Make: Winchester Repeating Arms

Model: 1873, 3rd Model

Serial Number: 388848B

Year of Manufacture: 1891

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, CONN. U.S.A. / -KING'S IMPROVEMENT PATENTED MARCH 29. 1866. OCTOBER 16. 1860.-" and at the receiver with "32 W.C.F.". The bottom tang is marked "388848B". The top tang is marked "MODEL. 1873.". The plate in the belly is marked "Presented / TO / JUDGE J.M. GREER / BY / R. Kupperschmidt".

Barrel Length: 24", Octagonal

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a German silver blade in a slotted base dovetailed 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 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, steel crescent buttplate and a silver presentation plate in the belly. The stocks have scattered nicks, scuffs, and scratches. There is a series of notches in the front of the comb that appears intentionally applied. There are cracks in the right-front of the forend, at the toe on each side and a small repaired chip at the rear of the bottom tang. The LOP measures 12 3/4" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has gone to a moderate patina with some light nicks, scratches and surface erosion. The presentation plate has minor tarnish. Overall, the stocks are in Good-Very Good Condition as refinished Antique.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is dark. The rifling is worn, barely visible. There is erosion and pitting scattered through the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 3 or 4 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 3% of its metal finish. There is infrequent finish in well protected areas. The exposed surfaces have worn to white or gone to a light patina. There is scattered surface erosion. There are many scattered nicks, dings, scrapes and scratches. There is notable wear at the front of the magazine tube, the magazine bracket, the chamber ring on the receiver and behind the hammer on the receiver. The front edge of the magazine tube is cracked at the cap mounting screw. The tube is dented and the follower will bind in the tube. There is notable scratching on the bottom shoulders of the barrel and along the magazine tube. There are tool marks at most screw heads. The screw heads range from sharp to disfigured with usable slots. The markings are generally clear, the lifter's caliber marking is almost completely worn away. Overall, this rifle is in about Good condition as Antique. 

Mechanics: The extractor has play to the bolt and will likely slip off the rim of cases. The magazine tube is dented and the follower will bind in the tube. Otherwise, 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 1891 and has a little bit of history. The silver plate in the belly indicates that it was presented to Judge J.M. Greer by an R. Kupferschmidt, proprietor of a sporting good store in Memphis Tennessee. The exact recipient of the rifle is harder to pin down as there were no fewer than three Judge J.M. Greers who were around Memphis at the time including James Madison Greer Jr., James Madison Greer III, and James Micajah Greer, at least two of whom served with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. As is often the case, this Model 1873 was “rode hard and put away wet”, and with its “been there, done that” appearance and South Carolina history, it would make a neat addition to a Winchester collection, especially in the Volunteer State.