BPCR Firearms
Updated 3/25/19
There's good shooting and there's great shooting. Good shooting is pulling the trigger and feeling the recoil of a good rifle against your shoulder. Great shooting is actually hitting what you aimed at.
Any firearms I have for sale, usually Browning or Winchester 1885 High Wall BPCRs with Badger barrels, can be found on GunBroker under the "handle" of Itchingtodeal. Since the rifles are becoming increasingly hard to find in good condition at a price that allows for a reasonable resale profit margin I rarely have one for sale these days.
If you are a serious buyer I suggest you 1st read the following short article in the Articles section of this website titled Purchasing a Used Browning or Winchester 1885 High Wall BPCR. You should also consider purchasing my 418 page book on the rifles. Although it does not discuss the many “owner created” problems noted in the article above, it provides a complete history of the Browning BPCR including design and manufacturing issues. A large section of the book not only covers the step-by-step internal operation of the action, the complete disassembly and reassembly process is detailed. In addition, there are large sections on repairs, improvements, shooting & cleaning, and reloading. More book details and ordering information are available on this site at Browning BPCR Book and on Amazon.
Some background on the Miroku/Winchester/Davidson's BPCRs
Although Browning had BPCRs in inventory until 2001 the rifles were only manufactured by Miroku from 1996 through 1998. The Winchester branded versions were produced by Miroku in limited quantities from 2005 through 2010. In 2004/2005 Winchester and Davidson’s (well-known wholesale firearms distributor located in Prescott, Arizona) worked out a deal whereby three versions of the Model 1885 rifles were to be manufactured by Miroku and exclusively distributed by Davidson’s as Winchester Limited Series BPC Rifles. The plan was to manufacture 126 rifles the 1st year and 125 rifles in subsequent years if the rifles sold well.
In 2005 Miroku manufactured 126 Limited Series Creedmoor BPC rifles in caliber .45-90 with 34” Badger barrels and AMT sights for Davidson’s. With two minor exceptions, they are an exact copy of the original Browning Creedmoor BPC rifles with 34” heavy ½ octagon ½ round Badger barrels. The two exceptions are Winchester’s name on the barrel and no name is roll stamped into the top of the rear sight base. The original Browning BPCRs had “BROWNING” roll stamped into the base. The front sight on these rifles is adjustable for windage, as it is on the original Browning Creedmoor rifles. In 2006 a 2nd batch of 125 identical Limited Series Creedmoor BPC rifles in caliber .45-90 with 34” Badger barrels and AMT sights were made for Davidson’s.
In 2007 126 Limited Series BPC rifles in caliber .45-90 with 30” barrels and 126 Limited Series BPC rifles in caliber .50-90 Sharps with 30” barrels were manufactured by Miroku and distributed by Davidson’s. None of the 2007 rifles came with sights. Winchester has no plans at this time to manufacture additional Limited Series BPC rifles in .45-90 or .50-90.
At the annual 2009 Shot Show, orders were accepted for 125 .45-70 BPC rifles, which are almost identical to the original Browning .45-70 BPCRs with 30” ½ octagon ½ round heavy Badger barrels. The only differences are the rifles came with a gloss blued barrel and no sights whereas the original Browning rifles had a matte blued barrel and were equipped with sights. The rifles were shipped to several distributors for sale to dealers.
At the 2010 Shot Show, Winchester announced plans and accepted orders for 125 .45-70 BPC rifles featuring matte blued barrels and the same AMT sights supplied with the Winchester Creedmoor rifles. Due to some delays in importing the rifles from Miroku, they were not available to USA distributors and dealers until mid 2011. If it’s not clear by now, I should note that all the rifles discussed above were manufactured by Miroku and featured Badger barrels.
Browning BPCRs
It's rare these days to come across an unfired Browning BPCR since the factory sold all the remaining inventory in early 2001, so most of the Browning's I have for sale will be clearly described as used and completely checked out. With that said, the vast majority of the Browning's I receive are in like new condition. But if there is any question as to the condition of the rifle it is completely disassembled and cleaned and any worn or broken parts are replaced. There may be some minor cosmetic blemishes, which will be noted in the listing, but you can be assured that a Browning BPCR purchased from me will be in the condition stated.
Shooting smokeless ammo in your Browning or Winchester BPCR
A question I’m asked a lot is, “Can I shoot smokeless ammunition in the Browning or Winchester BPCRs”? I addressed this issue in more detail in my book but thought I’d also provide a response here to “head off” additional questions. Due to liability concerns, I’m not going to make a recommendation on using smokeless in your BPCR, but I will provide some details to help you make an educated decision.
All the Browning and Winchester BPCRs with Badger barrels are identical concerning the source and the material used. All the barrels are made from high quality SAE 4150 chromemoly steel. The Browning .45-70 rifle barrels are marked RECOMMENDED FOR BLACK POWDER. The .40-65, .45-90 and .50-90 rifle barrels are marked …BLACK POWDER ONLY. Browning’s Owner’s Manual clearly states that the .45-70 can also accept the pressures of commercially loaded smokeless ammunition with jacketed bullets. Therefore it’s clearly OK to shoot smokeless ammo in the .45-70 BPCR. Of course the ammunition must meet SAAMI specifications. But the same factory recommendation does not apply to the Browning .40-65, Browning or Winchester .45-90 or Winchester .50-90 rifles.
Browning proof-tested the Badger barrels prior to selecting the final barrel supplier. During the test, pressures were increase to a level sufficient to liquefy the brass and drive it into the extractor slot. The brass was cleaned out and the testing continued without barrel failure. Based on the test results, “calculated” failure pressures were well above any range expected to be reached with commercial smokeless ammo.
So why can’t smokeless ammo be used in the .40-65, .45-90 or .50-90 rifles? The barrels are quite thick and heavy, with lots of high quality steel surrounding the chamber and bore. With the exception of freebore and a slightly longer chamber, the .45-90 bore is identical to the .45-70. The chamber and bore dimensions of the .40-65 are smaller than the .45-70, resulting in additional barrel material surrounding the chamber and bore. The answer is because Browning and Winchester are SAAMI members, and SAAMI does not specify chamber dimensions and ammunition standards for the .40-65, .45-90 or .50-90 cartridges. Consequently, due to liability concerns, Browning and Winchester made it clear the .40-65, .45-90 and .50-90 rifles were designed for BLACK POWDER ONLY by clearly stamping the barrels accordingly. It’s certainly your call, but personally I would have no concerns about shooting commercially loaded smokeless ammo in one of my Browning or Winchester Badger barreled BPCRs.
Wishing you great shooting,
Wayne