GUN FALL 2017
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2017
RARE SEMI-DELUXE WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 SMALL BORE LEVER ACTION RIFLE WITH FACTORY LETTER. WINCHESTER 1873 555264 22 SHORT MODERN; C&R; ESA Rare semi-deluxe cal.22 short with 24-3/8" oct bbl, full magazine, orig 2nd type inside tube, ivory bead Lyman hunting front sight and flat top semi-buckhorn rear sight. Top flat of bbl has standard Winchester & King address and patent date. Receiver is 3rd type with integral dust cover rail and 3rd type dust cover. Mounted with uncheckered straight grain American walnut with capped pistol grip buttstock and Winchester embossed hard rubber shotgun buttplate. Left side of lower tang, under the wood, is marked with the assembly number "11372" which number is also found in top tang channel of buttstock. There was a total 720,610 Model 1873 rifles and carbines in 5 different calibers which includes 19,552 rifles produced in 22 rimfire, both 22 short and long, with short being the predominant quantity. These rifles were only produced during the period 1884 to 1904 and were the first repeating 22 rifle made in the United States. They were offered in both 24" and 26" bbls with very few of the 26" models produced. This rifle was manufactured in 1900 near the end of production. Extremely few were produced as "special order" such as found here. These small bore rifles were generally considered to have been garden guns or for use by ladies and young boys. They usually saw extreme hard service with little maintenance and are rarely found today with high original finish or bright bores. The corrosive ammo of those days and lack of small bore cleaning equipment generally resulted in badly eroded bores. This scarce and desirable rifle is accompanied by a Winchester Factory letter from the Buffalo Bill Historical center. The letter further documents the configuration as follows: Rifle Cal. .22 Short, Octagon Barrel, plain trigger with plain pistol gripped stock, lyman hunter front and flat-top rear, shotgun butt with rubber butt plate. Shipped December 15 1900. The reverse side of the factory letter has a copy of the original ledger sheet. A very fine example of a very rare variation of the 1973 Winchester. PROVENANCE: Vince Sepulveda Collection. With Buffalo Bill Historical Center Factory letter and copy of Ledger sheet. CONDITION: Excellent, all matching. Bbl & magazine tube retain 96-97% strong orig blue with scattered rust pitting on the top right flat in the area between the sights. Magazine tube has scattered areas of pin-prick pitting on the right side. Receiver retains about 90% strong orig blue with candy striping and fine sharp edge wear. Right side plate retains over 90% orig blue and the left side plate retain over 50% orig blue. Dust cover retains 15-20% original blue. Hammer retains strong, bright case colors and the lever faded case colors on the sides turned silver on outer faces. Top tang roll marking is a thin strike but mostly legible. Wood is sound with light nicks & scratches and a couple of small gouges and retains 95-97% strong orig factory finish with some light oil staining at the receiver and around the top tang. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Inside magazine tube retains traces of orig blue with bright blue on the spring clip on the bottom. 52329-1 JRL (12,500-17,500)