Early SPECIAL ORDER Winchester 1886 rifle with extra long 28” octagon barrel in the desirable .40-65 caliber. The low serial number 18347 indicates a manufacture date of 1888. This fine rifle comes with a factory letter from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West/Cody Firearms Museum verifying that this serial number was listed in the Winchester records as being a rifle, .40-65 caliber, 28” octagon barrel, plain trigger and received in the warehouse on May 9, 1888 and shipped on July 17, 1888. The standard barrel length for the Model 1886 was 26” with any other length provided on a special order basis. According to the standard reference The Winchester Handbook by George Madis, of the nearly 160,000 Model 1886s manufactured only 478 had barrels longer than standard. Considering the different calibers offered in this model along with the different barrel lengths available in either round, octagon or half-octagon, there can only be a small handful of rifles exactly like this one in .40-65 with 28” octagon barrel. A scarce and desirable western big game chambering in the Model1886, the .40-65 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) cartridge was simply the .45-70 Government case necked down to accept .40 caliber bullets. The big Model 1886 action was the strongest and most potent lever action rifle of the day. The non-standard 28” octagon barrel displays a deep aged blue finish mixing with some brown from age and retains excellent Winchester markings that include: “MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO., NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S.A.” The upper tang is stamped with the earliest style marking and states simply, “MODEL 1886.” The bolt located on the top of the receiver also shows a deep and rich blue finish. The receiver case colors have faded to an uncleaned mottled aged gray appearance with traces of light aged case color. The action is fully functional and tight with a strong safety half-cock on the hammer. The excellent condition butt stock, with correct early heavy crescent-style butt plate, and forearm display good wood to metal fit. The bore is fine and shows strong rifling all the way through. Further, this early 1886 is fitted with a correct buckhorn rear barrel sight with the sliding elevator bar intact. It is mated with the typical small blade Winchester front sight. The top of the octagon barrel ahead of the receiver is clearly and correctly stamped with the caliber designation “40-65 WCF.” The 1886 in .40-65 chambering was very popular with riflemen who wanted good power with less recoil than the standard .45-70 Government. This is an exceptionally early and seriously rare 136 year old special order frontier rifle in particularly fine and visually appealing condition. Extra long barrel 1886 rifles with factory letters rarely come up for sale and this one is worthy of the finest Winchester or western firearms collection. The rifle weighs 9lbs 14oz. Serial Number: 78347. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.