Manufactured in 1879 as a third model that features a full tubular magazine, fixed German silver front sight, and adjustable rear sporting rifle sight. The top barrel flat is marked "WINCHESTER'S-REPEATING ARMS, NEW HAVEN. CT./KING'S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29, 1866, OCTOBER 16, 1860". The serial number is marked on the lower tang behind the trigger. The forearm has an iron end cap, and the buttstock has an iron crescent buttplate featuring a compartment containing a four piece cleaning rod. The accompanying notarized letter of provenance dated September 29, 1989 states that this gun belonged to Old West lawman Jeff Milton, the son of the Confederate Governor of Florida, John Milton. The name “J B Milton” is marked in pencil on the buttstock under the buttplate. The number "19" is stamped on the bottom of the receiver which matches Milton's deputy marshal badge number. Comes with the original brown leather scabbard with adjustable leather strap Milton carried this rifle in. As told in the letter of provenance, Adelaide Cole-Spencer first met Jeff Milton while visiting her parents in Tombstone, Arizona. “At that time Mr. Milton carried his .44 Winchester in a case on the side of his Chevrolet touring car.” This Winchester was owned by Milton “since he was a boy, a gift from a relative,” recalled Adelaide. Milton later gave the rifle to Adelaide. The rifle was kept by Adelaide for the next 45 years before “turning it over to James S. Portias on January 5, 1979.” Jeff Davis Milton (November 7, 1861- May 7, 1947) spent most of his childhood on the family Florida estate called Sylvania, located near Marinna. His father, the governor of Florida, committed suicide near the end of the Civil War when it became apparent it would end in a Northern victory. In 1877, at the age of 15, Milton moved to Texas where he worked for this brother-in-law as a cowboy on a cattle ranch. Three years later he joined the Texas Rangers and reached the rank of corporal. The rifle was manufactured in 1879, so it could have been used at this time. In May 1881, Milton and another man were accused of murdering W.P. Patterson, a cattleman living in Colorado City. He was cleared of the charges. After a short stint with the Rangers, he became a U.S. Deputy Marshal at Fairbanks, Arizona, and while working as a deputy sheriff in Socorro County, New Mexico, he killed three Mexican gunmen. Milton moved to El Paso where he became chief of police. With his deputy, the famous George Scarborough, he killed Martin Morose, a suspected rustler. In July 1898, the two men badly wounded Bronco Bill Walters in a gunfight. In 1900, Milton was working for Wells Fargo. In one incident he killed outlaw Jack Dunlap. “He closed the careers of many a temporary badman with bullets or handcuffs as the circumstances dictated,” proclaimed one observer. Milton summarized his own lawman career by saying, “I never killed a man that didn't need killing; I never shot an animal except for meat." Needless to say, Milton gained the reputation as a lawman who delivered justice through bullets. Later, he worked as a range detective, a prospector and an official in the Immigration Service. In 1930, he retired to Tombstone and died in Tucson in 1947. This lot also includes the book “Jeff Milton: A Good Man with a Gun” and a binder of newspaper articles and photographs (photocopies) related to Milton’s life.

Fair. The barrel, magazine and buttplate have turned an even smooth brown with high edge wear. The lever and hammer are grey with a mottled brown. The brass receiver has mellowed in color and has many minor handling marks. The wood is battered. The wrist of the buttstock has two one inch cracks and is solid, the forearm has a crack on both sides coming from the nose cap, the forearm is loose. The action is mechanically fine. The scabbard is worn, only one stitch in the leather lacing has worn through at the muzzle otherwise all the lacing is good. The strap loops have been moved once and re attached, leaving old lacing holes behind. The leather is still supple. Mechanically good.