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I was going through the Ray Bentley rifles from the recent Julia auctions. Lots of amazing rifles to behold. This one particularly caught my eye. It is special for so many reasons such as condition, engraving, multiple special order features, etc. I am not surprised it sold well beyond auction estimate. The cheekpiece is probably my favorite special order feature. We rarely see this on any Winchester lever rifle but I was reflecting on how many M1873 .22’s I have seen with this feature. It must be darn few. What do others think of this rifle? By the way, the museum letter provided with the rifle is a true joy.
Steve,
The cheek piece is one of the rarest features on a 73 that I have found. There are 5 in my survey and 3 of them are 22’s including this one. The only feature that would be more rare would be stock castoff which I don’t have any listed.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Several years ago, an old friend of mine who lived about 20 miles away was showing me a deluxe 1873 Win. rifle in .22 caliber he had in his small collection. Overall condition was approximately 85%, maybe a little better. It was a 24″ octagon, deluxe checkered pistol grip, 3X wood. Case colored receiver, $2.00 engraving and the top flat of the barrel was fully matted. Boy, what a beautiful rifle. He has since passed away and I believe his daughter now has the gun, but unfortunately, I can’t find her. I never did letter it, but if I’ve found the right number in my files, I think it was 195921A. I should letter it just for kicks.
1873man said
Steve,The cheek piece is one of the rarest features on a 73 that I have found. There are 5 in my survey and 3 of them are 22’s including this one. The only feature that would be more rare would be stock castoff which I don’t have any listed.
Bob
Bob – thanks for the information. It’s amusing as there are two ways to look at these numbers. One is to conclude that M1873’s chambered in .22 with cheek piece stocks are very rare given there are only three known. The other perspective is to say that the most common chambering for M1873’s found with cheek piece stocks is the .22. Both are true statements but in the end, this is a staggering rare feature in the 1873.
win4575 – that is a heart-breaking story. Maybe you will eventually track that rifle down. Of course if you do find the daughter and learn she has sold the rifle – and then learn she sold it for fifty bucks … now that would be heartbreak!
steve004 said
win4575 – that is a heart-breaking story. Maybe you will eventually track that rifle down. Of course if you do find the daughter and learn she has sold the rifle – and then learn she sold it for fifty bucks … now that would be heartbreak!
That reminds me of the story I was told about a engraved deluxe 94 with a 22″ barrel that I got from my dad. When he got it, it came from a gun shop. Someone brought it in and traded for a “New deer rifle”. I never heard if there was money thrown in to boot but I would assume so but the shop owner knew what he got.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Bob – beautiful rifle with a bunch of special order features. Love the DST’s (and the engraving and the half round 22 inch barrel). What is the chambering?
Steve,
its 30 cal. Got a letter from Pauline and she said it was engraved by William Gough.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
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