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out five years before Winchester released their own slide action repeater: the Browning Bros. designed Winchester Model 1890. Remington and others also released slide action rifles in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Colt’s
Lightning designs ultimately dropped from production after less than 100,000 of these Medium Frame rifles had been made, and the company focused their attention on handguns and machine guns. Meanwhile,
Winchester produced millions of lever action centerfire repeaters and slide action rimfire rifles and continued to dominate the repeating sporting rifle market. The special order 26 inch octagon barrel has a Rocky
Mountain blade front sight, the two-line address and Elliott patent marking head of the adjustable sporting rear sight, and “32 CAL-” at the breech. The frame has “W.R.A. Co.” in script letters cut through the blue on the upper right, the distinct Rampant Colt trademark on the left, and the serial number and “S” on the lower tang.
The rifle is mounted with a multi-point checkered two-piece slide handle and a smooth buttstock with a blued crescent buttplate.
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LOT 122
Exceptional Colt Large Frame “Express Model” Lightning Slide Action Rifle - Serial no. 1767, 38-56-255 cal., 28 inch octagon bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. Manufactured in 1888, this is a highly sought after Colt Large Frame “Express Model” Lightning Rifle chambered in .38-56-255 caliber. The rifle is
fitted with a German silver blade front sight and an elevation adjustable rear sight. The barrel is stamped with the two-line Hartford address/patent dates marking ahead of the rear sight and “38-56-255” in script on the upper left flat at the breech. A Rampant Colt is stamped on the left side of the receiver. The forearm has multi-point checkering, and the straight grip stock is plain and fitted with a crescent buttplate.
LOT 123
Exceptional Documented Texas Shipped “W.R.A. Co” Inscribed Early Colt Medium Frame Lightning Slide Action Rifle from the Winchester Gun Museum with Factory Letter and Book - Serial no. 6393, 32-20 cal., 26 inch octagon bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. This incredible rifle is featured in “A Life’s Tapestry
of a Collector: The Gamble Collection” by George F. Gamble and R.L. Wilson on pages 304-307 where the inscription on barrel is noted as “indicating test use by Winchester Repeating Arms Co.” and the provenance is noted as “Winchester Gun Museum, at the Winchester factory site, New Haven, Connecticut.” The included factory letter lists the rifle in “.32
CLMR” (.32-20 W.C.F.) with a 26 inch octagon barrel, blue finish, and wood stock and indicates the rifle first shipped to J.B. Mitchell & Co. of Corpus Christi, Texas, on September 17, 1885, in a shipment of ten guns of this type. When Winchester Repeating Arms Co. acquired the gun is not clear, but it must have been shortly after since this rifle remains in exceptionally fine condition and clearly saw very little use. It is interesting that Winchester acquired and kept this rifle. The Colt Lightning line was definitely innovative and potentially a threat to Winchester’s hold on the repeating rifle market, so the company would have wanted to study their competitor’s work. These rifles came out just a year prior and replaced the short lived Colt Burgess lever actions. This rifle shipped
FEATURED IN A LIFE'S TAPESTRY OF A COLLECTOR: THE GAMBLE COLLECTION BY GAMBLE & WILSON