For your consideration is an exceptional condition, special order Winchester Model 1895 in rare .30-06 caliber with 24” barrel, serial number 412700. According to the Winchester records housed at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, this serial number indicates that this fine rifle was manufactured in 1921. The standard caliber for the Model 1895 was .30-40 Krag making a rifle chambered in .30-06 a scarce variation. Additionally, this rifle was special ordered with a flat shotgun butt stock. Standard for this model was a curved crescent butt plate. On a hard kicking, powerful caliber like the .30-06, a shotgun butt plate will be much more pleasant to shoot than a curved butt plate because the shotgun butt plate spreads the recoil over the entire surface of the butt plate where the curved crescent butt plate centers the recoil in the middle. Riflemen, such as Theodore Roosevelt, always ordered powerful cartridge firing rifles with shotgun butt plates. This 98 year old example displays beautiful original blue covering nearly all of the barrel and receiver with only very light edge wear. Normally, Winchester rifles of this vintage show heavy flaking and blue wear especially to the receiver. It is very unusual and desirable to find a Model 1895 with this excellent coverage of bright blue on the receiver. Additionally, this example is fitted with a correct for period Lyman receiver sight. The front sight is a matching Lyman blade/bead along with a filler in the rear sight dovetail. All the correct Winchester markings on the barrel and upper tang are sharp and clear. The black hard rubber butt plate is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks and is correctly embossed with the Winchester logo etc. The stock shows a higher than standard grade of walnut, is in superb condition and shows very tight wood to metal fit. The forend with correct ebony inlay schnable tip is equally excellent and is fitted with an optional forend retaining screw/sling swivel. Usually this was paired with a loop-style sling that fit over the butt plate and stock which did not require a sling swivel stud in the butt stock. The action on this example is tight and the bore is excellent, bright and has very sharp rifling. This is a scarce caliber Model 1895 that has seen minimal use. The 1895 was another Jonathan Browning designed action that is unique among lever action rifles in that it has a box magazine ahead of the trigger designed to hold five cartridges. Because the loaded rounds in the magazine are stacked, pointed bullets could be utilized offering much better terminal ballistics than the blunt, flat nose bullets required for tubular magazines in which one cartridge is placed directly ahead of the previous with the bullet tip centered on the primer on the next shell. A pointed bullet could detonate another round in the magazine when so loaded. Obviously, this is not the case with the magazine of a Model 1895. Interestingly, the Model 1895 in several calibers accompanied Theodore Roosevelt on his famed year-long African Safari of 1909. At the time it was considered the most modern and powerful lever action rifle of its day. This is a superb special order example in a very scarce and desirable caliber. This firearm qualifies as a Curio & Relic Long Gun, and requires FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check. 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.