Are the Chiappa 1887s worth looking at?

Venom1956 · September 14, 2013, 01:34 AM

I'll be honest growing up with the movie T2 has had an effect on me. Now Chiappa offers the 1887 in 12ga for a 1000ish price. For that kinda money are they worth it? Are they a quality firearm? I believe Chiappa imports and rebrands quite a bit of their products so some things are better then others and most of the Chiappa stuff I've come into contact with has left me less then impressed.

CaptainChaos · September 14, 2013, 08:51 AM

Venom,

You might like to peruse my review:

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/foru...action-shotgun

And the gun in action (not *all* the videos are of the Chiappa):

http://youtube.com/user/MisterMcHaos/videos

Regards,

Mark.

Venom1956 · September 15, 2013, 10:53 AM

So what I gather from your review is it has quite a few faults, but where else are you gonna find a newer model 1887 to play with? Honestly I don't really have much interest in shotguns but I figure this one would be a fun range toy.

Since you use it in competition how is it holding up mechanically? Is there any unusual/accelerated wear?

CaptainChaos · September 15, 2013, 11:36 AM

Quote:

So what I gather from your review is it has quite a few faults

Really, it was just the poor fit of the forend that gave any real trouble. And that was fixed by bit of filing. (But it should *not* have been necessary, of course.)

Quote:

but where else are you gonna find a newer model 1887 to play with?

Indeed. We can get the Norinco copies but it seems that they work *if* you are lucky and get a good one.

Quote:

Honestly I don't really have much interest in shotguns

At present, that's *all* I have. In the UK, if you want something semi-auto that goes "kerblam!" when fired, then it has to be a shotgun because only .22 RF can be semi-auto.

As it happens, I'm a "manual" kinda guy but I've just bought my first semi-auto shotgun - an Ithaca M51.

Quote:

I figure this one would be a fun range toy.

I completely agree! It's a "hoot to shoot". Just don't expect to win any 3-gun competitions with it.

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Since you use it in competition how is it holding up mechanically?

Hmmmm, well, from my username you may be able to deduce that pretty much *anything* falls apart in my hands. (Incidentally, my last three cars have all been Land Rover Defenders. I like big lumps of "iron"...)

I would say that *all* my shotguns have failed in direct proportion to how much I've used them. The Chiappa? Well, pretty good, I suppose. The screws that hold the cartridge guides in and the wooden forends on have a tendancy to undo themselves but I've made a small tool that I use to nip them up before each stage.

As a matter of fact, I had to make a special tool for my M37, too, as the stock used to come loose. In fact all *sorts* of things come loose on the Ithaca. However, Captain Chaos drives his (PSG) guns hard, so I suppose you could say that if I use something on a frequent basis and it's still in one piece, then that's one Hell of a recommendation. (I'd broken the M51 within a couple of hours of buying it *without* getting as far as loading a live round. That said, the M51 is well known for its slide weakness.)

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Is there any unusual/accelerated wear?

Not that I've noticed. The bluing's worn on the back of the hammer, but that's about it.

As I said in the review, have I had problems? Yes. Do I regret buying it? Absolutely *not*!

Regards,

Mark.

Deja vu · September 15, 2013, 06:27 PM

I have been thinking about making an NFA Short Barrel shotgun from one of those. It could be the same length as a super shorty and hold an extra round. Because it holds one in the receiver and one in the chamber in addition to the tube.

some thing like this only about 3 inches shorter.

CaptainChaos · September 16, 2013, 03:48 AM

Quote:

some thing like this only about 3 inches shorter.

One of the peculiarities of UK gun law is that Section.1 shotguns - ie, those held on a FireArms Certificate rather than a ShotGun Certificate - have shorter minimum barrel and over-all length limits, *if* they are double-barrelled, bolt- or lever-action.

However, we wouldn't be allowed to go *quite* as far as *you'd* like to. I think that our limits would be a 12" barrel with an OAL of at least 24".

What you'd like to make sounds fun but you'd need a well slicked action, methinks.

Regards,

Mark.

P.S. If you make such a "toy", I *insists* that you puts up some YouTube video of it being fired.

September 14, 2013, 01:34 AM	#1
Venom1956 Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2008 Location: WI Posts: 3,656	Are the Chiappa 1887s worth looking at? I'll be honest growing up with the movie T2 has had an effect on me. Now Chiappa offers the 1887 in 12ga for a 1000ish price. For that kinda money are they worth it? Are they a quality firearm? I believe Chiappa imports and rebrands quite a bit of their products so some things are better then others and most of the Chiappa stuff I've come into contact with has left me less then impressed. __________________ E-Shock rounds are engineered to expend maximum energy into soft targets, turning the density mass into an expanding rotational cone of NyTrilium matrix particles, causing neurological collapse to the central nervous system.- Yeah I can do that. I guarantee you will know it if a bicyclist hits your house going 1000 mph. -Smaug

September 15, 2013, 10:53 AM	#3
Venom1956 Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2008 Location: WI Posts: 3,656	So what I gather from your review is it has quite a few faults, but where else are you gonna find a newer model 1887 to play with? Honestly I don't really have much interest in shotguns but I figure this one would be a fun range toy. Since you use it in competition how is it holding up mechanically? Is there any unusual/accelerated wear? __________________ E-Shock rounds are engineered to expend maximum energy into soft targets, turning the density mass into an expanding rotational cone of NyTrilium matrix particles, causing neurological collapse to the central nervous system.- Yeah I can do that. I guarantee you will know it if a bicyclist hits your house going 1000 mph. -Smaug

September 15, 2013, 06:27 PM	#5
Deja vu Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2010 Location: Border of Idaho & Montana Posts: 2,584	I have been thinking about making an NFA Short Barrel shotgun from one of those. It could be the same length as a super shorty and hold an extra round. Because it holds one in the receiver and one in the chamber in addition to the tube. some thing like this only about 3 inches shorter. __________________ Shot placement is everything! I would rather take a round of 50BMG to the foot than a 22short to the base of the skull. all 26 of my guns are 45/70 govt, 357 mag, 22 or 12 ga... I believe in keeping it simple. Wish my wife did as well...

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September 14, 2013, 08:51 AM	#2
CaptainChaos Member Join Date: November 8, 2011 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 49	Venom, You might like to peruse my review: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/foru...action-shotgun And the gun in action (not all the videos are of the Chiappa): http://youtube.com/user/MisterMcHaos/videos Regards, Mark.