Chiappa 1886

[Richardx]

Several years ago before I found this wonderful forum, I purchased a Legacy Sports Puma (Chiappa) 1886 .45/70 26"
barrel, very low serial number (31) to replace a stolen Pedersoli Sharps .45/70 to use in LR CAS shooting and hunting.
It is great looking rifle, well fitted, and accurate (more so after adding tang sights).
The action was stiff but I used NKJ's 92 tune up DVD for pointers and went at it.
I am sure you fellas have discussed these in the past but I haven't found any threads about these rifles.

Did I luck out or am I just waiting for something to go wrong?

Your opinions are valued and I am pretty thick skinned...

RichardX

[CowboyTutt]

Richard I seem to remember that Steve of Steve's Guns had some small reservations about the design of those rifles but I may be wrong. Hopefully he will answer. If yours is holding up well then that is all that matters. Regards, -Tutt

[Mossyoak1957]

I bought one a few years back,brand new the thing was beautiful,never fired a shot through it,it wouldn't chamber a round from day one,tried different brand ammo nothing would chamber,took it back to where I bought it he sent it back to Chiappa's repair place somewhere here in the US but don't remember where they are they had it for 3 months kept trying to get some sort of an answer from the shop I bought it from he claimed he couldn't get through to them so I called them got right through they said it was still there.To make a long story short I ask the shop to just to give me another one...no dice......ask them to give me my money back....no dice.....had to give them the old I'll let my lawyer call you next time,3 days later they sent me a full refund.
Maybe I just got a bad apple,but Chiappa's customer service was bad.

I really wish the gun would have worked,the looks of it were outstanding

With my refund I bought a Browning 1886

[vancelw]

I bought one a few years back,brand new the thing was beautiful,never fired a shot through it,it wouldn't chamber a round from day one,tried different brand ammo nothing would chamber,took it back to where I bought it he sent it back to Chiappa's repair place somewhere here in the US but don't remember where they are they had it for 3 months kept trying to get some sort of an answer from the shop I bought it from he claimed he couldn't get through to them so I called them got right through they said it was still there.To make a long story short I ask the shop to just to give me another one...no dice......ask them to give me my money back....no dice.....had to give them the old I'll let my lawyer call you next time,3 days later they sent me a full refund.
Maybe I just got a bad apple,but Chiappa's customer service was bad.

I really wish the gun would have worked,the looks of it were outstanding

With my refund I bought a Browning 1886

I stopped at a gun store in Austin last month. Asked to look at an 1886 on the rack that turned out to be a Chiappa. As the clerk was handing it to me, he opined that Chiappa was making the finest leveractions at this time. I politely disagreed and told him that I thought the Miroku-made 1873 sitting adjacent was a better made rifle. He had no response because his first statement was not based on fact or experience. He was simply trying to make a sale, car dealer style. I've got 8 Brownings and 2 Miroku/Winchesters. I've only had one complaint on any of the Brownings and I fixed that easily enough (bent inertia firing pin)

[CowboyTutt]

Post deleted. I read all of our PM's and I said nothing wrong at all. Some people are habitually in disagreement with others.

-Tutt

[firefuzz]

I bought one a few years back,brand new the thing was beautiful,never fired a shot through it,it wouldn't chamber a round from day one,tried different brand ammo nothing would chamber,took it back to where I bought it he sent it back to Chiappa's repair place somewhere here in the US but don't remember where they are they had it for 3 months kept trying to get some sort of an answer from the shop I bought it from he claimed he couldn't get through to them so I called them got right through they said it was still there.To make a long story short I ask the shop to just to give me another one...no dice......ask them to give me my money back....no dice.....had to give them the old I'll let my lawyer call you next time,3 days later they sent me a full refund.
Maybe I just got a bad apple,but Chiappa's customer service was bad.

I really wish the gun would have worked,the looks of it were outstanding

With my refund I bought a Browning 1886

I stopped at a gun store in Austin last month. Asked to look at an 1886 on the rack that turned out to be a Chiappa. As the clerk was handing it to me, he opined that Chiappa was making the finest leveractions at this time. I politely disagreed and told him that I thought the Miroku-made 1873 sitting adjacent was a better made rifle. He had no response because his first statement was not based on fact or experience. He was simply trying to make a sale, car dealer style. I've got 8 Brownings and 2 Miroku/Winchesters. I've only had one complaint on any of the Brownings and I fixed that easily enough (bent inertia firing pin)

I agree with vancelw, the Browning/Miroku/Winchester rifles are the finest lever guns made today. I looked real hard at the Chiappa's when I was shopping for a '76, but the general attitude about them on the SASS sites scared me off. I think Hobie's got a pretty slick Chiappa '76 tho.

Rob

[Martini450]

Chiappa does not make an 1876 copy, that would be Chaparral.

I have a Chiappa '92 in 44-40; very nice rifle, but the action was a little rough. Sent it off to Steve's Gunz and now it's as slick as an old Winchester. Accurate, too.

[vancelw]

Chiappa does not make an 1876 copy, that would be Chaparral.

I have a Chiappa '92 in 44-40; very nice rifle, but the action was a little rough. Sent it off to Steve's Gunz and now it's as slick as an old Winchester. Accurate, too.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trashing the 1886 Chiappa. I have never owned one or shot one....
But, the one I looked at in the store was 600-700 dollars more expensive than an excellent condition Browning 1886. I even see NIB Brownings for less on occasion.

[Richardx]

Thanks for the replies, didn't mean to rile anyone up!

When I bought the Chiappa you could not find any '86's around the Memphis area that were affordable shooters so I bit. I had seen a few Browning's and some vintage Winchesters on Gun Broker but was leery because of some of the "deals" I got stuck with.

I have said this before, I wish I had found this site 10 years ago because of the education I have gained reading your posts.

Thanks again,
RichardX

[Martini450]

Chiappa does not make an 1876 copy, that would be Chaparral.

I have a Chiappa '92 in 44-40; very nice rifle, but the action was a little rough. Sent it off to Steve's Gunz and now it's as slick as an old Winchester. Accurate, too.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trashing the 1886 Chiappa. I have never owned one or shot one....
But, the one I looked at in the store was 600-700 dollars more expensive than an excellent condition Browning 1886. I even see NIB Brownings for less on occasion.

Oh, I didn't think you were trashing the Chiappa, just thought it was worth pointing out. Seems like the two companies (Chiappa and Chaparral) are commonly mistaken for one another.

As for the '86, the Chiappa seems like a very nice rifle, but I'll confess that a Browning made in 1986 fills that slot in my safe. The only thing I don't care for with it is the glossy stock, so there may be a visit to Doug Turnbull in the future for a color case/wood refinishing job.

[vancelw]

The first thing I usually do is strip that glossy finish off, especially if there are minor dings in it.

[Martini450]

How do you go about stripping the wood? I've not messed with anything like that before, but if it's simple enough, I may want to give it a go as a stop gap until the funds are available for a trip to Turnbull. Looks like it's probably a pretty enough couple of pieces of walnut underneath.

[vancelw]

Most any kind of gel stripper will work. Kleen Strip is common.
I most recently tried this stuff and it works really well
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Jasco-1-qt-P ... /202247418
(go ahead and cringe) I use the side of a putty knife to work the finish off after it's loose. Takes several attempts to get it all soft enough to remove. And a lot of elbow grease. Steel wool of various coarseness will help get off the softened finish from the angled places.

Be warned...Browning puts that brown finish on for a reason...The wood is not the highest quality. You might end up with forearm and stock different colors. Or black streaks/spots in the wood. EDIT I have used Spanish walnut stain for a muted color to help hide the color differences

I don't mind it. I put a satin finish on and like the weathered/experienced look of it. Some imperfections are fine for me.