What can you tell me about the M 88 Winchesters?

I was always interested in them and finally picked up one in 308.

How does yours shoot? If you tweaked it for accuracy what did you do. Hints and ideas wanted.

Like the model 100's, some of the 88's tend to break firing pins. If yours is still shooting OK, and it has been shot a fair amount, it has probably either been fixed or won't have problems. Otherwise, they are better than avg. accuracy for a lever gun.

And there are ALL kinds of parts inside that thing. I watched a friend take one apart and holy smokes, there's alot in there.

He has several (.308, 284, and I'm not sure the other one) and likes them alot.

The .308 was about the most common round for that rifle. They were very well built guns. I've never heard of any firing pin troubles with the 88. The only weak link I ever heard of is the trigger, it's a little heavy and there isn't a lot you can do about it. Also the weight, it was sold as a light weight rifle, it's not. Damn fine rifle though. The model88 was the 1st deer rifle I ever owned and one of the only ones I ever regret selling. Mine would do about 1 1/2"-2" @ 100yds with factory ammo.

Terry

I am just learning about this rifle. I have shot it twice with handloads and it grouped about 1.5" at 100 yds for three shots.

I am off to a slow start on it as after two range sessions I took off the pad and found the stock bolt loose. That and the scope that came with it has parallax.

This is all just a first down for me. That's why I bought it.

With the stock bolt tight and a rubber shim under the barrel along with the barrel screw snugged up it shot three into 1.25" at 100 yds. Conditions were not that great what with a cold heavy wind.

I am waiting for an 88 expert to step up but so far this rifle is a slight disapointment. Not the accuracy mind you as that will come along but it's operation.

I have Savage 99F's for comparison and they weigh at least a half pound less, are better balanced, have much crisper triggers (the trigger on this 88 is like a pump shotgun) and more.

The 88 is push feed and the 99 is crf. The 88 has a magazine that is hard to remove with gloves on but my main complaint, and I defer to experts, is that the lever is harder to operate than a 99. The 88's lever is ok after the shot and the initial movement but then one must cock the firing pin and eject the shell at the end of the lever stroke where one does not have as much force. Closing the 88's lever is not bad at all.

All in all this rifle weights 8.5 lbs with a scope. I don't think that I am going to ever really use it for hunting. I just got it to see what happens anyway.

Savage, I'm far from an expert on anything. But, mine cycled very smooth and seemed that way from the start of the stroke till the end. Judging from your handle, I don't think the M88 ever stood a chance in a heads up comparison with the 99 .

Terry

There's an article in the latest issue of Guns and Ammo on the 88. Basic info, but might be worth a look.

I have one that was made in '58. haven't really played with it too much. I got it a couple years ago for $300 it also had a old redfield 4x in tip off mounts. I couldn't pass it up for that kind of money.

I finally last fall got a trigger job done on it. the difference was amazing to say the least. I took it out the first time with the horrible trigger and was shooting about 2" with factory loads. A couple months ago I finally got around to shooting it now with trigger job, tried some 150grn winchester btips shot one 4 shot group .75 with 3 in one ragged hole, next group .75 for 3 shots. I am pretty happy with mine to say the least. I still will use it for a backup hunting rifle though.

I've had them in both rifle and carbine configuration. The carbine in particular was a very handy little gun.

Last one I had was a first-year-of-production rifle which was originally in .308 - the owner previous to me had it rechambered for the .30/.284 and it was a REAL shooter. Would easily crank out 3/4" 5-shot groups at 100 yards with 180 gr. RN bullets and quite a few 1/2"ers. I bought it, complete with dies and ammo at Salem, Oregon gun show for $200.

Alberta Canuck

Savage, I purchased an 88 in .243 back in 1958 .. it shot like a trooper with about 1" grouops consistantly .. back in those days I was trading stuff alot and got rid of it for a mod 70 to see if I could get better groups.. to make a long story short, the 70 didn't do any better than the 88, I really liked the 88 so I ended up getting another one, which I still have to this day .. it shoots better than I can hold it .. but it has 2 drawbacks .. first is the trigger pull (like TC1 stated) .. it's heavy, and there is no easy way to adjust it .. the second thing is the clearence between the back of the trigger and the trigger guard .. I was hunting in Maine with a friend who was sporting a .308 mod 88 when a nice buck walked up to him .. he couldn't pull the trigger because moisture had built up ice behind the trigger and caused it to be imobile .. bad news .. anyway , other than that, I have placed a shim under the barrell in front of the forward screw to float the barrell from that point on .. great gun, I don't really know why Winchester dropped it... operates very smooth, shoots great, and is easy to reload for .. mb

Cummins, it would be good to know what is the trigger like now, and where you got the job done. Gunsmiths who can fix an 88 trigger are very scarce.

The trigger after the trigger job is what I would call a shootable trigger, It would prolly even get better with some practice with it. I would imagine it is about 4-4.5#'s now compared to 6-7#'s before. I don't care who you where there was no way to make the gun shoot worth a hoot the way the trigger was before.

I had aleko over at heritage arms take it to get done. If you want yours done you might check with him, he is a poster here

quote:

Originally posted by MarkP:

I don't really know why Winchester dropped it...

I understand that the Model 88, and its companion autoloader the Model 100, were quite expensive to manufacture.

I've had at least a dozen 88's and the same with 100's I'm no expert, but I hate to here people whine so much about the triggers. Buy a trigger shoe, if they are still avalable.
One guy did the right thing in accurazing his. Put a pad of glass 2' before and after the foreend screw., Just set the action in, do not tighten screws ! make sure the breack block is completely in line with the action and no gaps, at all. (If you have gaps you have more work to do.) after the pads have tdried, tighten the foreend screw, then loosing it while holding the bbl. ,if you don't feel any movement upward, then you are ok. You do not want the bbl touching anywhere in the bbl channel escept on those pads. Make sure the action doesnt twist in the stock, look where it joines the reciever block, sometimes a lot of space there on each side ,glass it or shim it. THE recoil bloxk should be a perfect mate to the rifle reciever. If not you hay have to glass the reciever block. Almost any 88 asnd me made to shoot 1" OR 1 1/4 iF the action is stiff blow it out with some rusty duck then lightly lub. if it's not smooth enough put in some polishing compound and work the heck out of the bolt for awhile(toothpaste even works) then clean and reoil or use powdered graffite.
I have even just taken out the stock bolt and foreend screw then glass the entire rifle at one time DonT tighten a single screw untill after the glass sets up. You can do the same thing to a degree with the model 100's. Just glass the front stock stud and breach block then sand away the last bit of the foreend in front of the lug so it is free floated nothing touching but the front lug. Generally the 88's are much more accurate than the 100's. If you got a 100 you don't like let me know if the price is right.
The triggers feel better with a shoe(doesn't light them) but you can control them better.
The 88 is the strongest lever ever made and you can put ANY handload you want in one. Might even suprise your self in the accuracy dept.
I have done all these things at the suggestion of my old friend the Late John Wooters.
Then you could get lucky like I did a few months ago and buy a new one(1956) in a box from the lady next door. When I sold them in the early 60"s they were 129.95 at Central Hardware in St. Louis. Oh for the good old days !

I really liked the Model 88 I had, shot my first deer with one. Never had any work done on it, and it shot very well IF I let the barrel cool between shots. Otherwise it was two in one hole at 100, then it began to wander as the barrel warmed. I never had a critter stand still for a group, so it didn't matter. Then came the burgler...

Thanks Carl and Dan and all others.

This is a nice rifle and I need to calm down and enjoy it for a while. Then I think I will sell it to my good buddy in SC who is left handed. He has sold me a couple of guns over the years and they have been special.

I will make the price right so that he can't refuse. First I need to find out what LOP he likes as the pad it has is shot.

The one thing nice about an 88 is the safety is easily switched to make it left handed. I have two and enjoy hunting with both.