What a great forum!

This is my first post and I need help identifying this rifle and possible value.

The pictures will do more than words.

The only marking I can discern is just behind the lever 'safety'...just a number 32331.

Appears to be a 44 or 45 caliber?

Any ideas from the experts?

Thanks!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/IMG_1903.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/IMG_1906.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/IMG_1907.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/IMG_1908.jpg

Winchester 1873, likely chambered for .44 WCF (also known as .44-40). The serial number indicates an 1879 date of manufacture.

Like pisgah said. Possibly made in 1879. Check out http://oldguns.net/

Bye
Jack

While I am far from an expert, its a rather nice Winchester model 1873 full rifle in .44 WCF. If 32331 is indeed the serial number, it was manufactured in 1879. The tang sight apprears to be from a slightly later time period. Please contact a local Winchester collector for a valid appraisal. If the photos do it justice, you might be pleasantly surprised at its potential market value.

It is a nice looking one to. I would look at some of the listings at Cabela's gunroom to try and get an idea of the true value. Some of the asking prices on the auction sites are a little flakey when it comes to antique firearms.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/community/gun/gun-home.jsp?hierarchyId=10468

I think some of the asking prices at Cabelas are pretty flakey too.:eek:

I think some of the asking prices at Cabelas are pretty flakey too.:eek:

They are by no means cheap I will agree. However; on gunbroker and the like there is no charge to list a gun, you only pay if it sells. I think some folks list guns on there with a crazy price figuring it don't cost them anything and sooner or later someone will pay. Cabela's kind of seperates the wheat from the chaff. Obviously there is a markup involved.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the thoughts.

I got a little more help and it was suggested that I remove the rear sight to see what might be on the tang...

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/1995.jpg

That's what I found...

Here are a couple more pictures of the top:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/1996.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f84/dsieburg/1997.jpg

So now what? Have I found a treasure?

The pictures are as accurate...shot with a Canon DSLR and studio lighting...

So now what? Have I found a treasure?


Proceed with caution is all I could advise. It certainly is a valuable rifle by most anyone's standards.

If it were mine I think the first thing I would do is contact the folks at the Winchester musueum in Cody and get it lettered if I could.

I'll second KenK. It's valuable. Exactly how valuable will depend on getting it lettered, and having it professionally appraised.

The other thing that occurs to me is to mention is that you shouldn't fool around with it too much trying to clean it or otherwise mess with the finish.

Ok, 500driver, are you JR? whoever you are you have a really nice rifle. the fact that you have the rifle without knowing what you have is even more interesting to me. how did you accuire this rifle? if this is one of those garage sale stories or a found it in the attic of old house i bought, you are insanely lucky and i am very jealous.

One thing that will make a difference on the value will be how much of the gun is still original or unmodified. That's why getting the Factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum is so cool. If you get the letter and everything on the rifle matches what the letter says the factory specifications were when it was new, it makes it more valuable than a similar gun that has been cut down or otherwise modified at some point in time.

There was a question about whether or not my 1886 in 45-90 had been cut down because the barrel was shorter than the standard 26" barrel length for 1886 rifles, but the factory letter confirmed the barrel length, which was pretty cool because not only is it still original, it makes it more of a find than a comparable piece from the same time frame with the standard 26" barrel.

I'd say to invest the $60 for the factory letter - you won't be sorry you did.

There is a bit of a story behind how this rifle FOUND ME. It's a bit of a "friend of a friend" thing...but basically I'm "better than my friend" with a camera (I have a Canon DSLR, studio lights, and so on)...so he tasked me with finding about this rifle. It belonged to his step-father who passed away...and now it belongs to him.

He's not a "gun guy" so I imagine it will be sold...along with the rest of his step father's collection.

Some other notable pieces include a nice Browning Sweet Sixteen, a Browning .284 Safari Game Rifle, and the list goes on...

I have detailed photos and as much information I could find on each rifle/shotgun if anyone is interested.

Thanks again for the help.