For your consideration is a very rare and early production Winchester 1887 Lever Action 12 Gauge Shotgun, serial number 37932, made the fourth year of production in 1891! This model was designed by John Browning and brought Winchester into the forefront of the repeating shotgun business. The 1887 was cherished for its reliability and fire power. Many were used by freight carriers like Wells Fargo, train guards, prison guards and lawmen of the west. Sportsmen who were used to handling lever action rifles also found favor with the 1887 lever action shotgun. Most examples found today show very hard frontier and field use and often display considerable abuse and replaced parts. This is an early example that has seen no cleaning, sanding, steel wool or abuse of any kind. The metal surfaces are smooth and show an uncleaned dark natural patina on the receiver. The barrel and magazine tube show an attractive blue finish that appears to have only light normal thinning and retains a much better than normally encountered fine bore! The Winchester markings and patent dates on the lower tang are correct and sharp as is the “WRA Co” (Winchester Repeating Arms Company) entwined logo on the left side of the receiver. The screws are in generally excellent condition showing this gun was rarely if ever taken apart. Retains the original checkered steel shotgun butt plate (these often changed or replaced with rubber recoil pads), wood is unsanded and shows excellent original finish. The wood also displays very tight wood to metal fit overall. Correct and original 30” barrel (this was the correct standard length barrel offered by Winchester for this model) retains the original brass bead front sight, mechanically crisp and tight. This 128 year old Winchester is a very difficult historical model to locate in any condition and this one is far above most that have survived to the present. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.
Condition
For a complete representation of condition and for additional images please call 800-686-4216. It is the buyer’s responsibility to view each image and preview the item to determine condition.