Winchester Mod 1866 Lever Action Original

Description

1866 Winchester, 1st model, “yellow boy”, Henrys Patent 1869, Four Notches on bottom of Stock. Very nice Piece.

The Winchester Model 1866 is an American lever-action repeating rifle produced from 1866 to 1899 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The first iteration of the Winchester rifle, the Model 1866 was a refinement of the 1860 Henry rifle; nicknamed the Yellowboy because of its distinctively-colored golden receiver, the rifle was an instant success and had a long production run of about thirty years.

After Oliver Winchester purchased the assets of the bankrupt Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, renamed it the New Haven Arms Company and assumed complete ownership of said company, the company received some orders to revise and improve the Henry rifle (which was also manufactured by said company), which was a revolutionary rifle but not without its faults. As such, a new rifle was envisioned; this rifle became the Model 1866.[1] The Model 1866 was first marketed in 1866; the rifle was an instant success, with approximately 170,100 manufactured during its production life. The rifle remained in production until 1899, despite the Model 1873 and 1894 having already been marketed and sold by that time.

The weapon’s distinctive golden receiver was achieved due to the use of gunmetal in its construction; modern reproductions of the weapon tend to use brass instead

Stock 288 – SN 22024