highpower3006
New member
I have been looking for a decent early lever action rifle for a long time. I was specifically looking for a Winchester 1873 in .44WCF, but in all honesty I would have taken one in just about any caliber if the price was right. Finding one at a price I was comfortable with has been hard as real nice ones seem to go for stupid money. I finally managed to remedy that today and even better I wound up with two early lever actions.
I stumbled onto a 1888 vintage Winchester Model 1873 in .44WCF and a Marlin Model 1893 chambered in .38-55 and made in 1900. I got them for what I consider to be a pretty decent deal for the pair of them.
The bore on the '73 is kind of so-so, but it does have reasonably strong rifling right out to the muzzle. The metal finish has no bluing left, but it does not have a heavy patina and the wood is in pretty good condition. Overall not bad at all for being 132 years old. I am probably not going to shoot it a whole bunch, but I will put a few rounds down the tube from time to time.
The real treasure is the Marlin. The .38-55 is a great round and the bore on this rifle is just pristine. There is tons of blue left on the barrel and strong traces of the original case colors on the receiver with some freckling on the left side. I would rate the wood as being about the same overall condition as that on the Winchester.
I stumbled onto a 1888 vintage Winchester Model 1873 in .44WCF and a Marlin Model 1893 chambered in .38-55 and made in 1900. I got them for what I consider to be a pretty decent deal for the pair of them.
The bore on the '73 is kind of so-so, but it does have reasonably strong rifling right out to the muzzle. The metal finish has no bluing left, but it does not have a heavy patina and the wood is in pretty good condition. Overall not bad at all for being 132 years old. I am probably not going to shoot it a whole bunch, but I will put a few rounds down the tube from time to time.
The real treasure is the Marlin. The .38-55 is a great round and the bore on this rifle is just pristine. There is tons of blue left on the barrel and strong traces of the original case colors on the receiver with some freckling on the left side. I would rate the wood as being about the same overall condition as that on the Winchester.
Last edited: