Make: Winchester Repeating Arms

Model: 1873, 3rd Model

Serial Number: 458569B

Year of Manufacture: 1893

Caliber: .32-20 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)

Action Type: Lever Action Rifle with Full-Length Tubular Magazine

Markings: The top of the barrel is marked "WINCHESTER'S-REPEATING-ARMS. NEW HAVEN, CT. / KING'S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29. 1866. OCTOBER 16. 1860." and at the receiver with "32 W.C.F.". The bottom tang is marked "458569B". The top tang is marked "MODEL. 1873". The bottom of the lifter is marked "32 CAL.". 

Barrel Length: 24” Round

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a German silver blade in a slotted base dovetailed and screw-set to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a "V"-notch semi-buckhorn elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel; the notch is fine-adjustable for elevation. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none included). 

Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with a capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate. The stocks have scattered nicks, scuffs, and scratches. There are more notable dings in the left of the forend and a few other more notable marks. The wood is discolored at most edges where it meets the metal. There is a crack in the right-front of the forend and a short, thin crack at the left-front of the wrist. There are a few tiny losses around the edges. The LOP measures 12 5/8" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has scattered erosion under its generally strong finish, indicating it has been refinished. Overall, the stocks are in Good to Very Good Condition as Antique.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is gray. The rifling is worn, but visible. There is erosion and pitting scattered through the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 4 or 5 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 15% of its metal finish. Finish remains in protected areas such as the bottom of the barrel, the top of the magazine, around the edges of the sideplate, and on the bottom tang where protected by the lever. Most surfaces have gone to a light to moderate patina with scattered wear, and most edges have gone to white. There are scattered nicks, scuffs, scratches, and spots of surface oxidation. The most notable scratches are on the receiver around the sideplates. There are tool marks on the barrel at the magazine bracket and notable nicks on the right of the barrel in front of the forend. The screw heads range from sharp to disfigured with usable slots. The markings are generally clear; the lifter's caliber marking is worn, but legible. Overall, this rifle is in about Very Good Condition as Antique. 

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. There is a lever lock on the lower tang, a lever safety, and a dust cover on the receiver that slides on an integral rail, typical of the Third Models. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None

Our Assessment: The famous Winchester Model 1873 lever action repeating rifle had its beginnings in the Volcanic Firearms Company and the later designs by Benjamin Tyler Henry. The Model 1873 boasted a steel frame that was much stronger than the brass framed Model 1866, allowing Winchester to move away from .44 rimfire and develop the powerful new .44-40 WCF round (Winchester’s first metallic centerfire cartridge), as well as a family of other new potent rounds, with Colt usually producing Single Action Army revolvers in the same calibers shortly after they were developed. The Model 1873 has an almost mythical status among firearms collectors, Old West enthusiasts, and fans of the Western film genre, even inspiring the 1950 movie "Winchester '73" starring Jimmy Stewart. It will forever be known as the “The Gun that Won the West” for its predominant role in the hands of Western settlers.

This Antique Winchester Model 1873 Rifle was made in 1893 and is in Very Good Condition. It features a 24” round barrel, 15% of its original blued finish (most surfaces have gone to a light to moderate patina, with the finish remaining in protected areas), rugged two-piece smooth walnut stocks (there are notable dings in the left of the forend, there’s a crack in the right-front of the forend, and there’s a short, thin crack at the left-front of the wrist), a refinished steel crescent buttplate, generally clear markings, solid mechanics, and a gray bore with worn but visible rifling, scattered erosion, and scattered pitting. It’s chambered in .32-20 WCF. A departure from the earlier centerfire cartridges, .32-20 WCF was notably smaller, using less lead and therefore destroying less meat, a valuable quality indeed when hunting for sustenance. As is often the case, this Model 1873 was “rode hard and put away wet”, and with its “been there, done that” appearance, it would make an honest addition to an Old West or Winchester collection.