GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
WINCHESTER-LEE STRAIGHT PULL RIFLE FIRST NAVY CONTRACT.WINCHESTERM1895 LEE17616MM LEECal. 6mm LEE. 28" bbl, blue finish, straight grained American walnut stock with hand guard and carbine style buttplate. Bbl has hooded front sight and ladder rear sight graduated to 2000 yards. Top forward receiver ring is marked "U.S.N." over an anchor, over "NO. 1761", over "N.C.T." These are the standard markings for the first Naval contract of 1898 for 10,000 muskets. N.C.T. are the initials of Ensign N.C. Twining the Naval inspector. Receiver shows 2-line Winchester address and patent mark on the left side. No other markings were observed. Accompanied by a Winchester Fire Arms Museum letter dated 10-28-2015, showing shipment on 12-18-1896, order number 974. Letter also shows Return & Repair on 9-17-1897, order number 1634. CONDITION: Very good to fine for this model. Bbl shows a smooth plum/brown patina overall with traces of blue in protected areas front sight hood retains considerable blue. Rear sight spring shows considerable fire blue with sharp markings. Bore is frosty with sharp rifling. Receiver is also a smooth plum/brown patina with a considerable amount of blue showing on the left side. All markings are sharp. Bolt retains 80% of the somewhat dull blue finish, bolt knob is a plum/brown patina. Trigger guard and mag well show 20% blue drifting to plum/brown patina with high point wear and a few scratches. Stock is very good, full sized and shows numerous handling marks and scratches overall. Hand guard has a crack behind the rear sight. Buttplate is a mottled gray/brown patina with some roughness at the heel and toe. Bbl band shows 50% blue. Forward band/bayonet mount shows 20% blue. A very nice example of an early first contract Winchester-Lee straight full musket that saw extensive service during the Spanish American war. 51389-38 TEP (2,750-3,750)