Original Antique U.S. Winchester Model 1873 .44-40 Saddle Ring Carbine Serial Number 50**95B Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great vintage cowboy saddle ring Winchester Model 1873 carbine in the most popular caliber of .44/40, as used in both carbines and six gun revolvers of the era.

Offered in very nice aged condition and correct in all respects, partially worn away serial number 50**95B indicates that it was manufactured in 1897 or 1898. Six digit serial numbers beginning with “50” were only manufactured in the years 1897 and 1898, and by the end of 1898 they had reached 525923. So this is definitely an antique firearm, made prior to 1899. It has an mostly intact MODEL 1873 marking on the upper receiver tang, and the correct 44 W.C.F. marking over the chamber. There is even a faded 44 CAL. marking on the carrier block, something we rarely see on carbines!

Still fully functional, the action cycles great, with a 20 inch round barrel with a very good bore. It shows strong lands and grooves, with a mostly bright finish, and some oxidation and fouling in the grooves. Probably an 8-9 out of 10, one of the best bores we have seen on a Winchester carbine, which are often close to shot out.

This Carbine has the “Crescent” butt plate with working storage compartment, and the side mounted saddle ring. The rear of the barrel is equipped with a nice flip up carbine long range ladder sight marked 1873 at the top, with the usual “barleycorn” front sight. The engraving on top of the barrel is still mostly legible, which is quite rare to see:

WINCHESTER’S REPEATING ARMS. NEW HAVEN, CT.
[KING’S IMPROVE]MENT PATENTED MARCH 29.1866. OCTOBER 16.1860

The carbine is in nice matured condition showing use and really presents nicely. The metalwork has a nice aged grey patina, and shows use and has a bit of rust peppering in some areas. Masses of character here! The stocks are in very good shape, with the lovely red-brown color of aged oiled walnut. We do not see any repairs, just the usual wear from decades of use and cleaning.

Fully cleaned and ready to display!

The Model 1873 was one of the most successful Winchester rifles of its day, gaining the reputation as “The Gun that Won the West”. Still an icon almost a century and a half later, it was manufactured between 1873 and 1919. Originally chambered for the .44-40 cartridge, it was later produced in .38-40 and .32-20, all of which were also popular handgun cartridges of the day, allowing users to conveniently carry just one type of ammunition. The Model 1873 was produced in three variations: a 24″ barrel rifle, 20″ barrel carbine, and a musket. The easy to transport and handle carbine was the most popular, while the musket accounted for less than 5-10 percent of total production.

Due to feeding problems, the original Model 1873 was never offered in the military standard .45 Colt cartridge, although a number of modern reproductions are chambered for the round. The popularity of the original Model 1873 led Colt to manufacture .44-40 a version of the Single Action Army revolver called the “Frontier Model”.

To both celebrate and enhance the Model 1873’s prestige, Winchester established a coveted One of One Thousand grade in 1875. Barrels producing unusually small groupings during test-firing were fitted to rifles with set triggers and a special finish. Marked One of One Thousand, they sold for a then princely $100. A popular 1950 Western starring Jimmy Stewart, Winchester ’73, was based on the coveted gun. Promotions included a search for One of One Thousand rifles by Universal Studios, with advertisements in sporting magazines and posters in sporting goods stores.

A second grade of Model 1873 barrels producing above average accuracy were fitted to rifles marked One of One Hundred, and sold for $20 over list. Approximately 136 One of One Thousand Model 1873s were sold, and only eight One of One Hundreds. In all, over 720,000 Model 1873s were produced.

The .38-40 Winchester round is actually a .40 caliber cartridge shooting .401 caliber bullets. The cartridge was introduced by Winchester in 1874 and is derived from their .44-40 Winchester. This cartridge was introduced for rifles, but in its reintroduction for Cowboy Action Shooting it has seen some popularity as a pistol cartridge. It is not particularly well suited to hunting larger game, but it was popular when it was introduced, along with the previous .44-40 Winchester, for deer hunting. It can be used successfully on smaller game animals, and for self-defense.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1897 or 1898
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 20 Inches
Overall Length: 39 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Repeater
Feed System: 9-round tube magazine

Note: This gun is NOT considered obsolete calibre, so we are no able to ship to the United Kingdom. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services.