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Hello everyone, my name is Brian and I am officially a new member of the WCA, as I joined a few minutes ago 
I am not a seasoned collector, but I am definitely interested in Winchesters and other small arms. My main collection focus has been old military rifles up until about 2 years ago. That was when I shot my first Lever Action Silhouette match and suddenly got interested in finding a few more levers. Now I am up to around 12 of them and I can’t seem to stop. I am not that interested in the old military stuff anymore… I still look but I save my money for an LA every time.
I have been attending the Big Reno Show for quite a few years and I am bringing a few rifles up to show to Mr Hartman, as I have been sending photos of my latest finds and trying to get an idea what the values are on some of the rifles I am running into. I finally decided I better join the group and now I will post up a few photos of the latest rifle I have found… I am hoping this may be a good one to purchase and I would like to get a second or third opinion 
The rifle I am going to ask about is a Model 1873 Sporting Rifle. It is the 3rd variation and is chambered in 38 WCF. I would rate the bore as “good”, the rifling is very consistent with somewhat rounded lands. The grooves have a little shine, but it’s got some frost to it.
The action appears to function OK, but I am not familiar with this action so it seemed a little clunky to me. All in all I thought it was a decent piece, and the only thing negative was the brass carrier part on the bottom of the receiver had little dents in it like someone had hammered on it with a nail head or something. You can see the script “38 Cal” or something similar, but the dents are not pretty. The shop it is in had it priced at $2,000 and I think it had been sitting in there a long time. I might be able to make some room on the price, but then I would have to have it shipped to me… so that is something to consider too. Anyhow, I’m not sure how the photo linking is permitted here, so I will give it a try and see what shows up:
Any help you all could give me would be much appreciated!!
FB
Hi Brian,
I am much like you. I became more seriously interested in old Winchesters about 1 1/2 years ago when I bought a ’94 carbine (made in October of 1945) while I was working at the annual gun show put on by the gun club I had just joined. After that my interest switched to Model 1892’s in .32-20 caliber, and I now have several of those. You will find that the folks in WACA are super helpful in answering questions, especially for those of us who are “newbies” who really need help, and, like me, are more casual collectors than serious hard core collectors. I’ve been a member about 6 months now, and am glad I joined.
Note that several members have ongoing surveys to collect information on certain models.
Enjoy being a member.
Bruce
Bruce, Brian:
I have been collecting Winchesters now for about three years, and like you, I’m glad that I’m a WACA member. Bert, and all of the seasoned collectors in this Association are very helpful, especially for newer collectors like me. My focus has been model 1894/94, 64, and model 61’s and I am glad I have the resources of this Association to help me long the way.
Al
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the replies. I am glad I found this place, as there isn’t much trustworthy information on the other forums that I already belong to.
I bought too many rifles in the last few weeks so I am going to have to wait it out and hope this 1873 is still there in a few weeks when I am ready to make another purchase. I thinks it’s been there a long time so I might get lucky
I picked up an early 1894 a few weeks ago and I am going to bring it to the Big Reno Show next week and have Bert look at it in person… I hope it is as nice as I think it is!!
Take care,
Brian
Hello Brian,
That Model 1873 was manufactured during 1890. You may want to invest have the serial number run by the Cody Firearms Museum to make certain that the rifle is in its original configuration. Nothing looks amiss but it is better to check first. While the rifle is n the low end of the collectability condition and is what is considered a “Brown gun” due to the patina on the metal surface it should make a fine shooting rifle if the bore is decent. You are definitely going about it correctly to send photos and ask questions before you reach for your checkbook. There are LOTS of these rifles to be purchased so you do not have to be in a hurry and make a costly mistake.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
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