This past week I lubed and sized my remaining stash of .45-60 cast bullets and, while doing that, got to thinking that I really needed to take the ’76 to the range down the road to remind myself what the old classic rifle would do.
The Rifle: This old rifle is an original Winchester 1876 with a 28” round barrel and chambered for the venerable .45-60 cartridge. Although the serial number suggests it was made in 1884, the factory information from the Cody Museum states that it was received in the Winchester warehouse on May 13, 1886 and shipped September 21st, 1886. The factory records indicate that it was ‘R&R’ on October 3, 1895, indicating it came back to the factory for something, though I have no clue as to what. The gun letters as is. Here is a photo of the vintage Winchester 1876 ...
For those who might be interested in such things, here is a photo of the barrel address....
Sights: The rear sight is an adjustable leaf sight, also known as a ladder sight. Here are photos of the rear and front sights....
The Load: My standard load for the .45-60 is 25 grains of 5744 under a cast, gas check round nose, flat point bullet that, when lubed, GC’d and sized weighs about 318 grains. That big, flat meplat means business. This gives an average velocity of around 1,320 fps and a fairly low E.S. and S.D. The brass is made by Rocky Mountain Cartridge ( http://www.rockymountaincartridge.com/ ) and comes properly headstamped and with the necks annealed. I use the Lee dies for the 45-60. They are inexpensive, but work just fine. Here is a photo of the bullets I lubed and sized this past week. There are a little over 200 there, so that should last me a year or two because I like to take it easy on this old rifle .....
Trip to the Range:
I have 40 brass cases, but only had 14 rounds loaded. The first step was to sight it in. I set up a target at the 50 yard bunker, laid the old ’76 across my shooting bag and, aiming low because I assumed it might be a little high at that range, let ‘er rip. The shot was low and just clipped the left edge of the paper. I then centered the front sight and, aiming a bit higher, fired another round. This one was still a bit to the left, so I adjusted the rear sight over. The next three rounds were pretty well centered and formed a group of 15/16”. Here is a photo of the target ....
I could see that the rounds were going in about 4” higher than my point of aim at 50 yards, so I figured that is good and set two targets up at 100 yards. I laid the old ’76 across my shooting bag and cranked out three rounds, and then took a stroll down to the target to take a look. Two shots were very close and one was a bit lower and to the left. I walked back and took two more shots at the target. Four of the shots went into 1 & 9/16” but the one that was low and to the left extended the five-shot group to 2 & 5/16”. I’m happy if my rifles will put five rounds into a group of less than 3” at 100 yards with open iron sights, but I knew that the flyer that was low and to the left was my fault. This is a very accurate old Winchester, and I am sure that it can shoot better than I can aim. I would say that the 1 & 9/16” four-shot group is closer to what this old rifle can actually do at 100 yards with cast bullets. Here is a photo of the target ....
Well, I only had four rounds left, and I was itching to try some offhand shooting at 100 yards, so I loaded the remaining four cartridges into the magazine and shot free-standing, left arm extended not resting my elbow on my chest. It was my first time this year with this old rifle and I felt sloppy. One of the shots I muttered my disgust, knowing that it had went in low. When I walked down to the target, I was pleasantly surprised to see that three of the four shots had gone in within 2” of dead centre, but the dadgummed low shot was there plain as day. Boys, that is what lack of practice does to a fellow ..... inconsistency. Still, for the first offhand shooting of the season with that old rifle, I wasn’t discouraged; I know that things always improve with practice. Here is a photo of the 100 yards, offhand target showing the four shots. .....
I have to say that I am really pleased with this old Winchester Model 1876. One of these years I am going to harvest a Whitetail deer with it .... maybe this fall. This is a very accurate rifle. With those 300 grain bullets moving out the barrel at 1,320 fps, I’m good out to 200 yards. Beyond that, I’d need a range finder to know how far to adjust my elevation and I don’t have one of those, so I’ll have to keep my shots inside of 200 yards as usual, depending on the circumstances and whether or not I can lean against the tree, or crouch down to sharpen up my aim.
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