Chiappa Model 1887 Lever Action Shotgun 12 Gauge 5 Shot

The 1887 Winchester is the only example of a lever action smoothbore shotgun, which has been a precious prize for collectors.

The Winchester factory produced about 65.000 pieces between 1887 and 1901.

There is an interesting story about this shotgun. At the beginning of the 1880’s the Winchester Repeating Arms Company asked Mr John Moses Browning to design a shotgun for them, which could shoot 12 gauge cartridges but which would look like a typical Winchester rifle. Browning took the job and the result was outstanding: the unique look of the 1887 Lever Action shotgun.

After J.M. Browning sold the patent for this shotgun to Winchester, he decided to go on a two-year mission across the US as a member of the Mormon Church. About two months after the beginning of his mission, he and his fellow traveller arrived into a village in

Georgia and saw the brand new 1887 shotgun shown in a shop window. They went in and John asked the gunsmith if he could take a look at the shotgun. Once he had the shotgun in his hands, he handled it with such dexterity that the gunsmith was surprised, and asked

Mr. Browning how a man like him could know Winchester’s new shotgun so well, considering that no one had ever seen one before.

Browning’s friend promptly replied that the man in front of the gunsmith was the designer of the shotgun. The gunsmith hastily took the shotgun off John’s hands and chased away the two. He evidently did not trust the two strange Mormon evangelists. Nevertheless, speed and loading ease, coupled with the large capacity of the loading tube were the points of strength of this weapon in those years.

It was used by the agents of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency to defend stagecoaches and, a few years later, by Bonnie & Clyde- for far different purposes – in a short barrel version.

Along the years this shotgun has lost nothing of its charm and it is still used in famous films such as Terminator 2 and Ghost Rider.

The new Chiappa Model 1887 reflects a piece of American History that is within everybody’s reach.

Please note; This shotgun is classed as a section 1 firearm and will require a slot for an FAC shotgun on your license.