My bro in law has a very old rifle we need help identifying . His dad found it in a riverbed in 1941 and we can’t seem to find what it is or what it could be worth . It has a very faint italics style font stamped with what appears to say model 1873 on the upper side of the stock handle . Top side of where the lever handle is..and under the receiver in front of the lever it has the same style looking font that reads 1221-9A. These number are hard to read but we are relatively certain that’s what they say it’s missing the dust cover but the rest seems to all be there and action works etc. has an octagon barrel with some kind of flat machines groove on the underside of the barrel at the front about 2 inches from the barrel end . It measures 24 inches from the barrel tip to the receiver opening any bell on what it is would be appreciated also looks like it may have some brass pieces on it
It sure sounds like you have a Model 1873 octagon barreled rifle. They made about 720,000 of them. You can probably figure out the caliber by measuring the bore. It’s going to be either .22, .32, .38 or .44. Oh, the .38 (.38-40 WCF) is actually .40 caliber and the .44 (.44-40 WCF) caliber is actually .43 caliber.
Based on the very poor condition you describe (and the fact that it was found in a river bed) I would speculate the value is very minimal. Having said that, there are some collectors who collect relics. They generally don’t pay much for them.
If you send me some pictures to my email address below I can tell you what you have. You can tell the caliber by the receiver shape and the magazine diameter. Dug up guns that haven’t been taken apart are worth around $500 for wall hangers.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
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