GUN FALL 2015
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/5/2015
SCARCE WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 SMALL BORE LEVER ACTION RIFLE. WINCHESTER 1873 325756 22 SHORT Cal 22 Short. Standard grade rifle with 24-1/4" oct bbl, full magazine, half nickel front sight and semi-buckhorn rear sight, missing its elevator. Inside magazine tube is orig equipment. Mounted with uncheckered, nicely figured, slab sawed American walnut with straight stock and crescent buttplate without trap. Right sideplate is without loading gate. Receiver is third type with integral dust cover rail and third type dust cover. There are about 19,500 of these scarce rifles produced in the period 1884 - 1904 in two bbl lengths and two calibers. This was the first repeating rifle manufactured in the U.S. for cal. 22 rimfire ammunition. This rifle was produced in about 1890 when hunting was a necessity and a way of life. These small bore rifles were not considered to be serious firearms and were usually relegated to boys or ladies for small game hunting or eliminating garden pests. The small bore did not easily lend itself to cleaning and very few of these rifles are found today with good, shootable bore. They usually saw pretty hard service with little or no maintenance and are almost never found with high orig finish. CONDITION: Very good to fine. Bbl and magazine tube retain about 85% plummy blue/brown patina showing sharp edge wear and a lightly cleaned area over the bbl address. Receiver and side plates retain about 80% thinning orig blue, dull and turning plummy over the top and bottom edges. Lever and hammer retain dark case colors with the lever being mostly brown patina. Forend cap and buttplate are also mostly brown patina. Forearm has a crack on top, front, left side, otherwise wood is sound with a dark oil stained finish with wood grain showing through. Mechanics are fine. Bore has strong rifling with moderate pitting. 49432-28 JR (5,000-8,000)