GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
SPECIAL ORDER WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 DELUXE LEVER ACTION RIFLE.WINCHESTER1873202427A44WCFCal 44WCF (44-40). Fine deluxe third Model 1873 with 24-1/4" oct to rnd bbl, button magazine, half nickel front sight and semi-buckhorn rear sight. Receiver is third type with integral dust cover rail and third type dust cover. Mounted with very nicely figured, "XX" American walnut that "H" style checkered forearm and serpentine grip buttstock with black fleur-de-lis inlay in the grip cap and smooth steel shotgun buttplate. Left side of lower tang, under the wood is marked with the assembly number "803", "XX" and an "S". Matching assembly number is also found in top tang channel of buttstock and inside toe of buttplate. There was approximately 720,610 Model 1873 rifles, carbines and muskets produced between 1873 and 1919, of that large number only a few were special ordered with deluxe features. Special orders & deluxe wood were extra cost which the average working man & cowboy could not afford. This rifle was produced in about 1886 at a time when the west was still wild and carrying a firearm was an everyday way of life. Firearms of that era usually saw extreme hard service under very adverse conditions and are rarely found today with high orig finish. CONDITION: Fine, all matching. Bbl has a series of dings on the bottom towards the muzzle, a small ding on the edge of the muzzle and retains 80-85% strong orig blue, thinning on the rnd section, strong and bright on the oct section. Receiver & side plates retain about 50% smokey case colors with brighter colors in the most sheltered areas, strong & bright on the bottom tang. The balance has turned silver. Hammer retains about 80% fading case colors and the lever traces of case colors in sheltered areas. There is a small ding in the toe of the buttplate and adjacent wood otherwise wood is sound with a few light nicks & scratches, dark staining around the wrist & carry point of the forearm and retains about 60% factory finish. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bore with light pitting and a light ring about an inch from the muzzle that doesn't show externally. 51378-2 JRL (15,000-20,000)