Pedersoli's 1886 Sporting Classic

Pedersoli recently introduced another version of the old Winchester Model 1886, which they are calling the Model 1886 Sporting Classic.

- Mike Nesbitt

This new version represents the Winchester ’86 in its standard format, with no extra options, as it was when the original rifles first hit the market. The idea of no extra or added options really appeals to me because a rifle like this is probably what I would have bought if I had been a hunter back in those times. Even though Pedersoli has brought back the Model 1886 in its most standard version, this is still a copy of a rather rare rifle.

Of course, any vintage Winchester Model 1886 can be considered uncommon, if not quite rare. Over the almost 50 years of production, just under 160,000 Model 1886s were made. I’m not counting the Model 71 because, even though those rifles were fantastic, they’re not really ’86s. Out of the total 160,000 rifles, roughly only 32,000 were made with the round barrels. Even though the round barrels were standard, they were not as popular as the octagon barrels.

Those production numbers seem even less when the total output of Model 1886s is compared to the Model 1873 or the 1892. The number of ’86s is very small when compared to the total number of Model 1894s that are still being made, having been in production for 125 years.