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The seller doesn’t have much to offer as far as Winchester “production”. To bad the barrel has had a large variety of sights installed in various locations.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/791157416
Erin
Erin,
One thing is for sure… it is not a Winchester production piece. I do not recognize the action. The barrel may have been special ordered from Winchester, but it is as you noted, badly butchered.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Appears to me to be a Homemade action using spare part to complete the firearm. I know of a handfull of gunsmiths who have designed falling block actions, built them and also sold the plans to other gunsmiths. One Talented young man has an action he has designed that when you drop the lever the barrel rises. All kinds of things out there.
That action is a very strong Brit design by William Field in 1877. His company doesn’t seem to have made many rifles but sold actions to about 2 dozen various companies like Holland & Holland, WC Scott, Bonehill, and Purdy. They were made into large caliber bp cartridge rifles for hunting tigers in India and lions and other large game in Africa. Towards the end of the 1890’s, they were made in .303. Remington (Hepburn) and Westley Richards (Deeley & Edge) had side levers that opened by pushing the lever down. This one opens by pushing the lever forward. The question to me is, did Winchester supply barrels to one of the companies that used the Field actions.
Old-Win said
That action is a very strong Brit design by William Field in 1877. His company doesn’t seem to have made many rifles but sold actions to about 2 dozen various companies like Holland & Holland, WC Scott, Bonehill, and Purdy. They were made into large caliber bp cartridge rifles for hunting tigers in India and lions and other large game in Africa. Towards the end of the 1890’s, they were made in .303. Remington (Hepburn) and Westley Richards (Deeley & Edge) had side levers that opened by pushing the lever down. This one opens by pushing the lever forward. The question to me is, did Winchester supply barrels to one of the companies that used the Field actions.
That’s what I was alluding to…… It’s the first time I’m aware of Winchester providing custom barrels to another company or private individual. I guess their “custom” shop was offering more than specialties on their own products.
Erin
Erin Grivicich said
That’s what I was alluding to…… It’s the first time I’m aware of Winchester providing custom barrels to another company or private individual. I guess their “custom” shop was offering more than specialties on their own products.
First question is, why would ANY British gunmaker import (& pay an import duty) on an American-made barrel? No skilled barrel-makers in their own country?
Note also the complete array of US-made sights, a #18 Lyman & the base of a very rare Lyman #15 wind-guage. I wonder if a former owner could have had the gun re-barreled in this country, perhaps while here for big-game hunting, which quite a few rich Brits traveled here to do. If the gun was conveyed to New Haven for the work, there’d be no “OF” mark. And I presume a gun brought back to Britain by its owner would not be subject to the import proofs required of commercial imports.
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