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This rifle showed up in a friend of a friend's berry patch. It's been out in the Alaska wilds for lord knows how long. To my eye it looks like either a 73 or 76 Winchester. The top of the receiver is not open all the way, but has a gap behind the barrel. Beyond that I can't tell. What do you think?
I'm 98% positive its a '73. A first model by the looks of it since it has no dust cover rail. Since it still has the carrier in it, and the carriers were brass, if you could get it out and clean up the bottom it might even still have the cartridge designation on it! Matter of fact, it might still have a usable carrier in it when cleaned up!
I'm down with the 1873 1st model guys.. As was said absence of dust cover rail.. The frame shows a screw hole only where first models had one.. First model carriers weren't marked cuz all first models were all 44WCFs..Maybe some transition models might be marked though.
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Boys, that's no '73. First of all, the hole for the side plates goes back way too far for the '73, but exactly where it should be for the '76. Secondly, that carrier looks like it is made for a cartridge with a O.A.L. of about 2.5" which is way to long for any '73 cartridge, but just perfect for the '76 set of cartridges. I have on my desk a .45-60 cartridge that measures just over 2 & 1/4". Finally, early '76's had no dust cover. See Madis, page 213.
Here's a stripped down '76 receiver I had once ...
Now compare that with a '73 ..
Note how the sideplates come almost all the way back to the back of the receiver on the '76 where the buttstock attaches, but the '73 sideplates don't go near so far back. Bottom line: That old rusty artifact is the remains of a Winchester Model 1876.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester. Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
It's a 76. The 73 had a lower trigger group/plate that is detachable. The 76 didn't. Also, the ejecting cut outs on the top rear of the carrier are much farther forward on the 76 than the 73 to allow for the much bigger rim dia. of the 76. The 73 carreirs are roughly 1.7" long. The 76 is about 2.5 long
