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January 19, 2017
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Kevin Jones said
Thanks Austin/Bert for clearing that up.This site adds to our Winchester education on a daily basis.
Agreed! Thanks for the education.
May 24, 2012
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I agree with Austin and Bert in that it looks like case coloring to me. Bert might well have it correct about the later guns too. I visited a collector about twelve years ago in Corpus Christi to check out some Winchesters, and he had an 1873 or 1876 rifle with case colors that had silvered out bright and shiny over the entire receiver. It was a beautiful piece and he had a sales price of 15,000 on it.
James
December 1, 2012
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Well, that does explain it. I have a Model 1876 made in 1885 that has traces of what appears to be nickel plating mostly on what is often referred to as “the protected areas”. The dealer I bought if from in 1985 said those were remnants of the old nickel plating but the letter I got way back then says casehardened.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
November 7, 2014
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Ok well I guess it is better late than never 🙂 I am happy to report back that I was able to purchase the 1st model 1873 that I was looking at. Here is an attempt to post a pic without photobucket…
