badgerbrown Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'm looking for information on this rifle, They compare it to a 1873 and a 66. However , The cowboys in my posse havent heard of it . Any help on the quality would be appreciated. 1866 Winchester King’s Improvement close Copy Chaparral Arms .357 Magnum 20 Inch Color Casehardened Walnut NIB 357 Mag .38 Special 38 Spl Transitional Style close to 1873 Model Navy Arms Competitor... I see that there are several of them for sale online for $ 659.00.. I'm new to Cas and I'm building my collection of arms. Thank you. Badger Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al OVERA, SASS#26238 Life Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'm looking for information on this rifle, They compare it to a 1873 and a 66. However , The cowboys in my posse havent heard of it . Any help on the quality would be appreciated. 1866 Winchester King’s Improvement close Copy Chaparral Arms .357 Magnum 20 Inch Color Casehardened Walnut NIB 357 Mag .38 Special 38 Spl Transitional Style close to 1873 Model Navy Arms Competitor... I see that there are several of them for sale online for $ 659.00.. I'm new to Cas and I'm building my collection of arms. Thank you. Badger Brown. The image they are showing on their web site is NOT a Kings improvement model. It is just a '73. The Kings improvement looked just kike a Henry rifle, except it had a loading gate and did not have the Henry mag follower that follows the cartridges down as you fire it. It had a filler piece in the slot. They also did not (in most cases) have a wood forepiece. Just get a Uberti '66 or '73 and be money ahead. MHO Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peddler Parsons SASS # 31281 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I have a 1865 Kings Port Henry in 45. It was the last year that Henry made the rifle before Winchester took over. It is a lot easyer to load with the gate on the right side, tho the gun is still heavey it is a great rifle and style point getter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Houston # 35508 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Stay away from Chaparral's !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Poke Joe Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Another vote against Chaperral! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Chaparral made some 66's with steel frames. Even their "brass" frame models are steel with brass plating. Most are junk. Unless you are handy with tools and are prepared to work on the gun if it doesn't work steer clear. They are no longer imported so if it doesn't work out of the box, it's your problem. You would be better off with a used Uberti than a new Chaparral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Another vote against Chaperral! I shoot with a guy that was really excited to buy a Chaparal because he was pretty handy with guns and he saved so much over a Uberti. He was even more excited when he got rid of it. Save yourself some money in the long run and buy a Uberti. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jake1001 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 It appears that the Chaparal Rifle is like Chief Dan Georges' piece of hard Rock Candy. It's for looking at, not shooting. Big Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monco Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 It appears that the Chaparal Rifle is like Chief Dan Georges' piece of hard Rock Candy. It's for looking at, not shooting. Big Jake Love that film! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Poke Joe Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I'm looking for information on this rifle, They compare it to a 1873 and a 66. However , The cowboys in my posse havent heard of it . Any help on the quality would be appreciated. 1866 Winchester King’s Improvement close Copy Chaparral Arms .357 Magnum 20 Inch Color Casehardened Walnut NIB 357 Mag .38 Special 38 Spl Transitional Style close to 1873 Model Navy Arms Competitor... I see that there are several of them for sale online for $ 659.00.. I'm new to Cas and I'm building my collection of arms. Thank you. Badger Brown. If you are in the position of most of us when we start (gun poor), you might consider a Rossi 1892. I still have the one I started with and it's still great (NOT FOR SALE). You can get a very nice used one for around $400 and get the 86-73 later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My Chaparral went back to the factory twice, and was even replaced with a brand new rifle which was just as big a POS as the original was. The second rifle was within my capabilities to get it working, but accuracy still leaves a lot to be desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Creek Stranger Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 My Chaparral went back to the factory twice, and was even replaced with a brand new rifle which was just as big a POS as the original was. The second rifle was within my capabilities to get it working, but accuracy still leaves a lot to be desired. I got mine cheap, had a nationally known cowboy smith fix a couple of things, then another install some Pioneer parts. It is great. At least it is now. It helps if you lube it (mobil one grease) on the inside. Also who ever short strokes it had better know what they are doing as it is still finicky. With 357s I seldom miss. With 38s, you can count ten misses for rifle. Longer 38s help, but they don't work like 357. I would, for simplicity, call and get one of the Uberti's models. Mine is from Pioneer and is top of the line first class. Cowboys and Indian store does a nice one too. Roughneck Rod can make one hum also. Jimmy Spurs does great on anything he works on. BTW, mine is beautiful wood. Many options and you can skip finicky. Looks like I had one of the good ones from reading this thread. I will say it beats a Henry any day for CAS. LCS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilo Willy Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Call me a fool but I have 3 Chappies. 1876, 1873 and iron frame 1866. The only problem I've had has been with the 66--the trigger spring was a bit too short--emailed Chaparral in Italy and they sent a replacement within 10 days (too lazy to make one). I've used the '73 as my main match rifle for the last 4 years--I replaced the lever springs with Slixsprings, an aluminum carrier and since mine was a carbine the rear sight with a tang sight. The rifle is very smooth and I haven't had any trouble with it--I've used it with both smokeless and Holy Black. A firm in Canada imports the chappies and I believe they have parts as well. On the other hand I worked as a gunsmith for 20+ years so if I ran into a problem I stood a good chance of fixin it. Yeah service could (would) be a problem--why not a Marlin? or a Rossi '92? The service and available gunsmiths may make them a better choice in the long run. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concho Billy Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Doesn't "King's Improvement" just refer to the loading gate and mag tube? Nelson King of Winchester.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Seen #16162 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 You Sir are correct. I am surprised that so many pards don't know the difference. The 1866 was called the "Improved Henry" due to the addition of the Kings Patent Loading Gate. Uberti has been building the Henry and Improved Henry models for a long time and have figured out how to do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al OVERA, SASS#26238 Life Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 You Sir are correct. I am surprised that so many pards don't know the difference. The 1866 was called the "Improved Henry" due to the addition of the Kings Patent Loading Gate. Uberti has been building the Henry and Improved Henry models for a long time and have figured out how to do it right. SS Actually, the rifle in question is referred to as the "transistional" model. This rifle(and if you will check your reference books) will show a traditional looking Henry with a loading gate on the right side and a filler piece under the magazine, with no wooden forepiece as yet. There were very few of these made, one can be seen in the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco, Tx. Later they used the Kings improvement" (loading gate) making the new Winchester model 1866 as we know it today. There is a little bandying about with words and phrases here, confusing the issue. Still, stay with the Uberti in any style you should choose. Merry Christmas to all. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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