after the introduction of smokeless powder.
Shotgun shells at the time used black powder as a propellant, and so the M1887 shotgun was designed and chambered for black powder 12-gauge shotshells, with a 10-gauge chambering being offered soon afterwards. It was soon realized that the action on the M1887 was not strong enough to handle early smokeless powder shotshells, and so a redesign resulted in the stronger Winchester Model 1901 10-gauge only. No 12-gauge chambering was offered, as Winchester did not want the Model 1901 to compete with their successful 12-gauge Model 1897 pump-action shotgun.
Although a technically sound gun design, the market for lever-action shotguns waned considerably after the introduction of the Winchester 1897 and other contemporary pump-action shotguns; Model 1887 production totaled 64,855 units between 1887 and 1901, with 79,455 Model 1901 shotguns being manufactured before it was discontinued in 1920.
Reproduction
Over the years, a number of gun companies tried to produce Model 1887/1901 shotguns that could chamber modern, smokeless shotgun shells—largely for the cowboy action shooting discipline—but with little commercial success. Recently however, three firearm companies have successfully produced viable models for the commercial firearms market:
- ADI Limited of Australia, produced a small trial run of modern Model 1887/1901 shotguns, chambered for modern smokeless 12-gauge shotshells. This was ostensibly to exploit a loophole in newer tighter gun laws in australia which prohibited semi automatic rifles and pump action shotguns, amongst others, but still allowed bolt and lever action long arms. Commercial production on this firearm by ADI was anticipated for 2007, following several years of delays due to distribution issues, but this has not yet eventuated.
- Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco currently produces the Model 1887 shotgun chambered for modern smokeless 12-gauge shells, a version of which (featuring a 20" barrel) is manufactured for American firearms firm, Interstate Arms Corporation (IAC) and exported for sale in the USA, Canada and Australia. As the only legal repeating shotgun (besides Mossberg bolt-action shotguns) for non-Primary Producer firearms owners in Australia, it has proven very popular with hunters and sporting shooters alike. U.S. and Canadian sales, however, have been largely focused on cowboy action shooting participants, owing to the ready availability of affordable pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns in most parts of the U.S. and Canada.
- The Italian firm Armi Chiappa manufactures modern reproductions of the Winchester Model 1887 series shotguns. The shotguns appeared on the Australian and the European firearms markets in late 2008.
References
- Madis, G. (1977) "The Winchester Book" Dallas: Taylor Publishing.