GUN SPRING 2018
The live portion of this session begins on Wednesday, March 21, 2018.
VERY RARE WINCHESTER DELUXE EXTRA LIGHTWEIGHT LEVER ACTION RIFLE WITH FACTORY LETTER.WINCHESTER188612913145-70MODERN; C&R; ESACal. 45-70. Very rare rifle with 22" extra light tapered rnd bbl, full magazine, ramp mounted Lyman ivory bead hunting front sight and flat top rear sight. Mounted with about 2-X American walnut with H-style checkered forearm and capped pistol grip stock that has Winchester embossed hard rubber buttplate. Left side of lower tang, under the wood is marked with the assembly number "238", "XX" and an "R". Matching assembly number is also found in top tang channel of buttstock. Accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter which identifies this rifle in Cal. 45-70, extra light 22" rnd bbl, plain trigger, checkered pistol grip stock with rubber shotgun buttplate & oil finish, Winchester high velocity sights and full magazine, received in the warehouse March 30, 1905 and shipped the next day to order # 5930. These lightweight rifles were extremely popular as hunting arms, especially in the North Woods, the Rocky Mountain region, Canada and Alaska and in the 45-70 caliber is certainly capable of taking any North American big game up to and including the great bears of Alaska and the Arctic. This rifle was obviously someone's prized hunting gun. CONDITION: Fine to very fine, all matching. Bbl and magazine tube retain about 95% strong orig blue with several spots of blood pitting on left side of magazine tube toward muzzle end and on the front sight. Receiver retains 93-95% glossy orig blue with a series of small scratches on both sides and sharp edge wear. Hammer retains most of its orig case colors, fading on the spur. Lever retains bright case colors on the sides, faded to silver on the outer faces. Buttstock has a hairline back of top tang, otherwise wood is sound with usual light nicks, dings and scratches and retains most of its orig oil finish. Mechanics are crisp. Very bright shiny bore. 53158-3 JRL (7,500-10,000)