The Winchester letter describes this Model 1876, as: "rifle, octagon barrel, plain trigger", and states that it was shipped from Winchester on February 22, 1882. This rifle has the Second Model receiver with screw-fastened dust cover rail and dust cover with serrated finger guides. The .45-75 caliber, full octagon, barrel has a standard sporting style front sight with nickel-silver blade and a sporting style, folding ladder rear sight graduated to "10" and stamped "1876" at the top. The upper receiver tang is factory drilled and tapped. The crescent buttplate has a sliding brass trapdoor, and the butt trap contains a five-piece, jointed, steel cleaning rod. The barrel and magazine have a blue finish. The forearm cap, receiver, dust cover, bolt, loading gate and buttplate are bright blue, and the hammer, trigger and lever are color casehardened. The stock and forearm are oil finished, straight grain, American walnut. The top barrel plate 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." ahead of the rear sight. The upper receiver tang is roll-stamped: "MODEL. 1876." in fancy letters. The serial number is stamped in script numerals on the lower tang between the lever latch and rear tang screw. The barrel and cartridge elevator are, correctly, not marked with a caliber designation. Known to collectors as the "Centennial Model" due to its introduction at the Philadelphia Exposition on July 4, 1876, the Model 1876 was the first Winchester lever action rifle capable of chambering powerful cartridges capable of taking big game.

Very fine. The barrel and magazine have 80% of the original blue finish; wear is limited to a small line of finish loss and light pitting on the upper left barrel flat above the forearm cap. The Winchester legend is crisp. The forearm cap has nearly all of the bright blue finish. The receiver retains 75% plus of the bright blue finish with some minor scratches on the left side and side plate and some small, scattered spots of surface discoloration on top, right side and right sight plate. Nearly all of the blue finish remains on the dust cover. The loading gate retains 50% the nitre blue finish. The buttplate has 75% of the bright blue finish with light wear on the toe and heel. The stock and forearm are in very fine overall condition with minor, scattered storage and handling marks and retains 90% of the original finish. This is an excellent, original example of a scarce and very desirable Winchester Second Model 1876 rifle.