Winchester 1873 3rd Model .44-40 WCF 24″ Lever Action Rifle 1887 Antique
SOLD FOR: $2,375.00
LSB#: LSB251001TL005
Make: Winchester
Model: 1873 Rifle Third Model
Serial Number: 239164
Year of Manufacture: 1887, Received in Warehouse June 1, 1887. Shipped from warehouse on November 12, 1887. Order number 1683.
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester (.44 Winchester Center Fire)
Action Type: Lever Action with Tubular Magazine
Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN CT. / KING’S – IMPROVEMENT – PATENTED – MARCH 29. 1866. OCTOBER 16 1860”. The lower tang is marked “239164 B”.
Barrel Length: 24” Octagonal Barrel
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a beaded blade dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a standard semi-buckhorn. The upper tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a rear sight. (Not included).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece smooth walnut with capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and crescent buttplate with a sliding door in front of a storage compartment in the butt (nothing in the compartment). The stocks have scattered nicks, dings, scuffs and scratches. There is a small crack on the left side of the wrist. There are no cracks on the forend. The LOP measures 12.75” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has worn to gray and has corrosion staining throughout. Overall, the stocks are in Good for antique.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is gray. The rifling shows some wear, but is generally well defined, sharp in most areas. There is some scattered erosion. In this writer’s opinion, the bore rates 7 out of 10 as antique.
Most antique firearms have bores that will show erosion. This is not only due to age but to the use of black powder. When fired, black powder reacts corrosively. NRA Antique Firearm Conditions Standards are quite lenient for bores. In some cases, the NRA standards disregarded the bore’s condition for collectors’ firearms.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 40% of its metal finish. Most of the rifle shows blue wearing to brown patina. There are scattered nicks, dings, scuffs and scratches with tool marks around some screw heads. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in about Very Good condition as Antique.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. There is a lever lock on the lower tang. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This rifle comes with the accompanying Cody Firearms Museum Winchester factory letter.
Our Assessment: By 1887, the Winchester Model 1873 had already secured its place as one of the defining firearms of the American West—so much so that factory records like those accompanying this rifle trace its journey through Winchester’s warehouse at the height of the model’s popularity. As a Third Model example with its 24-inch octagonal barrel, sliding-door buttplate compartment, and classic straight-grip walnut stock, this rifle exhibits the features that made the ’73 both instantly recognizable and widely trusted during the final decades of the frontier. Its survival in such honest, original form more than a century later offers a direct connection to the period when every mark on a rifle’s steel or wood reflected the lived experience of its owner.
Chambered in .44-40 Winchester—the cartridge that became synonymous with the Model 1873—this rifle represents the most influential pairing in Winchester’s lever-action history. Introduced alongside the rifle in 1873, the .44-40 quickly gained a reputation for accuracy, versatility, and compatibility with revolvers of the same chambering, making it a practical all-around tool on ranches, in mining camps, and on the open range. The bore of this antique remains well-defined with visible rifling and only the expected erosion from black-powder use, aligning with the condition standards commonly encountered on authentic late-19th-century lever actions that saw real service before being retired to civilian life.
The exterior finish, now worn to a pleasing brown patina over roughly 40% remaining blue, speaks to an honest working rifle rather than a stored one. Scattered handling marks, a small wrist crack, and softened edges all contribute to the rifle’s authentic antique character. Even so, the markings remain clear, the configuration correct, and the wood and metal present an appealing, undisturbed appearance for a rifle built in the Gilded Age and shipped in November 1887. As an antique Winchester 1873 with documented factory dates and strong period features, this example embodies the enduring legacy of “The Gun That Won the West.” Please see our photos and good luck on your bid! MF/MA
