Another of John Brownings' famous designs, this shotgun was first developed in 1887 by demand of a repeating shotgun for lawmen and cowboys to use. To many, two shots was not enough firepower for a scatter gun and a repeating shotgun was required to get the job done. Winchester asked Browning to build such a gun, well aware he was the best for the job. Browning had already been working on a pump-action design (which would later become the Winchester 1897 shotgun), but Winchester wanted to keep tradition with a lever-action gun. Browning complied and designed the Winchester 1887 in a very short space of time. Instead of two shots, now the shooter had five shots, plus one in the chamber. Although built in 12 gauge, the vicious 10 gauge round it was also chambered in gathered a reputation and few messed with a man behind this gun. Although Brownings' 1897 shotgun became more popular with the military, the 1887 remained a favorite with cowboys and lawmen and continued to be used for many years.
In 1901, the gun was redesigned to fire higher gas pressure rounds and the overall design was improved. Notable additions were a two piece lever, a trigger block, and the company stamp was moved from the bottom of the tang to the top. The Winchester company produced over 60,000 guns until the model 1887 was discontinued in the 1900s. Today, the Winchester model is somewhat difficult to find. Instead, reproductions such as Norinco's YL-1887 shotgun (released in 2002) are available, and the Aldo Uberti copies are used in films today.
