Then flashing across the screen in 1991 in the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a sawn-off barrel and pistol grip stocked lever-action Winchester. Hollywood producers seemed to fall in love with Winchester’s lever-action shotgun because in a matter of years it made a series of big screen appearances in Jumanji (1995), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The Mummy Returns (2001), Monte Walsh (2002), Ghost Rider (2007), Hot Fuzz (2007), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Public Enemies (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). Hollywood should have awarded it an Oscar.
It didn’t take long for companies like Cimarron Firearms and Chiappa to move quickly to fill the demand with the most recent and most affordable model being imported from China by Century International Arms. The model pictured here is the Century International Arms 20-inch barreled, 12-gauge, riot gun rendition which is being made for them in China by the zhong zhou Machine Works. It carries with it a suggested retail price of only $399.95.
The Century International Arms model is not as nicely machined and finished as an original or as one of the more costly replicas. It incorporates an abundance of cast parts, but it functions just like an original Winchester, and it functions fine as long as you cycle the action with gusto.
The bore at the muzzle measures 0.725 inch on my gun, which places the choke midway between cylinder and improved cylinder, and I have been extremely pleased with the uniform and well centered patterns it throws at 25 yards.
The Century Model PW87 is one of those unique, historical and affordable fun guns. I could see myself carrying it hunting cottontails over beagles or quail over pointers. It’s perfect for informal clays shooting, and you’ll probably be the only one in the community to own one.
“Iconic” is the word for Winchester’s big lever-action shotgun, simply iconic!
MODEL PW87
IMPORTER: Century International Arms, Inc.
430 S. Congress Ave ., Ste. 1
Delray Beach, FL 33445
(800) 527-1252
www.centuryarms.com
Action: Lever
Caliber: 12 gauge, 2-3/4″
Capacity: 5+1
Barrel Length: 20″
Choke: Cylinder
Overall Length: 37.75″
Weight: 7.9 pounds
Finish: Blue,
Length-Of-Pull: 13″
Price: $399.95
John M. Browning—American Gunmaker by John Browning and Curt Gentry, Hardcover, 391 pages ©1994, $38, Published by Browning Arms, (801) 876-2711, www.browning.com
The Winchester Book, George Madis, ©1985, 640 pages, 1,800 photos, ISBN: 0-910156-03-4, Madis Books, P.O. Box 545, Brownsboro, TX 75756, (903) 852-6480, www.georgemadis.com
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