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Pros and Cons of 1887 Cimarron with and with out drop 2


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Good Evening folks 

 

Looking for advice on the purchase and possible modification of a Cimarron 1887 20" SG 

 

and ... should I get a drop 2 kit mod done and if so by whom ?

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Briscoe 

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I don't have a Cimarron, but I am told from good sources that they are quite good, second in quality to that of a Chiappa.  Shooting a '87 well in this game is a commitment on-to itself, if you want to be good, you need reliable equipment, a drop 2 Mod done, and practice, practice, and when you thing you have it down practice more.   As to who it do the work on any '87 you would get, Lassiter hands down, there are others that will do the work, but none better, or more reliably, and to boot He is the only one that actively competes and wins on a national level with '87s and truly understands all the inner workings of the firearm.  You are never disappointed when you buy the best.

 

Are you participating at Fire in the Hills, at WOWS in a couple weeks?  We are planning on attending this again this year and happy to visit face to face.

 

F.S.

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If you want to shoot one in SASS matches you'll need the Drop 2 mod.  Two smiths that I am aware of that are still modifying 1887's are Lassiter and Slater.  Both do excellent work and both are 1887 shooters.

 

There used to be a few others that did the mod but I believe they have all retired.

 

Be aware that having the drop 2 mod done to an 87 effectively means that you can no longer stoke the magazine.

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8 hours ago, Briscoe Darling # 69296 said:

Good Evening folks 

 

Looking for advice on the purchase and possible modification of a Cimarron 1887 20" SG 

 

and ... should I get a drop 2 kit mod done and if so by whom ?

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Briscoe 

 

The 1887 is a nice shotgun and you can use it as is without the two drop mode (you won't be as competitive).  You can always load it one at a time, just rack the lever, throw 1 round on top, close, fire, repeat (Similar to what people do with the 1897's). Or you can load one on the follower, push down, throw one in the barrel.

 

If you ever want to use it in Wild Bunch, the two drop mod will not allow you to load the magazine tube.

 

Also when I got my 1887 a couple of months ago, both individuals who do the mod are swamped with work and will take months before they can get to it. (keep that in mind too)

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49 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

If you want to shoot one in SASS matches you'll need the Drop 2 mod.  Two smiths that I am aware of that are still modifying 1887's are Lassiter and Slater.  Both do excellent work and both are 1887 shooters.

 

There used to be a few others that did the mod but I believe they have all retired.

 

Be aware that having the drop 2 mod done to an 87 effectively means that you can no longer stoke the magazine.

Coyote Cap's load two modification, allowed you to stoke the magazine. 

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20 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Coyote Cap's load two modification, allowed you to stoke the magazine. 


No one does that mod any more. 

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I purchased a Cimarron 1887 earlier this yeah.  It's a little rough internally, but a sold functional gun right out of the box.  I have not taken it to a SASS match yet but I personally intend to shoot it as is next time I get to go.  I have an original and unmodified Winchester 1887 that I have been shooting at SASS matches for a while.  It doesn't have a drop two, but I drop a shell on the carrier and start a second into the chamber and shoot it reasonably fast. 

 

If you have any plans to shoot Wild Bunch I would not get your 87 modified with a drop two. 

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2 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:


No one does that mod any more. 

I had a IAC 87 that was modified by the guy that took over for Coyote Cap.  No idea if he is still working on 87s.

Edited by July Smith
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I recently purchased a Cimarron and had it sent to Slater. He told me he'd get to it as soon as possible, but that he had several just ahead of mine. I've really appreciated his prompt telephone and email communications.

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1 hour ago, July Smith said:

I purchased a Cimarron 1887 earlier this yeah.  It's a little rough internally, but a sold functional gun right out of the box.  I have not taken it to a SASS match yet but I personally intend to shoot it as is next time I get to go.  I have an original and unmodified Winchester 1887 that I have been shooting at SASS matches for a while.  It doesn't have a drop two, but I drop a shell on the carrier and start a second into the chamber and shoot it reasonably fast. 

 

If you have any plans to shoot Wild Bunch I would not get your 87 modified with a drop two. 

All the real Winny 12ga '87s are BP only.

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1 hour ago, Will Kane said:

I recently purchased a Cimarron and had it sent to Slater. He told me he'd get to it as soon as possible, but that he had several just ahead of mine. I've really appreciated his prompt telephone and email communications.

 

Like all good gunsmiths they have a backlog. Nice thing is Eric is really good at communicating.

 

Slater is my go to guy for 87. Bought one of the new Cimarron 1887s from him at Wartrace so I likely have one of those ahead of you in his que. 

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1 hour ago, Outlaw Gambler said:

July Smith, who is this person that took over for Coyote Cap?

Mr. Ahlman (Coyote Cap) simply called him Dillon in my communications with him.  I did not get Dillon's last name, but he worked at Ahlman's.  This was in 2019, not sure if they are still working on 87s.  My experience with Coyote Cap and Dillon would derail this thread, those that are curious can PM directly. 

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I had a replica modified by Coyote Cap years ago. The 1887 was originally designed by John Mose for the magazine to be loaded fully and then to start chuckin'.  The late Cathouse Bill and I conducted competitive tests using '87 with drop two, 97's loading two and sxs. There was little to no advantage to any of them, but the 87 was the least convenient. I went back to my sxs.

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4 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Be aware that having the drop 2 mod done to an 87 effectively means that you can no longer stoke the magazine.

 

Which is why neither my Winchester, which is very old and was tuned up by Coyote Cap to repair age related problems, or my Chiappa, which is out of the box stock, have had the drop 2 done to either of them.   I like being able to stoke.

That being said, with both shotguns, I have learned that if you push the carrier down, you can then drop 2 two shells into the action, and be able to cycle both of them.   Not as "efficiently" as with a real drop 2 mod, but you can do it.   

The Chiappa, by the way, is smooth as silk out of the box and of comparable quality to a real Winchester.   Which is probably why it's so much more expensive.   But, you get what you pay for.   I suppose you could modify it if you want to, but there is really no need to do so.    If only they made one with a 30" full choke barrel.   Alas...

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I'm a Mercenary.  I only shoot Hammer doubles but do enjoy a really good Train Wreck.  A really good Train Wreck wid an '87 is just sumpin ta watch you betcha.

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Bought a new Cimarron '87 recently, and it works well out of the box.

I had another '87 that was done by Lassiter, and it ran well also, but I  decided I wanted to be able to stoke it, so I bought the Cimarron.

With a little practice it's possible to load 2, but it takes a little more time.

 

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On 8/5/2024 at 10:44 PM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Coyote Cap's load two modification, allowed you to stoke the magazine. 

Hi OLG...I have the Coyote Cap  load 2 done by a gunsmith here in Aus that learnt  CC's  mod..works well & yes I can stoke the mag...however it does not reliably lift every shell so I bought another solely for stoking. Don't know if that was a common problem or the mod wasn't 100% done correctly...still happy with the way it works with the load 2...cheers

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44 minutes ago, Painted Mohawk SASS 77785 said:

Hi OLG...I have the Coyote Cap  load 2 done by a gunsmith here in Aus that learnt  CC's  mod..works well & yes I can stoke the mag...however it does not reliably lift every shell so I bought another solely for stoking. Don't know if that was a common problem or the mod wasn't 100% done correctly...still happy with the way it works with the load 2...cheers

Never had any issue like that.

Suggest you lube the slot in the lever where the pivot pin goes through. 

Also suggest that you make sure the front of that carrier where it rubs on the shell in the magazine is polished smooth. 

Drive that SG like a stolen car......

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On 8/5/2024 at 12:02 PM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

The '87 lever SG is the coolest gun used in this game ;)

Should get bonus time for shooting one. Lol , cool gun in action

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