Chaparral Winchester 1876 clones

[Ray Newman]

Was going through some on-line sellers' E-mails this morning and saw that CDNN has a sale on Chapparal Winchester 1876 clones (US$499.99) and Taurus Thunderbolts (US$449.99 & 469.99). CDNN ordering line: 800-588-9500. On-line catalogue link: http://www.cdnninvestments.com/dowournewcat.html

Might be of interest to some here.

[Streetstar]

Wow -- I've got 589$ in that link (pages 24-25) , but that still sounds like a good deal -- good prices on Colt black rifles if one is into that sort of thing as well

---- almost wish I hadn't just spent 11k on kitchen and bath tile work for my new house project yesterday

[Ray Newman]

Streetstar: re-checked the CDNN E-mail and prices shown above are valid until Monday, 10/7, 7:00 PM CST and limited to stock on hand. Few years ago, I purchased a Winchester-Miroku M1885, .32-40, NIB, for less than dealer's cost including shipping. CDNN has some sleeper deals. If you delay, you can loose out.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have a Chapparal 76 in .50-95 and it is a fine rifle. No issues with it. The stock finish is no were near on par with a Uberti but all in all It is just fine for a shooter.

[Ysabel Kid]

I have a Chaparral 1876 in .45-60 WCF. Same deal as Chuck - sweet shooter, fake finish on the stock. Uberti's weren't out yet when I bought mine - and I paid a good deal more for it then they are now selling at CDNN.

[Griff]

I just wonder if those "deals" at CDNN are all the Chapparals that were returned and never sent back as unrepairable. If it sounds too good to be true... it probably is.

[Ray Newman]

Griff: Or it could be a case of CDNN buying up the manufacturer's/distributors stock that is not selling, discontinued, or has has been replaced by a new model??

When I lived in California, my local dealer bought up about two dozen NIB Browning 1886's and the Browning M1885 Black Powder Cartridge Rifles at deeply discounted prices from a clearing house. Then after awhile, they again became popular, especially when Shooters learned that they were not catalogued anymore.

Anyway what is the 'straight skinny' about as you posted the "Chapparals that were returned and never sent back as unrepairable"??

[Model 52B]

Looking at the calibers, I suspect it's possibly clearance stock that's not selling.

It's also possible that they are factory seconds that CDNN got at a great price. Back in the day it was common for Remington in particular and Winchester less often to offer to credit the shop a very healthy discount when we received a rifle or shotgun that did not meet our standards due to a factory defect (such as a warped fore end with wood contacting the barrel on one side). It was generally not worth their time to have ti shipped back, fix it and send it back out. We shipped them back rather than accept a discount and sell a factory second in the shop. But more often than not those seconds commonly ended up in box box retail outlets rather than being fixed at the factory and I'm sure they end up with on line retailers now.

Still, $599 is not a bad price.

[ninety caliber]

Looking at the calibers, I suspect it's possibly clearance stock that's not selling.

It's also possible that they are factory seconds that CDNN got at a great price. Back in the day it was common for Remington in particular and Winchester less often to offer to credit the shop a very healthy discount when we received a rifle or shotgun that did not meet our standards due to a factory defect (such as a warped fore end with wood contacting the barrel on one side). It was generally not worth their time to have ti shipped back, fix it and send it back out. We shipped them back rather than accept a discount and sell a factory second in the shop. But more often than not those seconds commonly ended up in box box retail outlets rather than being fixed at the factory and I'm sure they end up with on line retailers now.

Still, $599 is not a bad price.

Got that email myself yesterday and it IS $499 right now, they have been selling them at $599 for the last six months for sure(that's when I started looking). I want one really bad and at that price it would be hard to go wrong,but..........I've read so many bad reviews of the Chaparral and so many folks told me to spend the difference and get the Uberti, that I am truly in a quandary.you know the"bitterness of poor quality" routine. Right now I can't afford $1300 or so for a Uberti , but I can do $499! Would sur love to hear from someone who bought one of the ones from CDNN!

[FatJackDurham]

I have wondered about Chapperal quality. There is a '73 at a store near me that I was looking at. The action is very smooth and everything except the stock finish looks great. The price is in the mid $500's.

[FatJackDurham]

Here is a negative review of the Chaperral on The High Road.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/inde ... 17836.html

Its not a rant, either. Apparently, the buyer noted a pretty important defect that made the gun unusable and Chaperral didn't understand.

Take it with a grain of salt, I guess.

[DPris]

The one I had here early on had feeding & ejection problems, poor accuracy, and poor workmanship.
Front sight not in line with bore, daylight visible between rear sight base and barrel in dovetail.
Fake wood finish (later corrected, I THINK).
Others have had better luck, but I wouldn't accept one as a gift.

Parts would probably be difficult, if needed.
Denis

[Hobie]

I have an early Chaparral 1876 SRC. Some people have reported having done some mixing and matching of parts. Order one, don't like it, send it back.

[hayabusa]

The 50-95 I have seems very good fit & finish wise and it shoots as good as I can hold.
I have had it for about a year and it was purchased from CDNN. I have probably shot it about 75 times total. The ammo was loaded in 50-95 brass from Buffalo Arms. I have used fireformed 348 Win. cases. I really do not see any difference in the results. Was not lucky enough to get a shot at a deer last season, hoping for better luck this season.

I don't have any problems with it. I really like the rifle.

hayabusa

[Griff]

Griff: Or it could be a case of CDNN buying up the manufacturer's/distributors stock that is not selling, discontinued, or has has been replaced by a new model??
When I lived in California, my local dealer bought up about two dozen NIB Browning 1886's and the Browning M1885 Black Powder Cartridge Rifles at deeply discounted prices from a clearing house. Then after awhile, they again became popular, especially when Shooters learned that they were not catalogued anymore.
Anyway what is the 'straight skinny' about as you posted the "Chapparals that were returned and never sent back as unrepairable"??

Here's a litenany of issues with the clone 1876s: http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index. ... sults.html. Of 98 respondents, (I dropped on as the 2nd post was clearly about an 1860 Henry...), only about 35% reported their rifle as "slick as a whistle". That's 20 out of almost 100. Not very good odds for me to gamble buying.

I also read of rifles being chambered wrong. Some issues were actually brass issues, with different rim thicknesses from original, etc... but, read the list. Make your own decision.

Let's put it this way, the importer that imported these rifles went south on them... due in large part, I'm sure, due to the sheer number of rifles being to returned as un-usable. Here's Jeff Quinn's review of the Chapparal from 2006 and his update: http://www.gunblast.com/Chaparral-1876.htm. Jeff's review's are spot-on... I'm just sure he got a fabulous rifle. I don't know if the manufacturer's QC went south, but what I understood at the time is that the parts were imported, then the rifles were assembled here, and after a while, their QC is what dropped the ball. I believe that anyone that got a good one, should count themselves among the lucky.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Griff, I don`t know about the other calibers but the .50-95 Chaparral and the .50-95 Uberti have different chamber dimensions and there are two different sets of dies available. My first set of dies were from CH4D and they overworked the brass that was fired in the Chappy`s chamber. I sold them and bought a set made by RCBS. The RCBS dies are a very close match to my rifles chamber and the amount they work the brass is normal as one would expect from a proper set of dies. The best part is the RCBS dies were 1/3 the cost of the CH dies. RCBS did not offer .50-95 dies when I bought this rifle.
My rifle is very accurate after doing the tinkering required,such as coming up with a proper mold and sizing die,working up the load etc.
Maybe I just got lucky but my rifle is jest fine.