Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Model 88 watch outs

Because I owned a model 100 for 20 years, I know a little bit about the firing pin and action slide rod issues with this model. How about the maladies of the model 88? What does a guy need to watch out for when buying a used model 88? CP.

They are a bear to reassemble it you tear them completely down.

!0x4. I just found this article, and it is more than enough to get a guy�s attention about some of the peculiarities of this rifle. In fact, it may have blunted some of my interest buying one. CP.

http://www.gunreports.com/special_r...r-Model-88-lever-action-rifle2480-1.html

They are the best looking lever gun ever made , along with the Finnwolf ! If you aren't after the look , go with a Browning BLR (modern gun , parts available) ! IMHO

The Win. mdl. 88 is a nice looking and good handling lever action.

But me personally I prefer the Savage model 99, which has a very similar look.

There sure seems to be a lot more 99's available on the used gun market, more calibers to choose from, typically cheaper then the Win. 88 and there is no expensive hard to find magazine(s) to deal with on the Savage 99.

No joke, I had a hell of a time getting one back together earlier this year. Those two cam plates for the lever just about defeated me, but I finally figured it out.

I bought mine when I was 14, in a .308 Win. A few years later, I think I was 16 or 17,I completely disassembled it. After several hours of butt-kicking, I took it to a smith. Still hurts my feelings when I think about it!!! memtb

Great rifle, no need to disassemble, cleans easily by just removing it from the stock.

I bought mine in64 for $125 new. The first problem was the forearm dovetail the the stock screw mates with was not centered.I centered that and then bedded it at that point along with the action and recoil lug.I also honed of all the burrs from the stamping proces of the metal to get it smooth working. I took it apart using slave pins as instructed and had no problems putting it back together,but you have to use those slave pins and read the instructions. It shoots great ,except for the horrible trigger that you can over come with a lot of practive.
. I still have it and occasionally hunt with it

I agree about the trigger. My dad's .308 shoots MOA easily. I often wonder what I could do with it if I wasn't fighting the trigger.

The problems associated with the 88 ocurred in the early guns which did not have a letter suffix at the end of the serial number. The cloverleaf style recoil block tended to crack the stock and there were issues with the firing pin and magazine. All of these problems were corrected in the "A" suffix rifles. I have owned several and feel they were amoungst the best deer rifles ever produced.

The firing pin is the weak spot.. And good luck finding one under $200 about now..

Ditto on the trigger. The two I have owned had horrible triggers.

AMEN

I have had one for years in 308 Winchester and it shoots great. I think the post 64 are better for shooters. The one I have and several I have tried just seem slicker than the pre 64 model. The trigger isn't the best in the world but it isn't all that bad either. It sure isn't bad enough to use as an alibi. When I use the 88 Winchester deer hunting I don't feel handicapped at all. It points like a finger and is very fast to the shoulder. I just like it!

To me the 88 Winchester feels much better than the Finnwolf. The lever on the Finnwolf seems to be too far away from the front of the grip to make it comfortable to hold.

I believe that Wisner's makes repro firing pins for M/88's, no need to try to find an original and pay big bucks.

Slave pins. Once I figured out they needed slave pins, it was easy as hell.