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LOT 1026
Exceptional Documented Special Order Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 .50 Express Lever Action Rifle with Factory Letter - Serial no. 88106, 50 express cal., 28 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, deluxe walnut checkered stock. This is a rare special order Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Fancy Sporting Lever Action Rifle chambered for the desirable 50/110 WCF Express cartridge. This rifle is accompanied by 1998 and 2017 letters from the Cody Firearms Museum. The 2017 Cody letter describes this Model 1886 as: “Type: Rifle, Caliber: 50/110, Barrel Type; Octagon, Barrel Length: 28 inches, Trigger: Plain, Checkered stock, Pistol grip” and “Sights: Lyman front and rear and seats”. The Cody letters
states this rifle was shipped from the Winchester warehouse on July 6, 1894, and repair and returned on January 26, 1895, and May 24, 1895 (writer surmises it was a mechanical issue). The barrel and full-length magazine have a blue finish. The bolt and loading gate are bright blue. The forearm cap, receiver, trigger lever and crescent buttplate are color casehardened. The forearm and pistol grip stock are deluxe, fancy grade, American walnut with “Style H” factory checkering and high polish piano finish. The bottom of the pistol grip has an
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ebony inlay. The special order, 28-inch, full octagon barrel has a “Winchester Express” front sight with white bead and a Lyman “Winchester Express” rear sight with single folding leaf. The rear sight leaf has a flat top and white sighting triangle. A Lyman folding combination rear sight with coarse knurled post is mounted on the receiver tang. The top barrel flat is roll-stamped with the two-line legend: “-MANUFACTURED BY THE-/-WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN. CONN. U.S.A.-” ahead of the rear sight. The caliber: “50 EX” is stamped on the top barrel flat just ahead of the receiver. The 1884 and 1885 patent dates are roll-stamped on the lower tang behind the trigger, and the serial number is stamped in script numerals between the lower tang screws. Introduced around 1894 for the Model 1886 rifle, the 50-100 or “50 Express” cartridge was comparable to some British African cartridges. The 50 Express cartridge was not popular in the United States and was discontinued in 1910. Winchester Model 1886 rifles chambered for the 50 Express cartridge are extremely desirable.