GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
EARLY WINCHESTER MODEL 1886 LEVER ACTION RIFLE WITH FACTORY LETTER. WINCHESTER 1886 19596 40-82 Cal. 40-82. Standard grade rifle with 26" oct bbl, full magazine, slightly altered half nickel front sight & semi-buckhorn rear sight. Top flat of bbl has the standard 2-line Winchester name & address with caliber marking over the chamber area. Mounted with uncheckered straight grain American walnut with straight stock & crescent buttplate. Receiver is color case hardened. This rifle was produced in about 1888 when the west was still very wild, with hostile Indians, marauding outlaws and other dangers associated with that era. That was a time when a rifle was a daily use tool and they usually saw hard service often with little or no maintenance. Color case hardened examples of these rifles rarely retain any orig colors. Exposure to the ultraviolet rays of sunlight rapidly faded the colors, turning them silver.With factory letter indicating shipped August 22, 1888 rifle, cal, 40/82 Octagon BBl with plain trigger. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains 95-96% strong orig blue with only faint sharp edge wear and a few scattered pin-pricks of surface rust. Magazine tube retains about 50-60% orig blue with the balance turned to a plummy blue/brown. Receiver retains 60-65% orig case colors, strong & bright in sheltered areas, mostly on the right side, with the left side, fading toward the front. Receiver ring shows faded case colors, and the bottom of the receiver has turned silver. Hammer retains bright case colors, turned silver on spur. Lever retains bright case colors on the sides, turning to silver/brown on the outer faces. Forend cap retains faded case colors, and the buttplate is a mottled silver/brown. Wood has a few minor nicks & scratches with a dark stain on left side of forearm, otherwise wood is sound and retains about 90% bright orig finish. Mechanics are crisp, very bright shiny bore. 52665-10 JRL (6,500-8,500)