This is an example of a Winchester Model 1886 rifle featuring a 24-inch rapid taper barrel that was standard in rifles chambered for the .33 W.C.F. cartridge. This rifle is accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter which describes Model 1886 serial number 151242 as: "Rifle, 33 Winchester, Round barrel, Full magazine" and "Shotgun butt". The letter states that this rifle was shipped from the Winchester warehouse to the Anaconda Copper Mine Co. in Butte, Montana, on January 31, 1913. This is notable in that Winchester very rarely kept records on where a rifle was shipped! Originally a silver mine owned by prospector and Union Civil War veteran Michael Hickey, the name Anaconda Mine was derived from Horace Greeley’s Civil War description of Ulysses S. Grant’s tactic of surrounding Robert E. Lee’s forces “like an anaconda.” Hickey sold his mine to Marcus Daly in 1881 when the silver lodes were increasing showing more copper. This was at the dawn of the electrical age when a spike in the demand for copper was just around the corner. With shrewd foresight, Daly and his investors, that included George Hearst, father of famed newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, developed the mine into one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century with mining operations in North America and Chile. The rifle has a blue barrel, magazine, forearm cap, bolt, receiver, trigger and steel checkered shotgun buttplate. The hammer and loading lever are color casehardened. The stock and forearm are straight grain American walnut with a low-luster varnish finish. The barrel has a lug mounted Lyman "Hunting Front" sight with colored bead and sporting style rear sight with flat top and screw-adjustable center piece. The left side 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." ahead of the rear sight. "-NICKEL STEEL BARREL-/ESPECIALLY FOR SMOKELESS POWDER" is roll stamped on the left side of the barrel below the rear sight followed by the caliber designation "33 W.C.F." Oval Winchester "W/P" proof marks are stamped on the top of the barrel and the receiver. The upper receiver tang is roll-stamped with the second style marking: "MODEL 1886/-WINCHESTER-/TRADE MARK REG. IN U.S. PAT. OFF.” The serial number is roll-stamped on the lower receiver tang ahead of the rear tang screw.

Excellent plus. This rifle is all original and retains 97% plus blue finish. There is a small area of moderate pitting visible on the right side of the barrel at the muzzle and on the right side of the front sight blade as well as the magazine tube below. The rifle shows almost no handling wear on any other component. The hammer and lever retain nearly 99% of the original case colors. The stock and forearm are in near mint condition and have 98% or more of the original finish. All of the markings are perfect. This is a stunning example of a Model 1886 rifle with a 24 inch, .33 W.C.F. rapid taper barrel with extraordinary history!