Original Item: Only One Available. If you were looking to do some big game hunting with Teddy Roosevelt out in the "Old West", this is just what you need! This very fine example of the "Second Model" Winchester Model 1876 rifle is in the large .45-60 Winchester caliber, with a 26" round barrel and full length magazine tube. This barrel length would usually be for the "Express Rifle" version of the 1876 "Centennial Model", however that usually came with a half-length magazine, so it is special order. Teddy Roosevelt's Model 1876, on the other hand, was one of those with the half octagonal barrel and half length magazine tube, and his gun was significantly more ornamented.

Correctly marked with the caliber 45 - 60 on the feed block and CAL. 45 - 60 above the chamber, the rifle bears serial number 31361 on the lower receiver tang, denoting the year of manufacture as 1882. The upper receiver tang has MODEL. 1876. marked, as is correct. The barrel is fitted with the classic Winchester blade front sight, and the  iconic "buckhorn" adjustable rear sight.

The engraving on top of the barrel is still fully clear:

Stocks are in excellent condition, and are the lovely reddish-brown color of aged finished walnut. There is very little wear of any kind, and just a few scratches and dings. The butt plate is flat, not crescent shaped, which was decided by the customer when they ordered the rifle.

This lever action repeater is offered with a crisp tight action in fully functional condition, with a working original dust cover. Metal work is good, with much of the original finish present, and even some case hardening on some parts. There just a few tiny areas of light peppering, nothing out of line with a rifle over 125 years in age. Bore is in very good condition, with clear lands and grooves, and a mostly bright finish. There is just a bit of fouling in the grooves, and we would rate the bore at 8-9 out of 10.

A fantastic example of an iconic big game hunting rifle! These are hard to find in any condition. Fully cleaned and ready for display!

The Winchester Model 1876, or Centennial Model, was a heavier-framed rifle than the Models 1866 and 1873, the "Guns that Won the West." The new design was chambered for full-powered centerfire rifle cartridges suitable for big-game hunting, rather than the handgun-sized rimfire and centerfire rounds of its predecessors. While similar in design to the 1873, the 1876 was actually based on a prototype 1868 lever-action rifle that was never commercially produced by Winchester.

Introduced to celebrate the American Centennial Exposition, the Model 1876 earned a reputation as a durable and powerful hunting rifle. Four versions were produced: a 22-inch (56 cm) barrel Carbine, a 26-inch (66 cm) barrel Express Rifle with a half-length magazine, a 28-inch (71 cm) barrel Sporting Rifle, and a 32-inch (81 cm) barrel Musket. Standard rifles had a blued finish while deluxe models were casehardened. Collectors identify a first model with no dust cover, a second model with a dust cover rail fastened by a screw, and a third model with an integral dust cover. Total production was 63,871 including 54 One of One Thousand Model 1876s and only seven of the One of One Hundred grade.

Originally chambered for the new .45-75 Winchester Centennial cartridge (designed to replicate the .45-70 ballistics in a shorter case), versions in .40-60 Winchester, .45-60 Winchester and .50-95 Express followed; the '76 in the latter chambering is the only repeater known to have been in widespread use by professional buffalo hunters. The Canadian North-West Mounted Police used the '76 in .45-75 as a standard long arm for many years with 750 rifles purchased for the force in 1883; the Mountie-model '76 carbine was also issued to the Texas Rangers. Theodore Roosevelt used an engraved, pistol-gripped half-magazine '76 during his early hunting expeditions in the West and praised it. A '76 was also found in the possession of Apache warrior Geronimo after his surrender in 1886.

The Model 1876 toggle-link action receiver was too short to handle popular big-game cartridges, including the .45-70, and production ceased in 1897, as big-game hunters preferred the smoother Model 1886 action chambered for longer and more powerful cartridges.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1882
Caliber: .45-60 Winchester
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 26 Inches
Overall Length: 47 Inches
Action type: Lever Action Repeater
Feed System: 12-round tube magazine

Note: This gun is NOT considered obsolete calibre, so we are no able to ship to the United Kingdom. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services.