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LOT 43
Special Order Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with Desirable Casehardened Receiver and Factory Letter - Serial no. 194638B, 44 WCF cal., 24 inch round bbl., casehardened/blue finish, walnut stock. This special order Winchester Model 1873 rifle was manufactured in 1885. The rifle has the Third Model receiver with integral dust cover rail and dust cover with serrated edges. The rifle has a 24-inch round barrel with half magazine. The barrel has a “Rocky Mountain” front sight with steel blade and a replacement buckhorn style rear sight with flat top. The upper tang is factory drilled and tapped for a folding combination tang sight. The barrel, dust cover, loading gate and trigger have a blue finish. The forearm cap, receiver, hammer, lever and crescent buttplate are color casehardened. The stock and forearm are 1X, fancy grain American walnut with a varnish finish. The rifle is accompanied by a factory letter which describes it as: “Type: Rifle, Barrel Type: Round, Trigger: Plain, 1/2 Magazine”, and “Casehardened”. The letter states this rifle was received and shipped from the Winchester warehouse on December 11, 1885. The top of the barrel is roll stamped with the two-line legend: “WINCHESTER’S- REPEATING-ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT./KING’S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29. 1866. OCTOBER 16. 1860.” ahead of the rear sight. “44 CAL.” is roll stamped between the rear sight and the receiver. “44 CAL” is roll stamped across the bottom of the cartridge elevator. The upper receiver tang is roll stamped: “-MODEL 1873-” in fancy letters with foliate devices at either end. The serial number is stamped in script between the lever latch and the rear tang screw. Casehardened receivers were special order features on Model 1873 rifles and carbines. Rifles with casehardened receivers usually had fancy grain walnut stocks and forearms.
LOT 44
Winchester Centennial Model 1876 Lever Action Sporting Rifle with Factory
Letter - Serial no. 27335, 45-60 WCF cal., 28 inch octagon bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. The
included factory letter states the rifle was received in the warehouse on September 19, 1882 and shipped on September 21 with an octagon barrel in .45-60 caliber and plain trigger. This Third Model rifle has the integral dust cover guide rail and dust cover with serrated rear edges. The rifle has a 28-inch octagon barrel and full length magazine. The barrel has a sporting style front sight with nickel-silver blade and a folding leaf rear sight graduated to “10” and marked “1876” at the top of the leaf. A folding, graduated, “Mid-Range Vernier Peep Sight” with early style beveled base is mounted on the receiver tang. The crescent buttplate has a sliding brass butt-trap door. The top barrel flat is roll-stamped with the two-line legend: “WINCHESTER”S-REPEATING ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT./KING’S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH
29. 1866. OCTOBER 16. 1860.” ahead of the rear sight. “CAL. 45-60” is roll-stamped on the top barrel flat between the rear sight and the receiver. “45-60” is roll-stamped in script numerals across the brass cartridge elevator. The serial number is roll-stamped in script numerals on the lower tang between the lever latch and the rear tang screw. The barrel and magazine have a blue finish. The forearm cap, receiver, dust cover and bolt are bright blue. The loading gate is fiery niter blue. The hammer, trigger, lever and crescent buttplate are casehardened. The straight grain walnut stock and forearm have a semi-gloss varnish or oil finish. CONDITION: Very Fine. The barrel has 90% of the original blue with traces of high-point wear. The legend and caliber markings are crisp. The bottom of the magazine has some very slight handling wear with traces of plum-brown patina but retains 85% of the blue finish. The forearm cap has 80% of the bright blue finish with some very insignificant scuff marks on the sides. The receiver has 90% plus of the bright blue finish with a few scattered and very minor handling marks and some edge wear on the side-plates. The dust cover retains 95% of the bright blue finish while the guide rail has some minor scuff marks.