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LOT 1031
Rare, Extremely Early Production Serial Number 8 Winchester Model 1886 Lever Action 45-70 Rifle with Factory Letter - Serial
no. 8, 45-70 cal., 26 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. Offered here is a first day production Winchester Model
1886 Rifle, serial number 8. The accompanying factory letter lists this rifle with an octagon barrel in .45-70 caliber and plain trigger when
received in the warehouse on August 30, 1886, and shipped the next day. This single digit serialized Model 1886 features a dovetail blade
front sight and an elevation adjustable rear sight on a barrel marked with the two-line Winchester New Haven address ahead of the rear
sight and “CAL. 45-70” at the breech. The upper tang is marked “MODEL 1886”, and the lower tang is marked with serial number “8” and
the two-line patent dates (1884 and 1885) marking. Mounted on a smooth walnut forearm and straight grip stock with crescent buttplate.
This is definitely one of the earliest Model 1886s we have cataloged, second to only serial number 1 which was presented to Congressional
Medal of Honor recipient Captain Henry W. Lawton, noted capturer of Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo. This Model 1886 was once
part of the famed Harold Argile McCallum collection (1911-2003). Along with his wife, Vernetta, McCallum ran a hardware store in Monroe,
Oregon, from 1949 to 1974 which had gone by the name McCallum’s Gun Store and Museum since the late 1950s. His collection had over
650 guns and included impressive Winchesters such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower presentation Model 1894 serial number 2,500,000,
factory embellished Model 70 serial number 500,000 and the very first Grand American Model 21 to leave the Winchester Custom Shop.
Perhaps most famous was his serial number 8 collection that was comprised of three serial number 8 Winchesters: the Model 1894 listed
in the next lot, this Model 1886 and a Model 490. He was a charter member of the Winchester Arms Collector’s Association with the fitting
membership number “8.”
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