Make: Winchester
Model: 1873 Rifle, 1st Model, 1 of 1,000
Serial Number: 6995
Year of Manufacture: 1875
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)
Action Type: Lever Action with Full Length Tubular Magazine and Single Set-Trigger
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.”. The lower tang is marked “6995”. The upper tang is marked “MODEL. 1873”. The left of the bottom tang, the upper tang inlet of the wrist (see Stock Configuration & Condition, Our Assessment), and the inside of the buttplate at the toe each have the assembly number "504". The lower tang is also marked "XXX". The barrel has "1 of 1000" hand engraved on the top of the barrel at the breech.
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 elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none present).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered 3-X deluxe walnut with a capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate with sliding trapdoor in the rear face. There is a patch in the top of the wrist, including the inlet marked with the assembly number. There are tiny losses at the top front corners of the wrist, at the toe, and at the rear edge of the forend. There are small patch repairs at the top front corners of the forend (one on each side). There is a thin crack at the left rear edge of the forend. There are some scattered nicks, scuffs, and scratches, including marks in the checkering. The checkering is generally well defined. The LOP measures 12 3/4" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has mostly muted or gone to a light patina. There is some scattered light surface erosion. Overall, the stocks are in Very Good condition as refinished and repaired Antique.
Type of Finish: Blue & Case Hardened
Finish Originality: Most remaining finish is Original to the parts. The bottom tang is either Refinished or not original to the rifle.
Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is scattered light erosion and pitting in the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates about a 6 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 15% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. There is some finish remaining on the magazine tube. Most other exposed surfaces have gone to a fairly uniform patina. The receiver shows areas which have a nickel-like appearance, typical of old Winchester case hardened receivers. There is some blue finish remaining on the interior of the bottom tang assembly (see Our Assessment). There are some light nicks and scratches. There are a few more notable nicks on the top right barrel flat behind the front sight and over the magazine bracket. There are tool marks on and around the magazine bracket. The fit of the magazine cap to the tube is imperfect. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Very Good condition as Antique.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger can be set by pressing forward until it clicks. The top of the receiver is mortised for a 1st Model "thumbprint" dust cover. We have not fired this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: A four-piece cleaning rod is included, stored in the buttstock. Also included is a Cody Firearms Records Office search, indicating that serial number 6995 shipped August 18, 1875 as a 1 of 1000 with case hardened receiver, XXX stock, set trigger, and octagonal barrel.
Our Assessment: The famous Winchester Model 1873 lever action repeating rifle, known as "the gun that won the West", had its beginnings in the Volcanic Firearms Company and the later designs by Benjamin Tyler Henry. The Model 1873 had 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. Early in production of the Model 1873, Winchester distributed a flier extolling the virtues of their new rifle and the myriad ways it was an improvement over their previous Model 1866. In this nondescript flier they also etched a plan that would lead to some of the most desired Winchesters ever made, the “One of One Thousand” and “One of One Hundred” Model 1873s. The program would be more fully explained in their 1875 catalog. The initial flier read: "Every Sporting Rifle we make will be proved and shot at a target, and the target will be numbered to correspond with the barrel and be attached to it. When one hundred barrels are thus proved, the one making the best target will be selected and set aside, and another hundred proved in the same way, and so on until one thousand have been tested and ten targets selected with the barrels with which they were made. They will then be made up into Guns, in which each part is selected with the utmost care and finished in the finest manner. They will then be again subjected to trials for accuracy, and the best of the ten selected and marked 'One of a thousand,' the price of which will be from $80.00 to $100.00. The other nine will be marked ‘One of a hundred,’ and the price will be from $60.00 to $75.00 each." Although the plan never fully came to fruition, as there were more than 700,000 Models 1873s made with only 132 "One of One Thousand" rifles produced, these rifles were well known and highly sought after during their time, with two having been ordered by “the father of Montana”, Granville Stuart, one for himself and one for his brother Thomas Stuart. By 1877, Winchester dropped the options from their catalog, and nearly all of the “One of One Thousand” rifles were produced before 1880. Interest in these rare Winchesters was revived in 1950 with the release of Winchester '73 starring Jimmy Stewart, in which the winning and keeping of a “One of One Thousand” rifle was the focal point of the film. Before the release of the movie, Winchester and Universal Pictures began a program to find out just how many “One of One Thousand” rifles still existed. They plastered “WANTED!” posters all across the country and played radio ads. The premise was simple: be one of the first 20 to respond to the ad with a picture and description of your Winchester “One of One Thousand”, its features, and its serial number, and Winchester would send you a brand new Model 94 rifle. The search was so successful that the ensuing pictures and serial number list of “One of One Thousand” rifles brought to light laid the foundation for many of the authentic examples known today. The rifles have since become perhaps the most sought after of all Winchesters.
This example is one which deserves specific attention due to the question of its authenticity. The serial number on the bottom tang is recorded in Winchester's records as a “1 of 1000” with features matching this rifle. The bottom tang has blued finish on it, though, which should be case hardened to match the frame. The assembly numbers are matched on the tang, stock, and buttplate, however, the marking on the stock is struck on a surface which was added to the stock as part of a patch repair.Certainly there is incentive among the unscrupulous to fake a rifle such as this, and certainly this rifle is not exactly as it was when it left Winchester. Yet, it’s also true that since the 1860s, owners of fine Winchester rifles have done things to restore or "correct" guns in their collections. Taking into account the quality of the woodwork in the top of the wrist, the matching assembly numbers in correct locations and the other correct features of the rifle, not to mention the overall quality of the collection from which this rifle came, it's certainly possible that this “1 of 1000” was found in imperfect condition and an attempt was made to improve it. Until and unless another serial number 6995 shows up to compare, there's no good way to be sure, but in any case, this is a handsome old Winchester.
RIFLE