Rare 1 of 1,000 Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle being sold at auction

Rock Island Auction Company ^ | September 8, 2016 | Auction Zip

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

The Browning 1910/55 .380 is my favorite as far as a collector’s piece is concerned. The original 1910 .380 fielded by Gavrilo Princip was responsible for far more deaths than the Winchester 1873. History...

[StoneWall Brigade]

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[Does so]

I inherited an 1884 Springfield (Trapdoor) rifle that had been decommissioned by the factory by a gouge taken out in the chamber. The rifle was decommissioned due to a large bore defect, and although it’s in mint condition, didn’t sell online at $1200. It would make an expensive lamp, so, is it feasible to have a gunsmith convert the chamber to the much-milder .44WCF caliber?

[PROCON]

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[MileHi]

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[CrazyIvan]

I’ve done a fair amount of machining and I think it would be possible to make a chamber insert similar to those used to convert a 30:06 to .308.

[smokingfrog]

The one from the Jimmy Stewart movie sold for $37,500 back in 2005.

http://www.truewestmagazine.com/winchester-73-take-two/

[smokingfrog]

[Charles Martel]

Depending on where the chamber gouge is located, you may be able to “shorten” it with an insert (.45 Colt would be another candidate). If the gouge is near the chamber throat, it may be possible to bore out the entire length of the original barrel and install a rifled liner in an appropriate caliber. Either way, it deserves to be more than a wall-hanger.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

We had an neighbor years ago who had an old Revolutionary War flintlock turned into a lamp. It sickens me today but hillbillies had no idea of the historical value of anything like that.
The wires for the lamp went in the drilled out touch hole and up inside the barrel.

[NC_Gravely]

Unfortunately, I have no idea what happened to it. It wasn’t among my grandfather’s possessions when he died at age 100 a couple of years ago.
 
If it was worth $100,000, then it's dadgum worth looking into.
 
As people become old & infirm & decrepit [Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc], the nice things in their homes have a very bad tendency to sprout legs and walk away.
 
If there isn't firm documentation that your Grandfather sold it, then you likely have an aunt or an uncle or a cousin who is sitting on a very nice piece of hardware.
 
Or else someone from the Home Health Agency snagged it.
 
Seriously.
 
Stuff like that needs to be accounted for.

[Big Red Badger]

Sprouts Legs,,,
Yup!

[Malone LaVeigh]

Winchester ‘73. Great movie!

With Rock Hudson playing an Indian, LOL!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Thanks!

[Fiddlstix]

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[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I had two of the 1873s many years ago. One was a rifle in 38-40. Nice, but it blew the cartridge shoulder forward about 3/16 of an inch and split all the casings. That was in 1969 and you can imagine what those shells cost!
Then I read that the 38-40 was bored deep on purpose to split the case so you could not reload.

The second was a rusted 44-40 carbine found chinked inside the walls of an old log cabin being torn down. I always wondered why that gun was hidden in such a manner!

I wish I still had both of them as the 1873 is still the most snazzy rifle I have ever seen!
Why Winchester went from the steel curved buttplate to the ugly shotgun style in later 1894s is something I will never understand.

[Nailbiter]

I was somewhat partial to the ratlin gun

[Red in Blue PA]

Let me guess. A brain dead liberal.

[poobear]

Fantastic. I shall cherish my collection.
Major thanks!

[wildbill]

Maybe the estate of Jimmy Stewart has a couple.