By the early 1880s, Winchester was at a crossroads. Their popular Model 1876, an enlarged version of the classic Model 1873, had made a name for itself as a solid rifle, but it had one big limitation—it wasn’t quite strong enough to handle the big-bore, high-power cartridges that were becoming essential for serious hunting and long-range shooting. The toggle-link action, which had served Winchester well since the days of the Henry rifle, simply wasn’t up to the task. Enter John Moses Browning.
When John Moses Browning joined forces with Winchester, he didn’t just design rifles and carbines—he crafted tools that shaped the American frontier and beyond.
I’ve been a gun collector for many years but I have one special gun I’d like to tell you about. The rifle is a Winchester Model 1886 chambered in .40-82 WCF and it was made in 1894. It has a 26-inch round barrel and is in decent shape, but shows wear from many years of use. The only thing unusual about it is that the case-hardened receiver is engraved “Arapahoe County”.
Twenty years ago, we lost the much-loved Cajun chef, Justin Wilson. In one recorded episode, he was talking to his hushpuppies in the deep fryer while addressing questions from viewers. One person asked what kind of wine was proper to drink with a seafood dish. In his always entertaining manner, he said you should drink the kind of wine you like. Wine rules were foolish.
With lever-action rifles regaining popularity in the field, hunters of all ages are looking for alternatives to “as-issued” open sights. They’re adopting red dot sights as a pragmatic solution that even us purists can get behind.
Guest Blog Post by Scott Severson of HuntTested.com: The lever action rifle has been with us for over 160 years, ever since Benjamin Tyler Henry patented the first practical lever action repeating rifle. Despite being long in the tooth, the lever action is having a moment right now. Lever guns are more popular and I’ll say it, they are better quality than ever. The resurgence is well-founded in the quality and inherent utility of this venerable platform. If you’re a hunter considering a lever gun, take a look at these four reasons I love to hunt with lever action rifles.
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In summer of 2019 Doug set off for Africa. He was participating in a management hunt with friend and writer Joseph von Benedikt, as well as two of Joseph’s friends. The plan was to spend the next ten days at two different camps in Namibia, tracking and hunting a variety of wildlife. Both Joseph and Doug brought along Turnbull Model 1886 rifles (including a Turnbull-restored Winchester 1886), chambered for Doug’s own .475 Turnbull cartridge.
Here’s a selection of what the good folks at Gun Digest have published about Turnbull Restoration Co. over the years.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five years since the first airing of our spot on “How it’s Made”. We’re taking this opportunity to re-share the episode, and once again extend our gratitude to the good folks at the Science Channel for including us on their show a half-decade ago.