Got an original Winchester 1876 - share pics!

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Hello Buck

                This is a beautiful 1876, Buck you must have one heck of a collection Pard, I for one can really appreciate these old guns , thanks for sharing

                                             

                                                           tEN wOLVES

[Marshal Deadwood]

Gorgeous rifle !

Got a question for the knowledgable.... everyone seems to 'curse' the Uberti Red finish,,,yet we see your origininal that the wood finish looks exactly like it came from Uberti....

Do you think Uberti is actually more on the 'correct' side with finish than we think ? Tint wise , mean ?  I have done my share of 'ohh nooo that red ,,,,but,,,I'm starting to change my mind with more historic examples i see..

I have a pic somwheres of a pair of cased '60Army revolvers,,,obviously never used....and they look lilke they came in from Cimarron today....

I admit,,'my' eye likes the more 'brownish' finish on 19th century type guns..but it seems Uberit is closer than we might think on the 'reddish' hue in their stain

Comments ?

Thanks pards,

Michael,,oops,,Marshal D.

[Buck Stinson]

The color in the photo is not exactly true to the real color of the stock.  It is much more orange than shown in the photo.  When most standard production Winchesters were new, the color of the wood was very orange.  This color is evident only in the very high condition guns.  It didn't take much handling or sunlight to change the orange color to a darker red.  In have a perfect example in a .45-75 that I may try to post later.  The gun is almost new, with 95% of it's original finish overal.  The wood too, is perfect in every respect.  However, you can tell that it has seen some handling because the forend is darker than the butt stock.  There were certain serial ranges in various models, which have stocks and forends that are nearer the red color of the Uberti guns.  I don't know why this is, but my guess would be in the supply of wood used at those specific serial number runs.   I doubt that Winchester purchased all of their wood from the same supplier and it probably didn't come from the same forests, either.  It may also have been different colors in the stain.  However if this were the case, it makes you wonder why the shop would waffle back and forth on their stain recipe.   Very little info is left for further research and these qusetions have been asked for years.  Who knows.

Adios,
Buck

[Grizzly Adams]

This is an interest subject.  I too have thought that Uberti gets a LOT of unjustified criticism over the finish they put on their rifles.  It really is pretty close to what is often seen on the originals.  Even between Uberti examples, you will see a wide degree of variation.  I have a 73 SRC that is about 10 years old, and very red in color.  On the other hand, my 1876 had more orange in it.  I personally think they do a pretty decent job with these arms.

Notice that I said "had" in regards to my Uberti 1876!  I am in the process of refinishing the wood to reduce the orange and highlight the red!  Looks like I'm going the wrong direction!

[Buck Stinson]

Marshall Deadwood and Grizzly Adams,
Here is the gun I mention in my earlier post.  I have a special attachment to all of my 1876 Winchesters, but this one is close to the top of the list.   I bought this gun in Denver about 10 years ago.  It is a .45-75 with factory sling swivels and special order long range tang and adjustable front globe sights.  This gun is near new in condition and clearly shows the orange color in the wood that we talked about earlier.  As you can see, the forend is darker than the butt stock.  Sinse the gun saw very little use, the darker forend comes from handling, where as the buttstock is closer to the original and standard orange color. 

This front sight is very rare and was only offered by Winchester for two years before it was discontinued.  It is similar to the Beach front sight that we are most familiar with, but the mechanics that make it work are very different.

Adios,
Buck

[doc cable]

here's mine:

excellent original condition overall





half octagon half round, button magazine



special sights, multiple leaf folding rear with ladder



midrange vernier tang sight





wonderful mirror bore, like new as many in this caliber are



has letter giving details



I think this is my favorite rifle, next to my 1886 brownchester custom; have only shot it a little, but have loaded a lot more rounds in anticipation of the coming warmer weather.

[Grizzly Adams]

Welcome, Doc Cable!  Thanks for bringing that pretty lady over for us to see.

Buy the way, I spent 25 years in Alaska, and my cousin is still in Anchorage.  Works for Spenard Builders.

[Buck Stinson]

Doc, that's a dandy Express rifle.  I couldn't help noticing by the letter, that the rifle once belonged to Mike Ginn in Texas.  In years gone by, Mike was a heavy dealer and collector of Express rifles in both the 1876 and 1886 models.  I used to see him at shows like Denver and Cody with sometimes a dozen or more .50's in both models.  I remember one year in Cody, he had ten '76  .50-95's for sale on his table.  He was always willing to let me record the numbers and features for my list.  Somewhere along the line, your gun was recorded on my list.  If you didn't supply me with the information, then I may have gotten it from Mike.  Great rifle.

Adios,
Buck

[Grogan]

This is an interest subject.  I too have thought that Uberti gets a LOT of unjustified criticism over the finish they put on their rifles.  It really is pretty close to what is often seen on the originals.  Even between Uberti examples, you will see a wide degree of variation.  I have a 73 SRC that is about 10 years old, and very red in color.  On the other hand, my 1876 had more orange in it.  I personally think they do a pretty decent job with these arms.

Notice that I said "had" in regards to my Uberti 1876!  I am in the process of refinishing the wood to reduce the orange and highlight the red!  Looks like I'm going the wrong direction!

I know that at least on the Winchester Model 12 Shotguns, Winchester used what is known as their "Red Oil Finish".

There's a fellow who has the original formula and mixes up and sells this (I think he advertises in The Gun List, haven't looked in several years).

Somewhere around here I have a small bottle that I bought from him.

My guess is this wasn't reserved just for Model 12s but was probably used on most Winchester models, even those dating back a long time.

You might consider seeing if you can find some of this to refinish your Uberti with?

[Grizzly Adams]

I know that at least on the Winchester Model 12 Shotguns, Winchester used what is known as their "Red Oil Finish".

There's a fellow who has the original formula and mixes up and sells this (I think he advertises in The Gun List, haven't looked in several years).

Somewhere around here I have a small bottle that I bought from him.

My guess is this wasn't reserved just for Model 12s but was probably used on most Winchester models, even those dating back a long time.

You might consider seeing if you can find some of this to refinish your Uberti with?

I do recall that.  I believe it may be these folks.

http://www.tapaderaswinchesters.com/stain.html

I note that they now have it in brown as well as the original red stain.

[shrapnel]

I saw a beautiful '76 in the Billings gun show last weekend. I wish I had the money to get the gun, it was a high condition 45-75 with a W.F. Sheard stamp on the barrel. I am about $10,000.00 short. Here are a few photos of my '76 rifles with a few other originals thrown in. I have also shot a few game animals with them and include those pictures as well.




Montana moose with a Deluxe in 40-60...



Antelope with a 45-60...

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Howdy Shrapnel 

         WOW Pard, you're definitely a lucky feller to have a beauitful collection of old arms like this , and memories of useing them in hunts where you have taken game like this . I know it takes lots of time and money to put together what you have , but it's worth every bit of it . Thanks for sharing this with us Pard.



                                                                  tEN wOLVES 

[Buck Stinson]

Welcome to the club Shrapnel.  I'm over here in the Bitterroot and enjoyed seeing a couple of your rifles.  I know the Sheard gun you saw in Billings and it is indeed, a fine high condition gun.  I just picked up three Mountie carbines and two realy fine rifles from the man who has that gun.  I've been shooting and collecting 1876 Winchesters for a long time.  I have also been gathering serial number research on this model and now have over 3000 guns on my list.  I would be pleased to add any of your originals to my research if you're interested.  You can email me at the address on my profile and I'll let you know what info I am interested in.  Again, welcome to the club.

Adios,
Buck

[Grizzly Adams]

I would be interested in knowing some of the background on the Sheard marked 1876.

[Buck Stinson]

Grizzly,
This gun is a 3rd model, .45-75 with a 28" round barrel and full magazine.  It is standard in every way, but the condition is 90% over-all.  The serial number is in the 37XXX range.  I do not have the factory letter, but it is available to any interested buyers.  I can get the exact price if interested.  The gun is marked, W.F. Sheard, Livingston, MT.  This gun will be on my table at the Colorado Gun Collectors show in Denver, May 16,17,18.  I have several other great 1876 rifles and carbines for sale and they will also be at that show.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Adios,
Buck

[Poohgyrr]

Wow, appreciate the pics of these fine Winchester Levers.  I'll search around this forum for more info on these. Thanks.

[shrapnel]

I got the W.F. Sheard Winchester that I saw in the Billings gun show about 3 weeks ago. It letters in 1883, here are some pictures, it has alot of condition... Thanks for the help,Buck

[Grizzly Adams]

I got the W.F. Sheard Winchester that I saw in the Billings gun show about 3 weeks ago. It letters in 1883, here are some pictures, it has alot of condition... Thanks for the help,Buck

Wow!  Congratulations on scoring that beautiful rifle!  Stunning!

[Buck Stinson]

Shrapnel,
I figured you'd probably end up with that '76.  John is easy to deal with and he's got some great stuff.  Your gun is proof of that.  I picked up three Mountie carbines and two very high condition rifles from him a couple of months ago.  I sold one of the Mounties and the rest I'll take to Denver in a couple of weeks.  I'm really glad you were able to get the Sheard gun.

Adios,
Buck

[sojourner]

It pleased me to find that someone had picked up a rifle from W. F. Sheard.  I just found an 1892 rifle in 25-20 that is stamped on the left side of the receiver:  FROM W. F. SHEARD    TACOMA WASH     It was produced in 1905, and was found in the town of Seldovia, the original port for south central Alaska in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  most of the blue has turned brown with specks of rust and the bore is somewhat rough.  It was assumed to be a trapper's rifle because of the light cartridge and has definitly seen some sled wear.  The wood is all there and in pretty good finish, the action is smooth and functions well.  One of the unusual aspects is that the rear sight is a folding two blade 'express' style and the front sight is not of Winchester production.  As I understand, Sheard made is own sights with up to three blades but I couldn't find a reference with pictures to match them up to the sights on my rifle.  If anyone can help me learn more about my rifle, I would appreciate it.  I can take close-up shots if anyone would like to see them.  Thanks,  Sojourner