Taylor co 1887 t model lever action

[Yangstad]

Hey folks,

I was wondering if anyone out there had and knowledge about the chiappa 1887 model t lever action shotgun. I have seen the reviews and they are mixed. Some say the gun has significant problems with feeding and cycling. Others say the gun works great. Also, are the gun arts milled? Forged? Cast? What is the company like with gun repairs. The gun is sweet but I'm not dumping a 1000.00 bucks on a crap shotgun.

Des anyone know? The reviews were over a year old but still new in terms of a firearm and how it is functioning. I doubt that if the gun was crap through and through chiappa would have changed it.

Please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[owlhoot]

When the 1887 replica was introduced seven or eight years ago, I and several shooting buddies each bought one or two. The guns were quite inexpensive at that time. I think I paid $300 for mine. These guns were made in China. I used mine hard for five years or so shooting mostly black powder in SASS competition. I had a friend slick up the gun a little, a pretty simple process, and I never had a minute's trouble out of it. It is a very simple and ingenious design. If you are buying an 87 for SASS matches, It will need a few minor modifications. Properly set up it is an extremely fast gun for those who get their technique down. If you want the gun for home defense and casual shooting, it is good to go out of the box.

Now I don't know if the Chiappa 87 is the same Chinese gun or not. If so, I am amazed that the price has increased better than three fold. I would check to see if somebody isn't still importing the Chinese gun. I see used 87's for sale from time to time at the cowboy matches and they are at very reasonable prices. Many people bought them and didn't want to put in the time required to master them. When I ordered mine I bought two. I sold my unfired gun a year ago for what I had paid for it, $300. Go to a SASS club in your area and ask around. Somebody will have one for sale. f you want to use the 87 in competition, PM me and I'll put you on to the best 87 magician in the country and his rates are very reasonable.

Check the GunBroker website. $1000 is too much to pay for an 87.

I've done business with Taylor's several times in the distant past. I've always found them to be good people. I've never had to send a gun back to them, but the guy who did their warranty work back then had a sterling reputation. Don't know if he is still there or not.

Hope this helps.

 

[CaptainChaos]

Now I don't know if the Chiappa 87 is the same Chinese gun or not.

Nope.

As I understand it, the Chinese gun is a scaled-down version of the 10g Winchester whereas the Italian gun is a 10g reciever with a 12g barrel. That's what I *read*, anyway.

I've been using an Ithaca M37 and a Chiappa 1887 for PSG since 2010. So far, I've managed to break the M37 a couple of times (re-read my username...) but have had only one minor problem with the 1887.

While mine is not a "T" version, the following may be useful.

A review I wrote a little while back:

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/233403-review-of-the-chiappa-1887-lever-action-shotgun/

I have a handful of videos on YouTube, a couple of which show the Chiappa in action:

http://m.youtube.com/user/MisterMcHaos/videos

In particular:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym5svemcFLc

One of our (PSG) members has been continually impressed by my Chiappa's reliability - he also shoots CAS as says that he hasn't, yet, seen a reliable Norinco 1887.

I *do* have the odd problem with the Chiappa and that's with the occassional hard extraction. However, I also get that with the Ithaca so it may be down to the ammo that we use this side of The Pond.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mark.