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Winchester Model 1886 .33 WCF Lever Action Rifle

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,400.00 USD Estimated At:2,900.00 - 3,800.00 USD
Winchester Model 1886 .33 WCF Lever Action Rifle
This is an exceedingly rare and factory verified, special order Winchester 1886 Extra Lightweight Sporting rifle in smokeless powder .33 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) chambering. This rifle has a serial number of 135107, indicating a manufacture date of 1905. The famed 1886 was one of John Moses Browning’s best and strongest designs. It was especially popular in the West, where a repeating rifle capable of handling the largest and most powerful cartridges of the day was desirable. Theodore Roosevelt also favored the Winchester 1886. (TR was president when this fine Winchester was produced.) This high condition Model 1886 rifle displays some very unusual, rare, and desirable features. By this date, Winchester was making very few 1886 rifles each year. Since the old black powder cartridges of a decade before were rapidly becoming obsolete, Winchester brought out the .33WCF cartridge in 1902 specifically for the Model 1886. This advanced cartridge design was simply the .45-70 case necked down to accept .338” diameter jacketed bullets. At the time, it was the most powerful cartridge offered in any tubular magazine lever action rifle and was used with great success on the largest game. The standard .33 WCF rifle was made as an extra lightweight model with 24” round barrel, half magazine, and flat shotgun butt plate. This example has the very rarely seen special order pistol grip butt stock with correct Winchester embossed hard rubber grip cap. It was also special ordered with a full magazine, which is seldom seen on this model. Further, the butt stock was ordered with a “rifle” curved or crescent shaped butt plate, which is also almost never seen on this model. The special aspects of this fine rifle have been verified by the Cody, Wyoming Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which contains the original Winchester shipping records. Members of the museum may contact the records department for specific Winchester rifle data. This was done with this rifle. The “Call-In” sheet that accompanies the Model 1886 with serial number 135107 reveals that this serial number was applied to a rifle of .33 caliber with a round barrel. It further states that it was factory fitted with a pistol grip stock, full magazine, and rifle butt. It was received in the Winchester warehouse on September 16, 1905 and shipped from the warehouse on September 19, 1905. This rare Winchester Model 1886 shows very tight wood to metal fitting, which indicates that the stock and forearm have never been sanded. The 24” round barrel shows a beautiful deep and bright blue finish, as does the long full magazine tube that was special ordered for this rifle. The barrel is fitted with a correct short ramp front sight paired with a flat top buckhorn rear sight, complete with sliding elevation bar. The correct blued steel receiver displays fine blue mixing with silver patina and excellent deep blue on the bolt at the top of the receiver. The rare rifle butt plate and fore end cap also display fine blue. The barrel has correct Model 1886 markings, along with the correct Winchester address and “.33 WCF” caliber stamping, plus the “Nickel Steel Especially For Smokeless Powder” marking used for this chambering. The upper tang also shows fine correct Winchester markings. The screw heads are excellent; the walnut butt stock and fore end are also excellent. All pistol grip lever action Winchesters are rare and are seldom seen. They are especially unusual on the Model 1886. According to the standard book, “THE WINCHESTER HANDBOOK” by George Madis, of the nearly 160,000 Model 1886s manufactured only 796 had pistol grip stocks and 867 had special butt plates. This, combined with the special full length magazine on this extra lightweight model, make this a most unusual and attractive rifle. The action is tight and the bore is sharp and in excellent condition. This is a very rare variation, 116 year old special order 1886 Winchester with a particularly attractive appearance. Serial Number: 135107. This firearm qualifies as a Curio & Relic firearm and requires FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.