Winchester Model 1873 Musket manufactured in 1903. The accompanying factory letter lists this musket in .44 caliber when it was received in the warehouse on August 25, 1903, and shipped on September 18, 1903. The musket has the distinctive 30 inch barrel with full-length forearm, three barrel bands, block front sight base that serves as a lug for a socket bayonet, military style folding leaf rear sight and carbine buttplate. Sling swivels are mounted on the middle barrel band and the stock. The Third Model frame has an integral dust cover rail and dust cover with serrated edges. The buttplate has a sliding brass trapdoor, and the butt trap contains a four-piece steel cleaning rod. The barrel, magazine, barrel bands and frame have the Winchester commercial blue finish. The hammer, loading lever and buttplate are color casehardened. The loading gate, extractor and leaf sight spring are a fiery niter blue. The stock and forearm are oil-finished, straight grain American walnut. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with the two-line legend "WINCHESTER'S REPEATING ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT./KING'S IMPROVEMENT PATENTED MARCH 29. 1866. OCTOBER 16. 1860." between the lower barrel band and the rear sight. The caliber designation "44 W.C.F" is roll-stamped on the top of the barrel between the rear sight and the frame. "44 CAL." is roll-stamped in script letters across the bottom of the brass cartridge elevator. The upper receiver tang is roll stamped with the model designation"-MODEL 1873-" in fancy letters with foliate devices at either end. The serial number is stamped in script numerals on the lower tang between the lever latch and the upper tang screw. The socket bayonet is finished bright and has an 18 1/2 inch fluted blade. The bayonet socket and blade are not marked. This musket is one of approximately 700 Model 1873 Muskets shipped from Winchester to Nicaragua in September 1903. Some of these muskets were apparently never uncrated. During the 1950s a few of these Model 1873 Muskets were discovered in the original crates in un-issued condition and were returned to the United States for resale.

Excellent plus. This musket appears to be un-fired and retains 99% plus of the original blue and casehardened finish with only slight traces of storage wear. The stock and forearm retain nearly all of the original finish and are in excellent plus condition; wear is limited to several insignificant storage bruises. The bayonet retains the original bright finish with a few small spots of age discoloration along the right edge of the blade. This is an exceptional example of a Winchester Model 1873 Musket with socket bayonet that remains in nearly new condition after 114 years.