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Rare Deluxe, Special Order, Winchester Model 1873 Rifle with Casehardened Receiver, Octagon Barrel a

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:13,000.00 USD Estimated At:25,000.00 - 37,500.00 USD
Rare Deluxe, Special Order, Winchester Model 1873 Rifle with Casehardened Receiver, Octagon Barrel a
A rare, deluxe, Winchester Model 1873 rifle with special order full octagon barrel, half-magazine, casehardened receiver and checkered, fancy, walnut stock and forearm. The rifle is accompanied by a letter from the Cody Firearms Museum that states that it was shipped from the Winchester warehouse on April 18, 1881, and identifies the special order features as: octagon barrel, "1/2 magazine", checkered stock and casehardened receiver. The rifle is fitted with a crescent steel buttplate, sporting rear sight and fixed front sight with special order nickel-silver blade. The barrel and loading gate are blued and the forearm cap, loading lever, hammer and buttplate have a casehardened finish. The rifle has a second model receiver with dust cover guide secured by screws. The dust cover has serrated edges. The upper receiver tang is factory drilled and tapped for a tang sight. The designation, "MODEL 1873" with a decorative foliate design at the rear of the marking is located on the upper tang. The lower tang is stamped with the serial number, "70938" behind the loading lever latch. The two-line legend: "WINCHESTER'S-REPEATING ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT./KING'S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29, 1866, OCTOBER 16, 1860." is roll stamped on the top of the barrel ahead of the rear sight.
BBL: 24 inch
Stock: walnut checkered
Gauge: 44 WCF
Finish: blue/casehardened
Grips:
Serial Number: 70938


Excellent. This outstanding rifle retains at least 75% of the slightly faded original blue and casehardened finish. The barrel has light finish wear on the edges and the bluing has aged to deep purple. The loading gate has at least 70% of the original, niter blue finish. Nearly all of the original case colors are present on the forearm cap, receiver, hammer, loading lever and buttplate and the case colors remain vivid. Wear is limited to some silvering and some scattered age discoloration on the bottom of the loading lever. The fancy, highly figured, walnut stock and forearm have nearly all of the original finish with a few minor handling marks on the lower portion of the stock near the buttplate. The checkered panels on the stock and forearm are sharp with little handling wear. The markings on the barrel and receiver tang are sharp. This is an outstanding example of a special order, deluxe Winchester Model 1873 rifle with rare full octagon barrel and half-magazine.