Winchester Model 1887

About the Winchester Model 1887

The Winchester Model 1887 is a lever-action shotgun designed by John Moses Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1887 to 1901. Conceived to extend Winchester's lever-action fame to the shotgun market, it chambers 12 and 10 gauge shells fed from a tubular magazine and cycled by a falling rolling-breech action operated by the lever. Though Browning himself recommended a pump-action design, Winchester insisted on a lever gun for brand consistency.

John Browning thought a pump-action shotgun was the better design and said so, but Winchester wanted a lever-action to match the rest of its lineup, so Browning gave them one anyway, creating the first truly successful repeating shotgun.

Winchester Model 1887 specifications

Superseded by the stronger Model 1901 in 10 gauge, intended for smokeless powder. The 1887 is built for black-powder shells and originally chambered in 12 and 10 gauge.