Colt Lightning Express Magazine Rifle Large Frame 28″ Pump Action, MFD 1887
SOLD FOR: $5,625.00
LSB#: WY250108JL003
Make: Colt
Model: Lightning Magazine Rifle, Large Frame Carbine
Serial Number: 223
Year of Manufacture: 1887 (https://www.colt.com/serial-lookup)
Caliber: .40-60-260 CLMR
Action Type: Slide / Pump Action, Full Length Tube Magazine Fed Rifle
Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A. / PATENTED MAY 29. SEPT 18, 83. MAY 26, 85. JUNE 15 86. FEB. 22, 87?, the left shoulder is marked “40-60-260”. The lower tang is marked with the serial number “223”.
Barrel Length: 28”, Octagonal
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a beaded blade dovetailed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a “U”-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped and filled for a tang sight (present).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are walnut with a two-piece checkered slide handle, straight grip, straight comb and steel crescent buttplate. The stocks have scattered nicks, scuffs and scratches. The buttstock has light shrinkage and weathering at the rear. There are tiny losses at the top-front corners of the wrist. The LOP measures 13? from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has gone to a mottled patina with scattered erosion. Overall, the stocks are in very good condition as Antique.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality:Original.
Bore Condition: The bore is bright with well defined rifling. There is light scaring in the middle of the bore. The bore rats 9/10 in this writer’s opinion.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 75% of its metal finish. The metal surfaces have worn to white or gone to a light patina. There is minimal surface erosion, most is in the bottom tang/trigger guard assembly. The left side of the mag tube has lost much of its finish. There are long draglines on the left side of the receiver. The belly of the rifle is basically in the white. The front quarter of the receiver on the right side has gone white. There are some scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with usable slots. The remaining markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Good-Very Good condition as an Antique.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: Around the 1880s, Colt was looking to diversify but both Remington and Winchester had the rifle market sewn up. Besides their lever actions, there were also new slide action rifles: the user pumped a moving arm set under the barrel and around a tubular magazine, kicking out a spent round and loading a new one with every “stroke”. Colt concentrated on this design concept and in 1884 introduced a gun with a short slide action that was so slick and so fast; that they dubbed it the “Lightning”. The advertising said it all: “Nothing was faster than lightning”. The handy rifle’s tubular magazine could hold as many as 15 rounds, depending on caliber, which made it very attractive. It came in three varieties: small, medium, and large. Each of these guns had the same setup, with a deep-blued finish, case-hardened hammer, American walnut stock and fore-end, and open rear and front sights. They were light, going 6.5 pounds or so. The large frame (.38-55 Winchester, 40-60, and .50-95 Express) guns were by far the fewest produced with just 6,496 coming off the line. Today these guns (barring an SFPD marked medium frame) are the most sought-after of this particular family tree. Since they had longer cartridges, the magazines on these guns were generally 10-rounders rather than the more common 15-shots. The large-frame Lightning (also called the “Express Model”) was manufactured between 1887 and 1893. This is a very honest rifle, showing wear in the metal, retaining a good bore and strong mechanics, and with some light patina, worst on the forearm. We do not see these often, and when they do they always garner plenty of interest. So bid high and bid firm. I highly encourage you to take a look at the condition of the piece in our high-quality photos. Good luck with your bid. -K.F.
