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1873 Winchester with numbers stamped on forearm
338weatherby
Member Posts: 427 ✭✭
I am looking at purchasing a 1873 serial number 143xxx. It is .44-40 octagon rifle configuration. It is in outstanding shape and that is what gets me nervous. The gentleman selling it is 50 years old and received it after his dad died a year ago. His father got it in the 40's and never used it. I has the number 121 embossed in the forearm underneath near the receiver and what looks like a 7 embossed on the right side of the wrist. They are not tacky at all and look very similar to markings I've seen on Springfield 1873's. looks like military?
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Instructions for posting photos, at this link.
http://forums.GunBroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=259294
EDIT #1, One of the best condition 73's I've run across. So nice makes you wonder if it's original?
Hopefully these worked
WACA Historian & Life Member
From what I've read, the caliber wasn't marked on the barrel or the elevator on 44's. In 1879 when the 38-40 came out they started marking only the 38-40's around 1880. Two years later when the 32-40 came out they marked those as well. The 44-40 wasn't stamped consistantly until around serial number 150000. I've checked the serial number with the Cody museum and the info from them also does not state the caliber. I will post more pics. Again I haven't purchased this rifle. They pics where emailed to me.
Do not rely heavily on what you have read... there is a lot of erroneous information that has been published.
Model 1873 serial number 143000 was manufactured in December of 1883, and it most likely was not received in the warehouse until early 1884. By late 1883, the caliber for all Model 1873s was marked on the barrel. The rifle your are looking at should have the caliber marked on the bronze elevator block, and on the barrel. The warehouse ledger record book may not list the caliber, but that was normal for those that were made in 44 WCF.
In regards to the rifle, I am relatively sure that it has been refinished/restored.
WACA Historian & Life Member
Regarding the numbers stamped on the forearm and wrist, could it be that this was owned by some sort of government entity and not used much thus it's condition? I know this is a stretch. I just want to be sure. The reason I started this thread was for input on the markings. I hate to pass this up if it is indeed original. Maybe I can do a inspection period and pay shipping twice worse case.
Unless you find the person who stamped the numbers, it's any ones guess what they mean. They could be what collectors often refer to as "rack numbers", done by a police force, security guard firm, cattle ranch, etc., to quickly identify the rifle, thus making the person who used the rifle responsible for it. Of course the serial number can be used also for this purpose, but the sn is smaller to read and has more digits. And in the past, before these guns became worth a reasonable amount of money, some collectors and museums would mark their guns with an inventory number.
Johnny
I've checked the serial number with the Cody museum and the info from them also does not state the caliber.You may not realize it, but Bert H. basically is the Cody Museum. I'll allow him to state his credentials, but you won't find anyone with the Winchester rifle knowledge and resources he has.
Post #10 is going to auto-lock this thread, but please re-post as Part 2 so we can all see what the situation turn out to be with this rifle.