This is a solid representative example of a Winchester Model 1866 musket. Being that three out of every four being manufactured as a carbine, and rifles outnumbering muskets two to one, the musket configuration of the Winchester Model 1866 is the most rare variation. The 1866 was one of the most iconic firearms of the American west, and thought the musket lacked the portability of the carbine, it added the ability to fix a bayonet in a package similar in size to the rifle, a welcome last ditch defensive measure in the most dire of frontier situations. This example was manufactured in 1870 as a Third Model, when the western frontier remained very much wild. The barrel is marked with the two-line address and King's patent marking and the serial number is on the lower tang behind the trigger. It is fitted with a bayonet lug blade front sight and a folding ladder rear sight, as well as sling swivels on the barrel band and bottom of the buttstock. It is mounted with a smooth musket length forearm and straight grip stock with a trapdoor military style buttplate.

Very good plus, retains strong traces of the original blue finish with the balance mostly a plum brown patina and the brass showing an attractively aged mellow tone, having every appearance of a gun that was extensively used but well cared for. The lightly sanded and reoiled wood is also very good with a few scattered minor dings, typical of a "workhorse" sort of firearm. Mechanically excellent.