Eat Yer Hearts Out!

[Griff]

Got a new "lever" gun. Browning 1885, circa 1998, 24" ½round/½octagon with tang peep and globe front sight. I also got the original front sight, and the barrel sight is still installed.






I'm not sure what brand of front sight it is, but the tang sight is a Marbles, marked "Browning". Nice wood and in excellent shape. Bore is clean, bright, and appears virtually unfired.

Range report will have to wait a few weeks... I gotta sight it in with my BP loads, have a match to compete in on Thursday next, and then I'm off to Lost Wages, NV the day be the election. Yea, I'm votin' early!

[Old Savage]

Very nice, what caliber?

[Griff]

.45 Colt.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Yes, very nice indeed!

[O.S.O.K.]

Very nice. You can use that in Mississippi duing the muzzle loader season. Just thought you'd like to know that

[Les Staley]

Griff, from one trucker to another,, you'll love the Browning.. I have the mate to it in 45-70.. the Traditional Hunter with the same sight... bought it a few years back, and the first week I owned it killed a cow elk, a doe antelope and a nice 4X4 mulie buck.. Les

[Griff]

Very nice. You can use that in Mississippi duing the muzzle loader season. Just thought you'd like to know that

Do I hear an invite in there?

[Pitchy]

[Blaine]

Pretty wood!!

[Sixgun]

That is nice! Strange caliber for a single shot and as you know, there's lots of opportunity to experiment with the cartridge thats not easily done with other types of actions. I bet you can seat out a 300 gr. bullet with a mess of H110 to equal the 45-90 load. Ought to be interesting. Can I have it? please? -----------------------Sixgun

[Mac in Mo]

That's very nice!!

Kevin

[ollogger]

yep thats cool & I agree with sixgun

ollogger

[Griff]

That is nice! Strange caliber for a single shot and as you know, there's lots of opportunity to experiment with the cartridge thats not easily done with other types of actions. I bet you can seat out a 300 gr. bullet with a mess of H110 to equal the 45-90 load. Ought to be interesting. Can I have it? please? -----------------------Sixgun

I think it'd be a great hog gun. I think Ruger type loads will be ok... tho' primarily, I'll be shootin' BP thru it! I'll have to work up some heathen powder loads.

I gotta tell ya Jack... it handles very sweetly! And, yep, I was a little surprised at just how nice the wood is.

[KirkD]

I sure like that wood!

[samb]

Beautiful find! Hope you have really enjoy her.

[1894c]

Griff -- it's already been said a ton in this thread, but that is very very nice...thank you for sharing... :)

[Mike Rintoul]

Nice rifle Mr. Griff. We have some new loads with a proprietary powder that is peletized stack. This gives a 250 gr .452 2200 fps in a 20" barrel. I'm sending some for testing to 86er and I know you're his friend. Sure would like to see what that 24" barrel will do with them before you start burning BP all the time.

[COSteve]

Beautiful!

[Sixgun]

One thing for sure Griff, and thats the fact that Browning does have a reputation for installing nice wood on their guns. The quality of the steel and the way its put together will make for a gun that will last.........forever? My good friend Cimarron Red has over 30,000 rounds out of his Browning BPCR 45-70 and about the equal amount of out an 1886 Browning.

Kinda makes us semi-old guys wish these things came out when we were all younguns as it sure would have saved us all mega bucks from the tons of other guns we bought.

But..........unlike women, my tastes for guns goes to variety -----Sixgun

[piller]

Very nice. I like the .45 Colt cartridge, and it that rifle, you should be able to play around with different powders and really have a lot of fun. Since it is a rifle, I would love to know what some of the slower burning powders that give low velocity in a pistol would do. I bet there is a real difference.

[Borregos]

Very nice indeed, look forward to progress reports

[alnitak]

Very sweet Griff! (you forgot the drool warning though!)

[Griff]

Nice rifle Mr. Griff. We have some new loads with a proprietary powder that is peletized stack. This gives a 250 gr .452 2200 fps in a 20" barrel. I'm sending some for testing to 86er and I know you're his friend. Sure would like to see what that 24" barrel will do with them before you start burning BP all the time.

I have a match this comin' weekend (11/1-3). If he's got the ammo & time I'll drop it by Joe's house Monday, before I go, if not, after the match, as I'll be using it on Thursday. One way or another, we'll get 'er done. Those sound like some rip-snortin' loads!

[Little Doc]

Howdy Griff,
Long time no see. I have had that same gun for several years. 300grgc from a lee mould with a stiff charge of H110 1550fps. not max. Killed two deer with it.
Sounds like you are going to shoot plainsman at comin-at-cha. Gona shoot mine in that match with bp.
I sighted mine in to shoot the 300 with the peep and a std 45 Colt 200rnfp with the barrell sights.
Let the fun begin.
Little Doc

[Griff]

Yep, saw your name on the lists and am lookin' forward to catchin' up!

[Griff]

Little Doc,

Is there a way to lower the lammer to full down without dry-fiiring it? With it cocked, if you try to ease the hammer down, it only drops to a safety notch. I've not taken it apart to look; and if this is an idiosyncracy of the gun, I'm ok with it, just curious.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I now officially no longer have a heart it was thoroughly consumed with insatiable vigor, thank you.

[Hobie]

Those .45 Colt 1885s are REALLY nice.

[madman4570]

SWEET!
Couldn't go to a finer man!

[Griff]

Anyone recognize this front sight? It's about 13/16" in diameter, and the center of the aperature sits about 1" above the centerline of the bore.

[brucew44guns]

Getting a "baby" like that is enough to make a grown man shed a tear griff----- happy for you indeed! Nice one.

[rafter-7]

You know i just had a thought and its black powder and paper patch i think that would be interesting to say the least

^
7

[Griff]

Anyone recognize this front sight? It's about 13/16" in diameter, and the center of the aperature sits about 1" above the centerline of the bore.

It was so high, that I just had to take it off and get the stock one back on. Found a 20MJT stamped under the base. Lyman. 7/8" diameter sight, but it's .700 high from the base of the dovetail to the center of the sight. Much higher than the .495 that the original sight is. I think eventually, I'll get a Lyman 17AML, .495" above the dovetail.

[Little Doc]

Nature of the beast, rebounding hammer.
ld

[rjohns94]

Very very nice wood. Kewl griff!

[Griff]

Thank you all for the nice compliments. I was really quite surprised by how nice the wood is.

You know i just had a thought and its black powder and paper patch i think that would be interesting to say the least
^
7

You have to have a rather "long" throat in the chamber to be able to seat a paper-patch bullet. The normal .45 Colt throat is rather short, so the bullet engages the rifling pretty quickly. A PP throat is about an ¼ inch longer, so the paper patch leading edge isn't disturbed by the rifling.

Well... while I wait for the casting pot to warm up, (gotta cast some more bullets for this weekend, only have about 50 already cast, need about 150-200 total), I took it out and shot it. Didn't have a target set up, but... shame on me, about 35 yards from the rear of the barn is an open steel gate. With about a 6"x6" square steel plate. Latch is on the other side, plate is about 3/8" thick, and I don't care if I dent it.

Used the open barrel sight for shot #1. Ding, right where the front sight was, CENTER HIT! WOO! HOO!

Last nite I located my tang sight insert assorment. The three for my model 94 tang sight have too large diameter of threads. However, I have three from some other sight (who knows where the sight went), that fit perfectly. Although they are all about ¾" in diameter, they have 3 different size aperatures. Taking the largest, I put it in the Browning sight.

So, for shot number 2, I flipped up the tang sight, and since it sits just a tad higher than the rear barrel sight, I held at the bottom edge of the plate. Ding, right on top of the first hit! So, the tang gives me about a 3" higher P.O.I. than the barrel sight at the same 35 yards. Probably ready for the 50 yard targets on Thursday! I'm callin' it competition ready!

Just got done putting a little cold blue on the old aperature, and looking good. Shouldn't get any glare off the dark blue and rough, pebbled surface.

This might just be the rifle I need for Cowboy Silhoutte in a pistol caliber... if anyone holds matchs for pistol caliber single shots!

[Griff]

Well, after getting the camera and zooming in on the plate, a little higher than I first thought! Must be about 7-8" higher. Call it 100 yard capable. Spent the afternoon casting, sizing and reloading about 250 rounds of 45 Colt and 50 additional rounds of 12 ga... All BP!