1873 Winchester Question

[Calico Kirby]

Just wondering what the approximate date ranges are for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Models (meaning, when did one start and the other begin)? I'm sure there's not a definitive date for all of these but if someone could give me a ballpark range that would be a big help!

 

Also, is there a good book for studying the variations of early Winchesters? Something similar to Kopec's A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, or Chicoine's Smith and Wesson Six Guns of the Old West.

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

CK.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

The Winchester 1873 Handbook, by George W Stone probably has the most complete information about the '73, with lots and lots of details about the gun. Detailed descriptions of all the parts, calibers, and everything else you can think of. Unfortunately it is out of print now and I just checked Amazon and some clown wants $395 for a copy. Here is another copy on another auction site. Perhaps you can do better if you snoop around. I think I probably paid about $60 for my copy a few years ago.

 

Handbook

 

Obviously the First Model was the one that first came out in 1873. This is the one with the guides for the for the dustcover integral with the frame.

 

Stone says the Second Model first appeared at about Serial Number 29,500. This is the one with the rail type dust cover guide screwed to the top of the frame.

 

Stone says the Third Model first appeared at about Serial Number 89,000. This is the one with the rail cast as an integral part of the frame.

 

Flipping over to an online production number search engine I entered the Serial Numbers and came up with these results.

 

The year of manufacture for serial number 29500 is 1879.

 

The year of manufacture for serial number 89000 is 1882.

 

Another good book is The Winchester Handbook by George Madis. This covers all the rifles and shotguns Winchester made. Not as detailed as the '73 book but lots and lots of good information on the early Winchesters, including the Henry and the Hunt and Jennings guns. Wow, the price on Amazon for that one is ridiculous too, but at least there are some reasonable ones available from the used book sellers.

 

Hope this helps.

[Calico Kirby]

Driftwood,

Thanks for the help! As always, you're a great wealth of knowledge. I appreciate the quick response and the great information!

 

CK.

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

Another book that is nowhere near as pretty as the one Driftwood mentioned but much more affordable is "Winchester Lever Action Repeating Firearms : The Models of 1866, 1873 & 1876 (For Collectors Only)" by Arthur Pirkle, which can be had for under $20. Paperbook, very few pictures but lots of illustrations of parts, and just chock full of technical information. Got mine ten years ago on ebay for around $8 so they haven't gone up too much.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Yup, the Pirkle books look good, I saw them when I was looking for a Trapdoor book at North Cape Publications. I don't have them yet but that will soon be remedied.

 

By the way, check out Dixie Gunworks for The Winchester 1873 Handbook. Looks like they have it for $59.95. That sounds like about what I paid for it. I would grab that right away, it is out of print and not likely to be reprinted.

[Tom Bullweed]

I have most of RL Wilson's books on Colts and Winchesters. These books have good photos, a starter amount of history specific to each model and some serial number data. Dennis Adler seems to have picked up the baton once Mr. Wilson went to prison for illegal estimation of some gun values for a Kentucky museum. These books can often be found for $25 or so and look great.