Inheriting a 1873 Winchester Cavalry Rifle... Questions

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USCGKal

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My father in law has a few guns that I will have my hands on in the next few months. The one that stands out is a 1873 Winchester which was owned by his great grandfather. He said that it was probably from the late 1800s early 1900s. Has an octagon barrel and is 32 caliber.

The gun looks to be in fair condition, been in a closet collecting dust since the 1960s. I had the chance to see it in person last week and it looks complete, but needs some work. the lever is very sloppy, action works, but does not close completely. The wood has quite a few dings and dents but no cracks, the barrel and receiver are in decent shape, i guess the term is patina.? Not rusty, but no longer blued.

Is this an easy gun to work on? I would like to get it back to firing condition. I will need to most likely completely disassemble the action and clean/lube everything and tighten the lever.

Is this a gun to really mess with, or should I just clean it up and keep in on the rack as a conversation piece?
 
The 1873 is a very collectable gun. It will be more valuable in firing condition, so it would be good to do so. Don't think too much about the "sloppy" lever as some of these moving parts were designed to have some play.

The first thing I would do is have it looked at by a good gunsmith. You might have a rifle valued in the $1,500+ range and it deserves some professional attention.

Whatever you do, DO NOT scrub and clean on it! It might be tempting to "shine" it up and make it look pretty, but you WILL ruin the value. Cleaning the patina off an antique gun can instantly drop its value up to 50%! Collectors want the originality in tact including the tarnish and dings in the stock.

Again, a qualified gunsmith should be consulted because you have a very collectable gun!
 
The 73 is a very simple rifle but was a huge step at its time. I would suggest leaving it as is.
 
The Winchester model of 1873 (only 18 or 19 of the 1873 rifles were made in 1873 since full production did not kick in until 1874) was made in three different styles. The first models have the guides in the front of the receiver through which the dust cover slides. The 2nd type have a screw attached rail that dust cover slides upon and the last type has the dust cover rails being made as an integral part of the receiver frame.

The standard chambers were 32-20, 38-40 and 44-40.
The model 1873 was really made around the 44 WCF cartridge (44-40) and they did not even mark a caliber on the first couple years worth of rifles because it only came in one chambering.
Later (maybe 1879) the 38WCF (38-40) was introduced in the 1873 rifle and around 1881 or 1882 the 32-20 was brought out in the model 1873 rifle as well.
In 1888 the Model 73 was also made in 22 short and 22 long, they are rare.

1873 rifles and carbines made before serial number 541,000 (not a hard and fast rule) were made for black-powder.

While lots of movies show cavalry troopers using lever action carbines, they were not an issue item. Although some units, particularly reserve or National Guard type units did have privately purchased lever guns. (Why Custer's Cavalry unit during the Civil War was so successful, yet when he had Army Issue single shot trap door carbines at the Little Big Horn things did not go so well against the opposition with lever-guns)

If your rifle is a 32 caliber (32-20) it was a hunting rifle or carbine. They originally used either a 100 or 115 grain bullet with 20 grains of black powder. Since modern brass is thicker, you can only get about 18 grains of black-powder into modern brass. It will push a 115 grain bullet to about 1,200 fps depending on your barrel length.
It was noted to be light recoiling, fairly accurate and economical to reload. (1873 rifles used to come from Winchester with reloading gear. )
 
I cringe when I read the first thing someone wants to do when they acquire a antique firearm is to disassemble and clean it.
Click to expand...
There is nothing wrong with proper cleaning and maintenance of old firearms. What makes me cringe is seeing them sitting in a corner withering away and not being used.
I would carefully break it down, if you know what you are doing and make sure it's functional. I would also replace worn parts with original parts. Don't remove the finish.
 
Thanks for the input so far. I will definitely find a good gunsmith to mess with this gun. I had no plans to "restore" this gun. I just wanted it to be a working original firearm. I am pretty sure it has sat in a closet since the 1970s
 
USCGKal,
Sounds like a very special rifle. I'd hate to trouble you, but I'd love to see some quality, detailed pics of your rifle. Might be a good way for you to capture the "before" condition of the rifle, too.

At your convenience, of course. :)

SwArDad
 
if the stock is dingy the absolute most i would do is wipe it down with a mild dish soap to remove any grime but not to harm the finish underneath. then wipe it down with an oil to help protect the wood and possibly rehydrate it a little bit.

YMMV, this is what i would do to a DIRTY stock to remove any grime. in a refinish i would use totally different steps
 
I will definitely have some pictures in a month or so once I move back to VA. This is just one of a few old guns that I will have.

Only other rifle is a Japanese rifle that I think is from WWII, has a bayonet
 
just an update, I am finally moved in to the house here in VA and have dated this gun to 1909. I will get pictures up this weekend.

Anyone know a good 1873 gunsmith in southern VA? this thing will need some work!
 
Don't worry about where the gunsmith lives, a good shop close enough for your walk-in business would be pure chance. Get some references.

Turnbull can make them look nice but the cost is tremendous, thousands of dollars for one like yours. I don't know if he does basic mechanical adjustment and cleaning without expensive restoration. Call and ask.

I think Red Cent has the right idea, check with his people.
 
I honestly don't know so I'm not trying to offend. This might be a stupid question- Winchester made the 1873 and 1892 concurrently? Why?
 
Just looked it up apparently they were made to 1923 I saw a catalog and they were the same price. Still can't figure out why though.
 
The 92 was created to replace the 73, but the 73 was so popular & still so much in demand that it continued to sell for many years after its "replacement" was first marketed.
The 73 was one of Winchesters most respected guns.
Denis
 
Well obviously, further research shows they made the 1866 till 1898.
I guess what surprised me is that there was still demand for the outdated model. Esp. Since they were the same price(that my small research shows)
 
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