RARE WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 OPEN TOP LEVER ACTION RIFLE.

SN 27807. Cal. 44 WCF (44-40). Standard grade rifle with 24-1/4″ oct bbl, full 1st type magazine with threaded flush cap, half nickel front sight & orig short, semi-buckhorn rear sight with checkered edges. Receiver is one of the rare rifles without a dust cover and has single set trigger. About the time this rifle was produced there appeared to have been a problem with burst primers & ruptured cartridge cases. If such an incident occurred with the dust cover closed the escaping gasses would bulge or rupture the side plates, disabling the rifle. For a couple of years Winchester made 1873 & 1876 rifles without dust covers so that should a cartridge rupture the gasses would escape upward and not damage the rifle. Apparently there was an improvement in cartridge design, along with complaints from customers about trash & dirt in the receivers so Winchester resumed standard practice of installing dust covers. During the years when dust covers were not standard, a dust cover could be special ordered and installed at the factory. Mounted with uncheckered, straight grain American walnut with straight stock and crescent buttplate with trap. Left side of upper and lower tang, under the wood, have assembly numbers “442” & lower tang has assembly number “661”. Buttstock, apparently a period of use replacement is without assembly number. Buttplate has a third assembly number not matching any of the previously listed numbers. The Model 1873 was Winchester’s first repeating center fire rifle and was introduced during the height of the great westward expansion of Manifest Destiny when any repeating firearm was in great demand, especially the much more reliable center fire arms. The ’73, along with its companion Colt Single Action Army revolver, were credited with winning the west. These early rifles were virtually all sold for use on the western frontier and almost universally saw very hard service. Accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter which identifies this rifle with oct bbl and set trigger received in warehouse Jan. 21, 1878 and shipped Jul. 15, 1878 to order number “12405”. PROVENANCE: Tommy Rholes Estate Collection. CONDITION: Good. No orig finish remains being an overall smooth brown patina. Stock has a filled gouge on each side of the comb, a couple small bruises by the toe & a chip out of the forearm; stock also has a small crack in the toe, otherwise wood is sound and retains a light refinish on the buttstock & a dark hand worn patina on the forearm; set trigger needs adjusting, otherwise mechanics are fine; strong dark bore with sharp rifling. 4-50581 JR296 (5,000-8,000) – Lot 1028

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1028	$9,775.00	RARE WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 OPEN TOP LEVER ACTION RIFLE. SN 27807. Cal. 44 WCF (44-40). Standard grade rifle with 24-1/4″ oct bbl, full 1st type magazine with threaded flush cap, half nickel front sight & orig short, semi-buckhorn rear sight with checkered edges. Receiver is one of the rare rifles without a dust cover and has single set trigger. About the time this rifle was produced there appeared to have been a problem with burst primers & ruptured cartridge cases. If such an incident occurred with the dust cover closed the escaping gasses would bulge or rupture the side plates, disabling the rifle. For a couple of years Winchester made 1873 & 1876 rifles without dust covers so that should a cartridge rupture the gasses would escape upward and not damage the rifle. Apparently there was an improvement in cartridge design, along with complaints from customers about trash & dirt in the receivers so Winchester resumed standard practice of installing dust covers. During the years when dust covers were not standard, a dust cover could be special ordered and installed at the factory. Mounted with uncheckered, straight grain American walnut with straight stock and crescent buttplate with trap. Left side of upper and lower tang, under the wood, have assembly numbers “442” & lower tang has assembly number “661”. Buttstock, apparently a period of use replacement is without assembly number. Buttplate has a third assembly number not matching any of the previously listed numbers. The Model 1873 was Winchester’s first repeating center fire rifle and was introduced during the height of the great westward expansion of Manifest Destiny when any repeating firearm was in great demand, especially the much more reliable center fire arms. The ’73, along with its companion Colt Single Action Army revolver, were credited with winning the west. These early rifles were virtually all sold for use on the western frontier and almost universally saw very hard service. Accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter which identifies this rifle with oct bbl and set trigger received in warehouse Jan. 21, 1878 and shipped Jul. 15, 1878 to order number “12405”. PROVENANCE: Tommy Rholes Estate Collection. CONDITION: Good. No orig finish remains being an overall smooth brown patina. Stock has a filled gouge on each side of the comb, a couple small bruises by the toe & a chip out of the forearm; stock also has a small crack in the toe, otherwise wood is sound and retains a light refinish on the buttstock & a dark hand worn patina on the forearm; set trigger needs adjusting, otherwise mechanics are fine; strong dark bore with sharp rifling. 4-50581 JR296 (5,000-8,000) – Lot 1028 Auction: Firearms - Spring 2014 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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RARE WINCHESTER MODEL 1873 OPEN TOP LEVER ACTION RIFLE.