Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
KirkD
Desktop Artiste
Posts: 4406
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:52 am
Location: Central Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by KirkD »

Today I made a quick trip over to the range just down the road to try old and very obsolete caliber in a 139 year-old carbine with a rich history in western Canada in the 1880's and 90's with the Northwest Mounted Police

Vintage Firearm: An original Winchester Model 1876 saddle ring carbine .45-75 issued to the Northwest Mounted Police in 1882. Photo of it at the range is below.
NWMP Carbine.jpg
Load: 28 grains of 5744 under a soft cast 350-grain bullet for 1,335 fps

I'm 67 years old and the open iron sights on this carbine are dadgummed hard to see. They're pretty blurry actually, so I tore off a small piece of masking tape, punched a small hole in it with the tip of a ballpoint pen, stuck it to the lens of my glasses, and I had a peep sight that really sharpened up the sights. Still, the rear sight notch is pretty tiny and shallow when looking at it from back of the receiver, so I'm sure the gun shoots more accurately than what today's results show. Blame it on old eyes and open iron sights. Here's a photo of the rear sight.
Rear sight.jpg
First, I tried two shots at 50 yards to see how high this carbine shoots. Turns out it shoots about 5 & 1/2" high at 50 yards. Having figured that out, I tried three rounds into a target, aiming about 6" low. The result was a 3-shot, 1 & 7/8" group at 50 yards. Not exactly Olympic caliber, but good enough to make me think I should try my last 5 shots at 100 yards. Here is the 50 yard target with an original .45-75 round to get some perspective.
50 Yard Target B.jpg
I put up a larger target at 100 yards and figuring I'd still better aim low, I fired my last five rounds. One of the first ones was a bit of a flyer to the low and slightly left. It is very hard to see exactly where the top of the rear sight is, so it is going to take a bit of practice before I'm consistent with this old carbine. Not counting the flyer, I got a 4-shot group at 100 yards of 2 & 7/8". I'll have to shoot this more if I'm going to be able to shoot well with this. It still shoots about 6" high at 100 yards. I think it must be sighted in for about 175 yards at its lowest setting. I'd like to try it at 200 yards. Here's a photo of the 100 yard target ...
100 yard target.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by KirkD on Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
M. M. Wright
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4296
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:57 pm
Location: Vinita, I.T.

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by M. M. Wright »

Really enjoyed your report KirkD. I enjoy making the old ones shoot again and that one has a history! Do you know who/unit it was issued to? I'd have to try it with black too. Just to see how good that was.
M. M. Wright, Sheriff, Green county Arkansas (1860)
Currently living my eternal life.
NRA Life
SASS
ITSASS
User avatar
KirkD
Desktop Artiste
Posts: 4406
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:52 am
Location: Central Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by KirkD »

M. M. Wright wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:02 pm Do you know who/unit it was issued to? I'd have to try it with black too. Just to see how good that was.
The NWMP archives show that this serial number was "on charge" to C Division at Fort Battleford in 1894 and in another inventory done in 1897. Don Klancher, a retired Inspector with the RCMP and who has access to the archives, told me that a particular officer would be issued a particular carbine and he would be responsible for its care, with regular inspections to ensure that was done. This is important info, because C Division moved from Fort MacLeod to Fort Battleford in 1886, so it is likely that it was a C Division carbine and it would have spent from 1882 to 1886 at Fort MacLeod (near the infamous Fort Whoop up in the southwestern corner of what is Alberta today), and then carried by the officer of C Division who it was issued to, when they moved to Fort Battleford in 1886 - about a 370 mile ride on horseback.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
Walker
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 649
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:25 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by Walker »

Absolutely the best part of my day Sir, thank you! Your group is better than my last scoped one!
User avatar
Carlsen Highway
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 487
Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 8:23 am
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by Carlsen Highway »

Wonderful post.
A person who carries a cat home by the tail, will receive information that will always be useful to them.
Mark Twain
User avatar
Pitchy
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 13136
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:15 am
Location: Minnesooooota

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by Pitchy »

Cool beans Kirk thanks for sharing. 8) :)
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
M. M. Wright
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4296
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:57 pm
Location: Vinita, I.T.

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by M. M. Wright »

Wow Kirk, that's provenance. If I had a Colt SAA I could document like that, (they do exist) I'd double the price on it. "If only it could talk" sorta comes true with this old '76.
M. M. Wright, Sheriff, Green county Arkansas (1860)
Currently living my eternal life.
NRA Life
SASS
ITSASS
User avatar
earlmck
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3423
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:10 am
Location: pert-neer middle of Oregon

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by earlmck »

What a great old rifle, and a fine report on it. Thanks Kirk!

That would be a great candidate to join in with our "big levergun" shoot we do here in Central Oregon. We stretch 'em on out to 500 yards, but we have nice large targets.
The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies.
Patrick Henry
ywaltzucanrknrl
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 196
Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:58 pm

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by ywaltzucanrknrl »

Very nice! I would say that it and you certainly shoot well enough to harvest a deer with it. That was a great report.

If you are nearsighted (need reading glasses), a 0.5 or maybe even a 1.0 pair of readers will really sharpen up the sights-----the down side is the target will be more blurry, but I can shoot much better with some iron sighted rifles doing this.
JOG
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 600
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:04 pm
Location: southern Maine

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by JOG »

This post reminds me of why I'm on this forum!
Glad to hear your 76 shoot's adequately for it's age!
Will you hunt with this old dog, or is it just for target fun?
Johnny
User avatar
KirkD
Desktop Artiste
Posts: 4406
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 6:52 am
Location: Central Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by KirkD »

JOG wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:22 pm Will you hunt with this old dog, or is it just for target fun?
Johnny
I'm not sure if I will hunt with it or not. These NWMP original carbines are very hard to find and horrendously expensive to acquire (this one cost me my four finest vintage Winchesters plus cash). So I might just hunt with my two remaining vintage Winchesters, a nice 38-55 made in 1904 and an old 44-40 Model 92 saddle ring carbine made in 1913.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester.
Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
BigSky56
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2356
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:49 pm
Location: NW Montana

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by BigSky56 »

Kirk, good write up, the old rifle can still sling lead and 5744 is a good powder I use it in 30-30 and 45 colt for cast lead bullets. danny
User avatar
Sarge
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 864
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:54 am
Location: MO

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by Sarge »

Fantastic old Winchester and a great range report.
People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.
User avatar
gamekeeper
Spambot Zapper
Posts: 17322
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: Over the pond unfortunately.

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by gamekeeper »

Great post Kirk, target shooting and history of a fine old and scarce Winchester.... 8)
If more men loved and cherished their wives as much as I love bacon the world would be a much better place.
User avatar
horsesoldier03
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2058
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:32 pm
Location: Kansas

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by horsesoldier03 »

Very nice. Who would not love to have a gun with that much history!
“Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”
User avatar
Ysabel Kid
Moderator
Posts: 27790
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:10 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Thanks for posting this Kirk. I really need to get out to shoot!!!
Image
yooper2
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 845
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:07 pm
Location: Midcoast Maine

Re: Range Report - Original .45-75 Winchester 1876 SRC

Post by yooper2 »

Great report on an awesome carbine! I saw a NWMP carbine at a gunshop in Traverse City as a kid, between the firearm design and sheer size I thought it was about the neatest thing going. Same shop had an original Walker Colt from the same collection.



Eric
Post Reply