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LEVER GUN ’LOPE
GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD GUN, GOOD GOATS!
Tank sighting-in the vintage 1886 at Bobby Tyler’s backyard range.
Watching the wide, heavy antlered buck antelope was amusing as he was keeping his harem of roughly a dozen in a tight pack. If one ventured too far, he’d make a wide circle, much like a border collie and herd her back within the group. He liked them packed tight and under his watchful eye. He wasn’t about to share them with anyone.
Bobby and I had spotted him two evenings ago while scouting. His cartoonish, abnormally wide heavy horns were a dead giveaway, making him easy to recognize. He was a perfect buck for me, as I relish nature’s freakish critters. They were roughly 600 yards away.
After studying them for 15 minutes, Bobby Tyler, head honcho of Tyler Gun Works said, “Well, we got about a 50/50 chance of getting him — if we try.” We were here to hunt, so that’s what we did. A plan was hatched and the stalk began. Bobby was driving his Polaris Ranger and I was riding shotgun. Jason Cloessner of Lipsey’s Inc., was in the backseat with son Evan, who scored a dandy buck a few hours earlier. It’s always nice having witnesses when things go right …
John Purcell’s Winchester Model 1886 next to a sack of ammo belonging
to Jeff Quinn. Tank felt their spirits were smiling as he used their gear!
The Gun
The rifle I was using was not your typical antelope gun by any means. It was a vintage 1905 Winchester 1886 .45-70 from the estate of John Purcell. John was a fellow member of The Shootists, as are Bobby and Jason. When John died last year, Bobby handled the gun end of his estate and planned on keeping the old rifle to honor him.
For some reason, Bobby wanted me to hunt the first day using John’s rifle. We sighted it in the day before using a sack full of commercially loaded ammunition Bobby obtained when handling Jeff Quinn’s estate. Jeff was also a fellow Shootist.
Jeff Quinn’s .45-70 ammo and Tank’s empties from the hunt, with a Kim Ralston knife in the background.
The Load
A card in the large ammo sack stated the load was a 405-grain soft point slug loaded over 55.5 grains of AA2320, sparked with a Winchester large rifle primer. Velocity was 1,978 FPS. Purcell had mounted a Williams peep sight on the rifle. Using his setting, the ammo was dead-on when testing it on Bobby’s 150-yard range. To say I felt confident with the load/rifle combination would be correct. Now if we could only get close enough on a nice ’lope.
From left to right, Jason, Tank and Bobby holding the .45-70 Model 1886 Winchester formerly owned by John Purcell. Who hunts speed goats with a buffalo gun? Tank, that’s who!
The Chase!
After studying the herd, Bobby decided to swing wide to get downwind for the final stalk. The wary prairie goats knew something was up and bolted! Bobby hit the gas as we streaked across the open prairie. Hanging on for dear life, I thought I was going to be ejected fighting the forces of the bucking UTV. I wasn’t worried so much about my welfare, but I was for the classic 1886 I was holding onto.
After a game of cat and mouse, the herd finally settled, thinking they have given us the slip. We were out of their sight, thanks to a series of large dirt mounds pushed up to prevent flooding from road runoff during heavy rainstorms. As we carefully crested the hill in a crawl, the sharp-eyed speed-goats spotted us again. We were only 65 yards away from them. The wide horned buck was in the lead and angling away on the run.
While thumbing the hammer back, I brought the rifle to my shoulder, finding the buck in the peep sight. I swung the front sight slightly ahead of him and pressed the trigger. After a few steps he stopped. The shot was farther back than I wanted, but as Elmer Keith would say, it “sickened him enough to not want to run.” A second shot exited his off-shoulder, dumping him instantly. I had my lever gun ’lope!
It was especially nice sharing the hunt, stalk and shots with Bobby, Jason and Evan. It was also nice to have used a rifle and ammo belonging to fellow Shootists. It keeps the spirit of the hunt and memories of those who’ve moved on, alive, making it special indeed. If this kind of hunt doesn’t stir the soul, nothing will.
The Deal
After the hunt, I knew I wanted the rifle, but I didn’t want to offend Bobby or put him in an awkward position. After mulling it over for a few days, we talked about it. “Bobby, would you ever consider selling John’s rifle?” “Only to you, Tank. The way I see it, I’ll be getting it back in 20–30 years and it will mean more to me then, knowing you used it during that time.”
We both laughed at the awkward, harsh, but honest statement. Yup, that’s about right and how the cycle of life — and guns — goes. I’ve got one story to tell about the old Winchester and hopefully some more will follow. The gun reminds me of ol’ John Purcell and a crazy antelope hunt with friends.
Who in their right mind hunts antelope with a 117-year-old iron-sighted Winchester .45-70? Not many, but it’s all part of the story …
I talk a lot about lethal force, and one concept comes up almost universally. I call this idea the leg shot syndrome. The leg shot syndrome is expressed by the statement “I wouldn’t aim to kill; I would shoot the robber in the leg.”
I believe I know where this thought comes from. It comes from the fact that everyone I give firearms classes to comprise the “good guys.” Good guys don’t go around killing, robbing, raping and hurting people. They believe that everyone has redeeming qualities. Good guys don’t want to kill people, they didn’t start the encounter, and if they had their way, the bad guy would just leave.
Now before I get tons of hate mail, let me say that I understand the reason people think this, and I wish everyone in the world felt that way. If there were no bad guys, there would be no crime. I could then put more energy into my primary job of preparing for natural disasters instead of diverting energy to preparing for criminal disasters. While understanding and admiring this idea, I want to emphasize that this is not a good way to apply this concept.
There are many reasons why this philosophy is not sound in the lethal force arena. Some of these reasons are legal, some tactical, and some, yes, are even moral. I will jump into what I hear as the most widely used reason why the leg shot syndrome should not be used, legal.
A handgun is a lethal weapon. Unlike a baseball bat, a butcher knife, or a policeman’s baton, there is no less lethal way to use a handgun against another human. The law does not distinguish the difference between shooting a person in the head, and shooting a person in the chest. If there is not legally defensible motive and the person dies it is still murder. A bullet cannot be recalled once it leaves the barrel, and the person who fired the bullet cannot decide what it does upon entering a person. There is a major artery in the human leg (the femoral artery), which if severed can kill a person as quickly as shooting them in the chest.
Tactically manipulating a firearm under lethal force pressure is extremely hard. Quite a few books and statistics from a vast amount historical data show that only about 1/3 of the rounds fired impact on the target. This doesn’t seem to be that bad, until you look at other statistics that show approximately 90% of gun fights happen under 7 yards and comprise less than 3 total shots. How realistic is it then that when most people can would be lucky to hit their attacker, you are going to hit one of the smaller areas, and an area that is most likely to be moving?
Tennessee (and every other state I have found that has a defined handgun training curriculum) specifies shooting center-mass with the intent to stop. This involves two concepts.
The first being center-mass, which means aiming your projectile to impact inside the largest target area (the chest), since this is the area you have the greatest ability to actually hit. Also, a hit in the chest area has the greatest probability of stopping your attacker.
Intent to stop means neither aiming to kill, or shooting to wound. Either of these are irrelevant; your legal self defense right is centered upon the attacker being able to kill you, and trying to kill you. If the mere presence of your legally owned firearm cause the attacker to stop, it has done its job. If one well placed round to center mass persuades the criminal to stop, that’s okay. However, if it takes 3.5 boxes of cartridges to stop a drug crazed, gangbanging, terrorist from killing you, then so be it.
This intent to stop is the first half of my moral argument. The other reason comes from plain street sense. I have spent a few years working in corrections. These years are split between entry level corrections, working on the recreation yards and cages listening to inmates talk about themselves and their crimes, to working as a supervisor in maximum security units and applying inmate psychological knowledge to help keep the prison running smoothly.
Criminals do what they do because it works for them. If a mugger or a rapist tries to talk you into leaving with him, it’s because it has worked for him before. Believe me, a violent criminal hasn’t decided to start being a violent criminal just because you are there; a criminal starts small and works up gradually, becoming more violent. If a criminal gets away with hurting you, he will do it to someone else.
I am not saying that vigilante justice is okay. I am not advocating deadly force as a punishment for a criminal, either. What I am saying is that you are a reasonable person, with an inalienable right to life and liberty, minding your own business, living a peaceful life. You have a right do what you need to do to be safe, to go home to your family. This criminal attacked you, tried to hurt you for no reason other than his personal gain. You’re not trying to kill him, only making him stop trying to kill you. That is not wrong, that is right. Your family needs you, make sure you do what needs to be done to be there for them.
Categories
BLACK POWDER HAND CANNON
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“The Gun” Show (1976) Pepper-box
Superbly engineered and redolent of a time near forgotten, the Winchester Model 1895 is one of America’s great rifles.
Winchester’s Model 1895 was John Browning’s last and strongest lever-action design. It was also Winchester’s first to incorporate a box-type magazine compatible with pointed bullets.
Introduced in 1895, it served in at least nine wars. Slightly more than 425,000 were made before the model was officially discontinued in 1936. A few more were made by special order until 1940.
Although chambered in 10 different cartridges, vintage Model ’95s are most commonly encountered in the United States in .30-40 Krag.
While rifle and carbine variations saw limited use by various American military branches, more than 66 percent of the Model 1895s manufactured were built under contract for the Russian military. These were chambered in 7.62-54R, fitted with stripper clip guides and bayonet lugs, and featured long musket-type fore-stocks.
While made in large quantities, Russian military Model 1895s are rare in this country. Another very rare variant is the flatside Model 1895, which comprises the first 5,000 made. Deluxe versions of the ’95 were made by special order, as well as takedown models and some fitted with octagon barrels.
Mechanicals
The Model 1895 is complex. I’ve heard that the Winchester employees who originally built them used special jigs. So leave working on them to qualified gunsmiths.
To load, open the lever. This runs the bolt rearward, exposing the top of the box magazine. Rimmed cartridges, such as the .30-40 Krag, must be loaded with each successive rim located in front of the rim of the cartridge below it.
Holding each cartridge perpendicular to the action, use the base to press down on the previously loaded cartridge, then rotate the nose forward and down, simultaneously sliding the base of the cartridge rearward beneath the feed lips.
Magazine capacity is five rounds. Before attempting to close the action, press the final cartridge down into the magazine until you hear or feel a slight click. You can then either close the lever and chamber a round or hold the top cartridge down and close the lever on an empty chamber.
The rearward reciprocation of the bolt cocks the hammer, so all that’s required to fire is to aim and squeeze the trigger.
Opening the lever causes the bolt to slide rearward. A sturdy hook-type extractor located slightly right of top center in the boltface draws the empty case with it. As the mouth of the empty clears the chamber, a robust plunger-type ejector flings it clear of the action. A fresh cartridge rises to the top of the magazine, ready to be chambered.
There’s a locking feature on the lever that holds it in the closed position, but unlike previous models of Winchester’s lever actions, the lock is automatic and does not need to be manually engaged. The lever loop comprises two separate parts, and opening it causes the lower, or outside, portion to unlock the lever latch.
As with all of Winchester’s exposed-hammer lever guns, the 1895’s hammer may be lowered to the halfcock “safety” position with a live round in the chamber. Recent-manufacture Winchester Model 1895s all have rebounding hammers and tang safeties.
Provenance
Manufactured in 1901, the Model 1895 saddle-ring carbine I used for this report was traded for sight-unseen by a buddy of mine. The previous owner claimed his grandfather had obtained it new or almost new but rarely used it.
But when my friend received the rifle, it showed obvious signs of rigorous use on the metal parts, plus misguided restoration efforts by inexperienced hands. The carbine had been reblued and assigned poorly fitted new stocks. Almost every screw was buggered. Three holes were drilled and tapped in the left side of the action for various receiver-type sights. The upper portion of the forearm was cobbled to a pair of retaining clips and the fastening screws or rivets covered with wood filler. Just in front of the ladder-type adjustable rear sight a screw hole in the barrel had been filled.
It appears that the main blade of the rear sight was filed to a gigantic U-shaped notch almost a quarter-inch wide. Later, it was rebuilt to robust height with well-applied but poorly finished brazing.
Thankfully, the action is sound and very smooth. With my buddy’s permission, I went to work to heal some of the scars, filing the blotchy brass of the rear sight blade to a crisp shape; cleaning up, polishing, and bluing the horribly buggered screw heads; and adjusting the fit of the stocks. Now the superficial blemishes are gone and the rifle is positively charming.
Rangetime
The .30-40 Krag ammo isn’t exactly hard to find, but it’s not easy, either. Obtaining several boxes of Hornady 180-grain InterLock loads as well as reloading dies from Hornady, I set to work testing.
First, I had to empty some brass to reload, which provided an excellent opportunity to function-test the rifle. It fired and ran cleanly except for one failure to extract. Accuracy was minute of rock, firing offhand at distant boulders.
Due to the very long throats of .30-40 Krag chambers, which were originally designed for heavy, long roundnose bullets, most .30-40s will shoot best with heavy bullets. It certainly proved true with this one. From the bench, Hornady 220-grain RN bullets and Barnes 200-grain TSX bullets grouped about 3.0 inches, impacting a couple inches above point of aim at 100 yards.
I kept the handloads conservative, charging 46.5 grains of Reloder 16 beneath the 220-grain RN and 44.0 grains of IMR 4350 beneath the 200-grain TSX.
The chamber’s size is generous, which is common in rifles of this vintage. To tighten up accuracy and provide crisp headspacing, I ran my .30-40 case necks over an 8mm expander ball and then adjusted the .30-40 sizing die to size them down until the cartridges are chambered comfortably but snugly.
Winchester Model 1895 Saddle Ring Carbine Specs
- Manufacturer: Winchester Repeating Arms
- Type: Lever-action repeater
- Caliber: .30-40 Krag
- Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds
- Barrel: 22 in.
- Overall Length: 40 in.
- Weight, Empty: 8.38 lbs.
- Stock: Walnut
- Length of Pull: 12.75 in.
- Finish: Blued barrel and action, oil-finished stock
- Sights: Ladder-type adjustable rear, brass bead front
- Trigger: 6.88-lb. pull (as tested)
- Safety: Halfcock notch