Winchester Model 1886 Deluxe Sporting Rifle manufactured in 1906 and chambered for the .38-70 Winchester cartridge. The rifle is accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter. The letter describes it as: "Rifle/ 38/70 caliber" with a half-octagon barrel, plain trigger, half-magazine, "shotgun butt with rubber butt plate" and 26", nickel steel, barrel. The Cody letter states that the rifle was shipped from the Winchester warehouse on June 25, 1906, and returned for repair on September 14, 1906. In addition to the features listed in the Cody letter, the rifle has a highly figured, fancy walnut pistol grip stock and forearm. The stock has a hard rubber "WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS" pistol grip cap and a black, checkered, hard rubber buttplate embossed with the round, Winchester logo. The pistol grip and forearm have the popular "Style H" checkering. The stock and forearm cap are fitted with eyes for detachable sling swivels. The barrel is fitted with a dovetail mounted Winchester Express front sight with ivory bead. A Lyman, two-leaf Number 6 rear sight with bright sighting triangle is mounted in the barrel dovetail. The upper receiver tang is fitted with a folding combination rear sight. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped: "MANUFACTURED BY THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO./ NEW HAVEN CONN. U.S.A. PAT. OCT. 14 1884. JAN. 20. 1885." in two lines ahead of the ear sight. The left side of the barrel is marked "NICKEL STEEL" between the rear sight and the receiver and the caliber "38-70 W.C.F." is stamped on the top of the barrel in front of the receiver. The oval Winchester "WP" proofmark is stamped on the top barrel flat ahead of the caliber designation and on the top of the receiver. The two-line patent date and the serial number "137854" are located on the lower receiver tang. The barrel, magazine and receiver are blued and the forearm cap, hammer and lever have a color casehardened finish. The stock and forearm have a semi-gloss varnish finish.

Fine. The rifle retains 60% of the original blue finish. Most of the blue finish is present on the barrel and half-magazine. There is a pitted area about an inch long on the right side of the barrel that has been partially cleaned. The left side of the barrel has some minor scratches and there is some minor edge wear on the octagon portion of the barrel. There is a thin blue finish on the receiver flat; contact points on the top and bottom of the receiver show handling wear and have faded to a silver-gray patina. There are a number of light dents and scratches on the lower receiver tang. The case colors on the forearm cap, hammer and trigger have faded to a mottled, silver-gray, patina. The fancy walnut stock and forearm have been professionally refinished and are both in fine condition with sharp checkering and minimal handling wear. The hard rubber buttplate and pistol grip cap are in fine condition. The barrel markings are crisp. This is a solid example of a Winchester Model 1886 Deluxe Sporting Rifle chambered for the rarely encountered .38-70 W.F.C. cartridge; the rifle is fully documented and has many special order features.