| Winchester 1873 Semi-Deluxe Rifle |
This is an early 3rd Model 1873 sporting rifle in 44-40 with a 24" round barrel, full magazine, and crescent rifle buttplate. Serial number is in the 125,000 range which dates this rifle to the year 1883. From casual observation, this appears to be a standard production sporting rifle but is actually a pretty unique gun with a special-order case color hardened frame. We called the Cody Museum and were able to verify that this rifle is factory original. The following information was found in the original factory ledgers: Win. 1873, SN 125720 This "case hardened" or "case colored" finish was typically reserved for only the finest Model 1873's like the Deluxe Models and "1 of 1000" rifles. Since it possesses half of what it takes to be a deluxe 1873 (which is generally a case colored frame and checkered fancy burl walnut), we like to call these with just the case colors "semi-deluxe" rifles. While the wood is not checkered or possessing heavy burl, it is a little nicer than standard grade walnut with some tiger striping figure and nice grain in the fore-end. Over the years, we've seen this on other guns and it appears if you ordered a gun with a special finish, Winchester would sometimes (but not always) stock these rifles with walnut that was a little fancier. This little extra or "bonus" wood was noticeably nicer than standard grade wood but not possessing either enough burl figure or symmetry to qualify up to deluxe standards which was graded 1x up to 4x. Nonetheless, the walnut on this one rifle shows some figure and is quite attractive. This next paragraph is nothing more than information overload but in the interests of helping a potential customer make an informed decision, this is a break-down assessment of features and components for this rifle. For starters, this rifle is all original down to the smallest screw with nothing out of place in terms of fit, finish, patina, markings, features, etc. Being an early 3rd model, it has its original short semi-buckhorn style rear sight with checkered sides...actually a rather valuable sight as these were used on 1st and 2nd Models before being phased out of production to the longer buckhorn after the early 1880's. The front sight has the standard German silver blade with no set screw which is correct of all 1880's vintage Winchester models. The barrel and loading block are unmarked with the caliber designation...also correct for an early 44 caliber Model 1873 as the 44 CAL marks did not begin to appear until around the year 1884-5. Nice 2-line barrel address with 1860 and 1866 patent dates. Upper tang is marked "MODEL 1873". Since it has a special-order finish, the inside of the lower tang is marked with the letters "CF" for what I would assume to denote "cased finish", the letter "R" for "rifle", and an assembly number. Assembly numbers were used on 1st and 2nd models and for a short time on early 3rd models...after which it was usually reserved for rifles with special-order wood. The assembly numbers on this rifle are all matching, no. "676", and are located on the lower tang, inside the stock in the upper tang inlet, and at the toe of the buttplate. In addition to the assembly numbers, the sideplates have matching sub-assembly numbers which are identical to the last two digits of the serial number. From past experiences, these sub-assembly numbers have appeared on other 1873's I've inspected with either case colored or nickel-plated frames. Overall condtion is NRA Antique Very Good with the metal turning from a soft gray to light brown patina. The frame has considerable traces of silvered or faded out case colors in the more protected areas...around the sideplates, back corners of the frame, hammer opening, below the duct cover rail, and along the lower tang underneath the lever and trigger area. Fore-end cap also shows traces of silvered case colors. A quick inspection of the mechanics revealed bright original case colors underneath the sideplates and throughout the inside of the frame. The barrel and magazine tube are mostly a soft brown patina with original blue in protected areas...i.e. just above the edges of the fore-end and between the barrel and magazine tube. The screws, while not perfect, have all survived the past 125+ years in good serviceable condition. The wood is in very good condition overall and while it shows wear, the stock has what appears to be much of its original varnish intact. The fore-end has two small chips missing on the left side of the fore-end. Both chips are small and appear to have occurred long ago during this rifle's period of use. Could easily be fixed but I think they lend some character to this colorful old Winchester. The wood has very nice wood-to-metal fit and has never been sanded. Nice mechanics. Bore is still fairly bright with decent rifling with a few pits. The bore is a respectable Good+ overall. Item# 1181 SOLD |
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