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LOT 24
Attractive Documented Winchester Model 1866 Lever Action Rifle
with Factory Letter - Serial no. 152142, 44 Henry RF cal., 24 inch octagon bbl.,
blue finish, walnut stock. Manufactured in 1879, this is an attractive example of a
Winchester Model 1866 rifle. Few firearms, besides perhaps the Colt Single Action
Army revolver, are more indelibly linked with the “Wild West” and the American
Frontier than the Winchester Model 1866. These Model 1866 rifles and their decedents
were highly valued on the American frontier for decades by any depending on
firepower for survival. Often seeing hard use in the wilds of the American West, these
1866s are rarely found in high condition like this example. Nicknamed the “improved
Henry”, the Model 1866 was essentially an updated version of the iconic Henry rifle.
The most notable improvement featured on the Model 1866 was the new loading
gate on the side of the receiver and the enclosed magazine tube, a system which
was designed by Winchester factory superintendent Nelson King, whose basic design
carried on through essentially the whole line of iconic Winchester lever actions. The
included factory letter lists this gun as a carbine when received at the warehouse on
13 December 1879, that it was changed to an octagon barrel on 23 February 1880,
and that it was shipped on 25 February 1880. This example is a fourth model featuring
an iron buttplate instead of brass, a serial number stamped in script, and an even less
pronounced drop at the top rear of the frame as compared to proceeding models.
These fourth models are found starting in the 149000 serial number range and carried
on until the end of production c. 1898.
The top barrel flat is marked with the
standard two-line address and King’s patent
markings. The serial number is marked in
stamped script on the lower tang behind the
lever latch. The left side of the lower tang is
marked with “69”, “52”, and “1278”. The assembly
number “52” is repeated in the stock inlet and inside
the buttplate. It is fitted with set of standard “sporting”
sights featuring a German silver blade front and elevation
adjustable buckhorn rear sight. The left side of the receiver
has two visibly filled holes where the saddle ring staple was prior to being factory
converted to rifle configuration just before shipment. It is mounted with a smooth
forearm and straight grip stock with a trapdoor crescent buttplate (cleaning rod not
included).
CONDITION: Fine, retains 75% plus of the professionally restored blue finish on the
barrel and magazine tube with the balance thinning to show some plum brown
patina. The brass of the receiver is attractively aged and the sideplates fit tight. There
are patterns of the original case colors on the hammer and lever, and the loading gate
has 40% of the original nitre blue. The wood is very fine with some scattered light
handling marks. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500