GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
SCARCE LARGE FRAME COLT LIGHTENING PUMP ACTION RIFLE. COLT LIGHTNING RIFLE 6282 45/85/285 Cal 45-85-285. Standard grade rifle with 28" oct bbl, full magazine, Rocky Mountain front sight with nickel silver front blade and semi-buckhorn rear sight. Left side of receiver has the Rampant Colt logo marking. Mounted with uncheckered straight grain American walnut buttstock that has straight grip & crescent buttplate. Forearm is standard style made of 2 piece of walnut, checkered with fluted ends. Left side upper tang is marked with matching SN which is also found on front face of buttstock. Inside the buttplate is marked with the SN "6222", obviously an assemblers mistake. Accompanied by a Colt Factory letter which identifies this rifle in the caliber as found with 28" oct bbl, blue finish and sold to E.K. Tryon Jr. & Co., Philadelphia PA, shipped to Charles D. Gibbons, address unavailable on September 18, 1893 in a one gun shipment. Also accompanied by a full box of UMC 45-85-300 ammunition. Box has rnd corners with green & black top & side label and orange & black end labels on the bottom. Reverse side of the box has a large green & white seal that has been opened. Box contains 16 rnds of orig copper tube expanding lead bullet cartridges and 4 UMC solid lead bullet cartridges. According to the Blue Book of Antique American Firearms & Values, Fjestad & Allen there were 4,496 large frame Lightening rifles produced in the period 1887-1894, of which only 1,079 were in 45-85 cal. These rifles were produced as competition for the big bore Marlin's and Winchester's but never received the popularity from the buying public necessary for continued production. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching, buttplate as noted. Bbl & magazine tube retain 95-97% crisp orig blue with light sharp edge wear and slight muzzle end wear. Receiver retains 88-90% orig blue, strong and bright on the left side and over the top, thinning on the right side & bottom. Trigger guard is also thinning blue with most of the bottom tang in gray metal patina. Top tang is thin blue. Buttplate is faded to silver. Wood is sound with a few light nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig oil finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. Ammunition box is very fine showing only light edge wear & soil with darkened ends. Ammunition is crisp & clean. 51570-8 JRL (8,000-12,000)