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LOT 1030
Highly Attractive and Exceptional Antique Special
Order Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Lever Action Rifle
in Desirable .45-90 W.C.F. with Scarce Factory Matted
Barrel and Factory Letter - Serial no. 4100, 45-90 WCF cal.,
26 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock.
Manufactured in 1887, just the second year of production, this
is a very fine example of a Winchester deluxe Model 1886 rifle
in a desirable special ordered configuration, including a scarce
factory matted barrel and also chambered in the highly desirable
.45-90 W.C.F. cartridge. According to research conducted by
John T. Madl, only 204 Model 1886s were produced with factory
matted barrels, with far fewer chambered in .45-90, making
them extremely scarce in any condition on the collectors market.
The included factory letter with this rifle lists it in .45-90 caliber
with a matted round barrel, plain trigger, German silver Rocky
Mountain front and sporting leaf rear sights, and a checkered
pistol grip stock with a hard rubber shotgun buttplate when received at the warehouse on 9
February 1887, shipped the same day in order number 14698, and a repair and return date just six days later on 15 February 1887. This repair and
return date so close to the shipment date suggests a last minute change to the order rather than a true “repair and return”.
By the mid-1880s, Winchester was beginning to show concern after having dominated the lever action market for nearly two decades with their models of 1866, 1873, and
1876. In 1881 however, Marlin, their most serious new competitor, had released their Model 1881, which featured an exceptionally strong action capable of handling some
of the most powerful cartridges of the period, outclassing anything Winchester had to offer. This lead Winchester to approach John Browning with a request for a strong
repeating action capable of matching the robust Marlin. The result of Browning’s work came to be known as the Model 1886 and marked the beginning of a string of successful
Browning designed lever actions produced by Winchester. The ‘86 quickly became popular, particularly in the American West among large game hunters and anyone else that
felt the need for a powerful cartridge and a rugged, dependable rifle. When chambered in some of the larger caliber offerings, such as this example in .45-90 W.C.F., there was
not a danger in North America that the 1886 wasn’t capable of tackling.
The receiver has the attractive casehardened finish, which was standard on the Model 1886 until around 1901. The top of the barrel has a strip of very finely checkered matting
for the full length, the standard two-line address marked among the checkering, and the caliber marking offset on the left at the breech. The upper tang has the model
marking, while the lower tang has the two-line patent dates and early, second year production, four-digit serial number. The left side of the lower tang is marked “2805 XXX S
RB”, with “2805” repeated in the stock inlet. It is fitted with the special ordered German silver “Rocky Mountain” blade front sight and the “sporting leaf” or folding ladder rear
sight. It is mounted with an extremely highly figured, H-pattern checkered forearm and pistol grip stock with an ebony insert at the base of the grip and a fully checkered hard
rubber shotgun buttplate.