This very fine Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action rifle was manufactured in 1878. The rifle has the First Model receiver with grooved dust cover guides and dust cover with 5/8 inch impressed checkered oval. The rifle has a 24 inch round barrel, full length magazine and crescent buttplate with sliding brass trapdoor. The barrel has a sporting style front sight with nickel-silver blade and a sporting style buckhorn rear sight with knurled edges. The upper receiver tang is factory drilled and tapped for a rear sight. The butt trap contains a steel, jointed, four-piece cleaning rod with brass tip. The stock and forearm are straight grain American walnut. The barrel, magazine, forearm tip and receiver are blued. The hammer, lever and crescent buttplate are color casehardened. The loading gate has a niter blue finish. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with the two-line legend "WINCHESTER'S-REPEATING-ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT./ KING'S- IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29,1866. OCTOBER 16, 1860." ahead of the rear sight. "MODEL 1873" is roll-stamped on the upper tang in fancy letters. The serial number "23299" is stamped in script numerals on the lower tang behind the lever latch.

Very fine. The rifle retains nearly 75% plus of the original blue finish. The blue has thinned slightly along the top of the barrel. The receiver has light handling wear at the junction with the forearm and on the upper and lower tang. There is light edge wear on the receiver high points and side plates. The loading gate retains most of the fire blue finish. The hammer, trigger and lever have strong case colors; the case colors on the buttplate show more wear and have silvered slightly. The forearm and stock had a coat of protective varnish applied and are in fine condition with minimal handling wear. This is a very fine example of a desirable, early production, First Model, Winchester Model 1873 rifle.