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LOT 1020
Exceptional Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Lever Action 50 Express Rifle with Rare Special Order Documented Half Octagon Extra Heavy 11 Pound Barrel, Specific Stock Configuration and Factory Letter - Serial no. 119115, 50 express cal., 26 inch part octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. This Winchester Model 1886 is factory documented as a deluxe rifle in rare, highly sought after 50 Express caliber with several special order features including stock configuration and extra heavy barrel. Deluxe Model 1886s are rare. As Winchester expert and author George Madis noted, “Deluxe Model 86s in the rifles made after 1900 are hard to find, partly due to the higher cost of deluxe features.” Models fitted with a non-standard stock length and drop like this example are a Winchester rarity. Madis noted, “Special stocks, varying from the standard in length or drop, would be custom made and fitted by the factory for the few customers who wanted them. The standard stock was made to fit and be correct in all ways for the majority of people, and very few customers found it necessary to order a special stock” (“The Winchester Book,” page 602). Any non-standard weight barrel is a rare special order feature. This example was ordered with an 11 pound extra heavy barrel with no slots. Sights have since been added. As for the caliber, the .50 Express cartridge was one of the most powerful commercial cartridges available at the time, and it quickly proved popular with big and dangerous game hunters. Many Winchester rifles chambered for this powerful cartridge were shipped to England and then found their way to Africa and India where they were often employed against big cats. Demand for the
cartridge in the United States was low however, and relatively few of these rifles were manufactured. The Model 1886 in .50 Express was only produced in limited numbers, especially when compared to the smaller calibers. Today Winchesters in .50 Express are highly sought after collectible. Examples in any condition are proving difficult to find.
These special order features as well as others are confirmed in the accompanying factory letter. The factory letter states the rifle was received in the warehouse on April 14, 1899, and shipped the next day with an extra heavy half octagon barrel in .50 express weighing 11 pounds, no sight slots on the barrel, plain trigger, 13 1/4 inch checkered pistol grip stock with oil finish and 13 1/4 inch drop, half magazine, shotgun butt, and rubber buttplate. This deluxe ‘86 certainly has a number of special order features sought after by the modern collector. Sights have since been period added to the barrel (unique ramp blade front sight with flip up reflective moon and fixed notch rear sight).
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