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September 13, 2025
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Greetings to all.
I have utilized this site for many years and have decided to join the conversation.
I recently acquired an 1873, third model, 32 WCS, serial 613037, with what I think is a unique marking. At least I have never seen it, and reviewing The Winchester Book, I could not find any reference to it. Although reading through all that data did put this old guy to sleep a couple of times, so I might have missed it. An online DuckDuckGo search effort did not reveal any information/knowledge.
The details: The 1/4-inch-wide, 1-inch-long marking, “Made IN U.S.A.,” is on the right side of the barrel approximately 14 inches from the end of the barrel. This marking looks factory-made to my eye based on the quality and the patina. The thinking with my collecting buddies is this was scheduled for out-of-country sales. However, I could not find any foreign proof marks on the gun.
I was going to insert a photo, but it appears to be beyond my capabilities at this time. If this thread gains traction, I could send the photo to somebody who has the ability to put them into the topic.
Thanks in advance for your input into this question.
Frank Z.
May 2, 2009
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Frank,
You can send the pictures to me at the below address. By 600,000 the barrel address was moved to the left side of the barrel as viewed while shouldering the gun. Send pictures of all the barrel markings. They did put a “MADE IN USA” stamp on late factory replacement barrels but they were on the left side.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
May 2, 2009
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Frank,
Here are your pictures and a picture of the factory mail order replacement barrel. The Made in USA stamp looks real.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
December 9, 2002
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Bob,
Thanks for helping with Frank’s pictures. As I, and others can probably understand the mail order replacement barrel. Have you ever seen another with the, “MADE IN U.S.A.”, stamp, or markings like that? I know that I never have.
Anthony
May 2, 2009
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Anthony,
I have not see another barrel stamped like that. The barrel looks original and as the old saying goes “Never say never when it comes to Winchester”
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
April 15, 2005
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Winchester marked nearly all of the late production (1920s) Model 1886 barrels with “MADE IN U.S.A.“, but it was on the left side of the barrel after of the Winchester address & Patent markings.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
March 31, 2009
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This one is marked Made in USA on both sides? Picture 1 and 4.
April 15, 2005
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Chuck said
This one is marked Made in USA on both sides? Picture 1 and 4.
Chuck,
Picture number #4 is not the rifle in question. It is an example that Bob added to show the expected location of the marking in question.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
March 31, 2009
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Bert H. said
Chuck said
This one is marked Made in USA on both sides? Picture 1 and 4.
Chuck,
Picture number #4 is not the rifle in question. It is an example that Bob added to show the expected location of the marking in question.
Bert
Sorry, I missed that. Thought they were all his.
November 19, 2006
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This makes me reflect how at Winchester, surely there was some variability among workmen. How long they had been on the job, attention to detail, whether what they were doing that day was their regular job or they were substituting and so on. One can say a lot of positives about them but they weren’t robots. On the topic of, “attention to detail” putting a Made In USA marking on the rights side of the barrel vs. left side isn’t in the same class as poor quality workmanship. I am doubting the Quality Control check would have rejected the barrel based on what side of the barrel this marking was placed on. I’ll bet they would have been shocked to know that a detail like this would be a topic among obsessive collectors 150 years later. 
September 13, 2025
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So I can fully understand what is being said concerning the mark.
The MADE IN U.S.A. mark was found on the left-hand side of 1873 replacement barrels. The replacement barrel, according to the picture provided, has two factory markings (proofs) on top of the barrel to indicate it as such. This gun only has one factory mark in that area, indicating an original barrel, as noted. What year did the Made in USA marking appear on replacement barrels?
Also, were the Made in USA markings applied to the left side of any 1873 barrel apart from replacement barrels? In other words, were they placed on original barrels by the factory at some point down the line? If this is the case, is there a serial number range that this happened.
Frank Z
April 15, 2005
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fzando said
So I can fully understand what is being said concerning the mark.
The MADE IN U.S.A. mark was found on the left-hand side of 1873 replacement barrels. The replacement barrel, according to the picture provided, has two factory markings (proofs) on top of the barrel to indicate it as such. This gun only has one factory mark in that area, indicating an original barrel, as noted. What year did the Made in USA marking appear on replacement barrels?
Also, were the Made in USA markings applied to the left side of any 1873 barrel apart from replacement barrels, or were they placed on original barrels by the factory at some point down the line? If this is the case, is there a serial number range that this happened.
Frank Z
Based on the pictures of the barrel on your late production Model 1873 Rifle, I am of the opinion that the “MADE IN U.S.A.” marking is factory original, and that it is not a Mail Order barrel. As I mentioned in my previous post in this topic, Winchester did use that marking on post-1905 production lever-action rifle barrels. Usually, the marking is found on the left-side of the barrel, but in the case of your rifle, it was stamped on the right-hand side (possibly by mistake, or before the marking location was standardized).
Due to the relatively small number of Model 1873 Sporting Rifles that were manufactured after the year 1905, I do not know if a specific date or serial number range can be determined. That stated, if anyone can do it, Bob is our man!
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
