Designed by John Browning for Winchester, the Model 1886 handled some of the period's most powerful cartridges and quickly gained popularity among pioneers and big game hunters such as President Theodore Roosevelt whose survival depended upon the powerful buffalo cartridges. In the steady hands of an experienced frontiersman, no grizzly bear, bull elk or bison stood a chance against the Model 1886. Offered here is a deluxe carbine variation of the iconic Model 1886, with a combination of special order features that makes it particularly rare as well as being in highly sought after high condition. The accompanying Winchester Gun Museum letter dated October 25, 1968 confirms this Model 1886 as a carbine in .45-90 caliber with fancy checkered pistol grip stock and rifle butt. An excerpt (copy) from the Winchester factory ledger pertaining to this carbine is provided. The original factory entry for this carbine is one of the approximately 150,000 existing factory Model 1886 serial number records kept at the Cody Firearms Museum Records Office and would have been observed by John Madl and John Hawk when they reviewed these records to explore configuration production data for the Model 1886 Carbine. Their results were published in the summer 2018 issue of the Winchester Collector. Based on their research, this Winchester is one of only two Model 1886 Carbines factory documented as leaving the factory with “checkered stock, pistol grip, rifle butt.” Nearly 160,000 Model 1886s were manufactured c. 1886-1935 and although the existing serial number records for this model are not 100% complete (just over 8,000 records are absent), this deluxe carbine is undeniably an ultra-rare Model 1886 that stands as a crown jewel in Winchester collecting. It certainly has the strong possibility of being the only one extant. Winchester expert and author George Madis noted that a Model 1886 carbine with just one special feature is rare but a carbine with two or more of these features "brings the gun into the rarest of the rare class...We find that comparatively few model 86 carbines were made, and an even lesser number had any special feature." The Madl-Hawk study clearly illustrates the rarity of Model 1886 carbines, especially when it comes to this example. Other pertinent data from the Madl-Hawk study for this Winchester found that only 941 Model 1886 Carbines were chambered for the .45-90 cartridge. In addition to the checkered fancy grain deluxe walnut pistol grip stock and forearm, the carbine has the very desirable casehardened receiver. The casehardened receiver was standard prior to 1900 at which time casehardening had to be special ordered. The carbine is fitted with a pinned beaded blade front sight, folding ladder rear sight graduated to 10, and saddle ring on the left side of the receiver. The top of the barrel has the two-line New Haven address ahead of the rear sight and “45-90/WCF” at the breech. The upper tang is marked “-MODEL 1886-.” The lower tang carries the serial number and patent dates. The hammer, receiver, lever, and buttplate are casehardened. The loading gate is niter blue. The barrel, magazine tube, barrel band and bolt are blued. The deluxe walnut forearm and buttstock feature style “H” checkering, one of the most popular of the extra factory decorations, and high polish piano finish. The pistol grip has a Winchester hard rubber cap. The left side of the lower tang is marked "702" followed by two dots. The assembly number "702" is repeated on the stock inlet and buttplate.

Exceptionally fine. The barrel and magazine tube retain 95% original blue finish. The barrel bands retain 85% original blue. 95% original blue remains on the bolt. The loading gate retains 97% plus original nitre blue. The receiver retains 70% vivid original case colors. 80% vivid original case colors remain on the hammer and lever. 30% original case colors remain on the buttplate. The wood is excellent with some minor dings and scratches, nearly all original varnish remaining, and overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. A real rarity in lever action collecting, this documented one of two Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Carbine with pistol grip stock will be a stand out piece to any public or private Winchester collection.