Uncle Ethan # 94321 Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Saw this on Chippa's web site. Chippa web site "Cowboy Hunter" model for their 1887 lever action Shotgun with a conversion kit that allows you to switch from a 5 shot magazine to The Fast Load System 2 shots, for Cowboy Action Shooting. I have not been about to find any info anywhere other than Chippa's web site. Does anyone have a gun like this or know anything about it? Any dealers selling it? Just wondering the cost and if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shoer 27979 Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 could't tell about that '87 with a conversion. I would like to know what their conversion kit is. my sons '87 has a drop 2 modification that allows him to drop 2 but he can also still load the magazine with no conversion kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboose Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 My 87 Chiappa came with that option. The right side of the carrier plate is shaped to stop the carrier from dropping to far when loading 2. They are not a drop 2, you have to push the shells down when loading. ( I believe you can order the standard carrier part from Lassiter's son to convert the gun to load 5 in the magazine ) My Chiappa 87 was Far Far away from running smooth when new from the factory. To make a Chiappa run smooth and be competitive you still need to have Lassiter wave his magic want over the gun. My headspace was to great too. He had to put a couple welds on the gun to close up the head space. Cost me $100 more for action work on the Chiappa than IAC 87 and the Chiappa already had the load 2 carrier. The Chiappa may look prettier than a IAC but they don't run any faster if Lassiter has worked on both of 'em. But the Chiappa does balance better than a 20" IAC because of heavier barrel of the Chiappa moves the center of gravity forward. I had my 20" IAC barrel extended to 26" for this reason. More weight forward, gun balances better. I would suggest you call Lassiter for straight talk about the Chiappa . ( Pronounced Key-op-pa) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slate mike sass#29204 Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Get one from Coyotge Cap. His mod lets you use the drop two and full mag at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckhorn Bud Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 This review should answer most of your questions. I've posted it before but here it is again. Chiappa 1887 Review **** My wife and I both shoot cowboy action so we wanted a second shotgun. Even though my coach gun works well enough and is quite reliable I thought that a repeating shotgun would be nice to have and better suited for home defense. I like to shoot Frontiersman, so the model ’97 wouldn’t work as a main match gun for me. I was intrigued by the lever action shotgun so I borrowed a Coyote Cap 1887 for a couple of matches to see if I liked it enough to buy one for myself. (We have some awesome people in this sport who are willing loan their guns out.) I asked around and received a lot of good advice from other shooters and did a lot of internet research looking for reviews on the 1887. I found a couple of reviews on the IAC, but nothing significant on the Chiappa. The only information that I could find was a couple of people said the quality of the Chiappa is worth the extra money over the IAC, and some said that it’s not. Since IAC isn’t importing shotguns anymore and Coyote Cap has been sold out since June 2011, I decided to bite the bullet and order a Chiappa Fast Load 1887. Since I had so much difficulty finding a review on the Chiappa ’87, after having about a month to work with mine, I decided to write a review of my own in hopes of saving someone else the trouble of not being able to find one. Upon opening the box I noticed that the bluing, case hardened coloring, and wood finish are beautiful. The action cycled okay but felt kind of clunky. I then tried loading some dummy rounds two at a time. Although the bottom cartridge fed and chamber perfectly, the top cartridge would catch on a shoulder formed by the end of the right side of the barrel and get hung up. The left side has a tapered screw to guide the cartridge into the chamber. The first issue that I looked at was the feeding problem since that could be a real show stopper. I assume that this issue is why the manual states that you should tilt the gun to the left while loading it. I personally think that this is an unsatisfactory work around to a fixable problem. I remedied this by building up a small ramp with epoxy that guides the shell into the chamber. Waxed paper over the epoxy allowed me to cycle the leaver and mold the epoxy to clear the moving parts, then remove the paper once the epoxy was set. Now it loads two at a time nicely. I may eventually replace the epoxy with solder, or something more permanent, but for now I’ll see how long the epoxy holds up. Later I addressed the clunky cycling. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the tip of the trigger would catch on the hammer sear making the hammer catch and fall as the leaver was closed. Since the bolt is angled away from the cartridge when the hammer falls it’s not a safety concern but it does cause excess drag slowing down the cycling and the feel is less than desirable. I read up on this problem on the Coyote Cap website. Apparently this is a common occurrence on the IAC and Coyote Cap describes how to bend the trigger to remedy this. I think bending the trigger took me about 30 seconds once I was able to interpret the description (pictures would be nice). Now the action cycles so nicely that I see no need for an action job. Some may want to lighten the hammer spring but I like a good solid hammer strike. At the range I fed my 1887 every type of shotgun ammo that I could find at the local Wal-mart. I used everything from the cheap Winchester shells that swell and cause trouble in my Stoeger, to Remington Field Loads, and Federal Universal loads plus some hand loaded shells including a couple of boxes of black powder shells. Everything I fed it cycled and fired flawlessly. I didn’t pattern the shot but it broke most of the clay pigeons I launched from my $30 trap thrower. (I’m sure the misses were from the idiot holding the gun rather than from the gun itself.) I’m not fast by any means, but after a week of dry-fire practice (a few minutes each evening) with the ’87, I felt that I could be faster with the ‘87 than with my side by side so I timed both of them shooting 8 rounds each, two at a time from the belt. It took 20 seconds for me to load, fire, and shuck all 8 rounds with the side by side. The same 8 rounds took only 15 seconds with the ’87. I repeated this comparison several times and the results came out to be within 1.5 seconds of the original test (disregarding the times I bobbled the shells). That’s a significant time savings. I should mention that the Coyote Cap “Drop Two” mod is patented so Chiappa uses a different design for their “Fast Load” system. With the Coyote Cap system you can over-ride the stop and stoke the magazine. The Chiappa requires swapping out the right cartridge guide assembly (which, unless you get the “Cowboy Hunter” model, has to be ordered separately) in order to load the magazine. It’s pretty easy to swap but not nearly as easy as the Coyote Cap system. Check out the video http://chiappafirear...duct/831/videos . In conclusion I really like the Chiappa 1887 shotgun. The fit and finish are beautiful. The issues I found were minor and easily repaired. For me it’s faster than the SxS. It didn’t need an action job. And the “cool factor” is off the charts. When comparing it against all the issues Coyote Cap mentions about the IAC plus the need for an action job, the Chiappa quality is worth the extra money. Plus with the Chiappa you’re money goes to our Italian NATO allies rather than communist China. I’d give the Chiappa 1887 4 stars out of 5. (If it hadn’t been for the two issues that I mentioned I’d give it 5.) Buckhorn Bud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckhorn Bud Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Get one from Coyotge Cap. His mod lets you use the drop two and full mag at the same time. ^_^/> I originally tried to get one from Coyote Cap. They kept telling me that they were currently out of stock but to send the money and they would send the shotgun when they arrive. It took quite a bit of prodding to find out how long it would take to get them in stock. Finally they told me that their best estimate was 8 months. I spoke with a friend who had a coyote cap model and he waited over a year and a half to get his. In my opinion that is totally unacceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ethan # 94321 Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 Buckhorn Bud Thanks for re-posting your review. This does answer my questions. I saw on Coyote Cap's site that they were replacing about half the parts in the I.A.C. guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Buckhorn Bud Thanks for re-posting your review. This does answer my questions. I saw on Coyote Cap's site that they were replacing about half the parts in the I.A.C. guns. CC has no '87s in house, as in he's out. He doesn't replace the parts, it's more he brings them into spec. If it wasn't for CC, we wouldn't have the '97 or '87. LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Flimshaw Sass# 73310 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 It's going to be hit or miss if you can find a new one considering IAC hasn't imported any in over a year now and has no plans to do so. Chiappa is the only source for new ones,(not counting CIA, which I don't)......Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ethan # 94321 Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 CC has no '87s in house, as in he's out. He doesn't replace the parts, it's more he brings them into spec. If it wasn't for CC, we wouldn't have the '97 or '87. LG Thanks for clarifying . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Hooker Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 As noted, IAC is no longer exporting the '87, but, when they were, the problem with CC's delivery times was apparently IAC's delivery time. Cap was at the (doubtful) mercy of IAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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