I have a Wyoming antelope hunt coming up this fall and considering one of a number of antique Winchester's to take along to harvest an additional doe antelope with.
So, I went to the range to see how this latest acquisition would shoot. I took some ammo previously loaded for another Ex. Lt. It consists of a 405 gr cast Cast Performance wide flat nosed gas checked bullets pushed by 50 grs of Varget. I found this combination to be accurate in several other original 86's but had not fined tuned it at all for this particular rifle.
I mounted a mid range tang sight on the 86 for an improved sight radius. I find this helps me tremendously when punching paper groups.
Results from this gun were very satisfying. The first group at 100 yards measured a very good 1.7 inches. Seeing the rifle was really liking this load I moved the target back to 200 yards, tweaked the sights just a little to better center the bulls eye and shot another group. This three shot group measured a scant 2.25 inches....I was very tickled. Subsequent groups have showed these first two were no flukes. I have several modern scoped hunting rifles that won't hang with this 86.
The rifle is just another example of why many of us are fascinated with these old guns. They were put together right, with quality that is mostly unmatched today. This rifle will be heading to Wyoming this fall.
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