S#: 11466 (extremely faint) | Mfg. Date: 1876 | Barrel Length: 24-3/8” | Early First Model Winchester Model 1873 Sporting Rifle chambered in .44 WCF (.44-40), featuring an octagonal barrel, full-length tubular magazine, walnut stock and forearm, crescent rifle buttplate, brass cartridge elevator, and early First Model receiver with mortised side grooves for the sliding dust cover. Dust cover is absent. Barrel bears the early two-line Winchester Repeating Arms / King’s Improvement patent address, and upper tang is marked “MODEL. 1873.” No caliber designation is visible on the barrel or brass cartridge elevator, consistent with an early production rifle from the period when .44 WCF was the Model 1873’s original chambering; .38 WCF was not introduced until 1879. Serial number is extremely faint from wear but appears to read 11466; assuming this reading is correct, the rifle dates to 1876 and falls well within First Model production. |||| CONDITION: Good. Aged brown patina finish with areas of pitting near the breech and nipple. Markings are generally legible, although some barrel markings are faint. Stock is solid with hairline cracks and considerable age-related wear. Mechanically functions at both full and half cock. Overall an attractive, honest early First Model rifle showing considerable period use ||||| CLASS: ANTIQUE