Oliver Fisher Winchester was born on November 30, 1810 in Boston. After bouncing around through various careers, Winchester eventually found himself as a manufacturer of men's shirts in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1855, Winchester became a stockholder and director of the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, a firearms manufacturing firm that brought together the talents of Winchester with those of Horace Smith, Daniel B. Wesson, and B. Tyler Henry. Volcanic produced lever-action repeating pistols and carbines based on the patents of Smith & Wesson. Smith and Wesson would eventually sell their patents and other assets to Winchester, in order begin work on the first of many revolvers to bear their names. The Volcanic Arms Co. continued under Winchester for a brief time until financial problems forced the company into insolvency in 1857.
When Volcanic Arms went belly-up, Winchester purchased the companies assets, and reorganized the firm under the name New Haven Arms Company. Unlike others in the field of firearms manufacture during this period, Winchester's was a businessman; not a firearms designer. To fill this crucial role, Winchester hired B. Tyler Henry, who became plant manager. Henry had a great deal of experience with repeating firearms, having worked previously for various arms makers, including Smith & Wesson. One of his tasks was to develop a metallic cartridge to replace the inferior self-contained bullets chambered by the Volcanic.
By 1860, Henry had developed a .44 rimfire cartridge. He then turned his efforts to modifying the Volcanic to load, fire, and extract his new cartridge. His subsequent patent for these improvements was assigned to the New Haven Arms Co, and the firm went on to produce the "Model 1860" repeating rifle which bore Henry's name. The government placed orders for a total of over 1,700 Henry rifles during the Civil War, and many of these were issued to troops of the 1st Maine and 1st District of Columbia Cavalry regiments. Many more found their way into the ranks through private purchase. These rifles provided Union troops with a formidable advantage over their enemies. At least one awed Confederate referred to the Henry as "that damned Yankee rifle that can be loaded on Sunday and fired all week!"
In 1867, the New Haven Arms Company was re-organized and became known as the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, The new company also introduced a new firearm, the Winchester Model 1866. It was largely based on the M1860 "Henry" but also included the addition of a wooden forearm to protect the shooter's hand from barrel heat. In addition to the new firearm Winchester's Model 1866 rifle also feature a redesigned magazine patented by designer Nelson King. This allowed the magazine to be loaded via a gate on the receiver rather than the fragile sliding tab and swinging muzzle set up that was used on the M1860 rifle
The M1866 "Yellow Boy" gained immediate popularity with shooters; finding particular utility on the western frontier. The Indians referred to these arms as "many shots," and "spirit gun,", and Winchester repeaters also found favor with miners, homesteaders, ranchers, lawmen, and highwaymen. Despite the popularity of the M1866, there were complaints about the lack of power offered by the .44 rimfire cartridge that was chambered in bot the 1860 and 1866 rifle. In response to this, A new “central-fire” round was developed with a stronger case and more powder to increase the velocity of the 200-grain bullet. It was dubbed .44-40 Winchester Center Fire or as it is more commonly known, the .44-40 WCF. This new bullet was first adopted for use in a newly-designed rifle that was largely the same as the M1866, but utilized a stronger steel receiver which was capable of handling the higher pressures of the .44-40. This new rifle was designated the "Model 1873"
The M1873 would go on to become one of Winchester's most popular and iconic rifles. Nearly three quarters of a million M1873 rifles would be produced in four different calibers during its 46 year run. It became synonomous with the "Old West" to the point that a movie called Winchester '73 starring Jimmy Stewart was produced in 1950 and featured the Winchester M1873 as the film's "star".
This particular Model 1873 features a very interesting history, as it was manufactured in 1923 - the very last year of production. In fact, this gun's serial number (708184), is so late, that some sources don't even recognize it as falling into Winchesters regular serial number production run; as many authors suggest that production of the Model 1873 ended with serial number 702,349 with any subsequently numbered guns having been assembled from leftover parts by the Winchester Custom Shop.
Whatever the case, this is absolutely the highest number Model 1873 that we are aware of, and additional research has not revealed any M1873's with a number higher than this one. While we wouldn't go as far as to make the claim that this is the last Model 1873 produced by Winchester, we see no evidence that any '73s were produced with higher numbers than this gun!
As a late gun, the Model 1873 features a full length original octagonal barrel with great original bluing that has taken on a beautiful "plum" appearance over the last 100 years. Chambered in the popular .32-20 cartridge, this barrel boasts a nice bore with good rifling and no major rust or pitting - it remains very shootable!
The maker’s address is on the side of the barrel; similar to the way the Model 1894 is marked. The maker's mark is complete and legible; it features the late "lightning"-style Winchester logo, as are the rest of the markings.
The original black walnut stocks are also very good with some minor "handling marks" from use, but no areas of cracks, chips or other damage.
The receiver features great markings and no rust, pitting, or other damage. The action works flawlessly and the lever cycles as it should.
