Winchester 1876 short rifle 45-60 on GB?

[rangerider7]

What's the story? Let me here from the experts.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =197155695

[KirkD]

Hard to tell for sure if the 18" barrel is factory, but it does look like the inside and outside radiuses of the muzzle have a bevel, which was not factory. There is a good chance the barrel and mag tube have been cut down. That said, a 'Buy Now' price of $2,500 is reasonable, and probably reflects the cut down barrel.

[Hobie]

Mag in relation to muzzle, muzzle treatment, sights, etc. don't appear correct. A letter would answer questions, maybe, but this gun ain't original. Is that the over-riding concern?

[rangerider7]

I don't have the money right now but I wanted to know if it was original. It seems to be a good price even if it is not. I figured the mag and barrel (beveled) were not original but nice work and done by a gun smith a while back. It sure would be a handy lever to shoot.

P.S. No good photo of the repaired stock. That might be the killer.

[OldWin]

I could be mistaken, but was the forend an inch shorter on short rifles as they were on trapper carbines? Also I think generally the sight slot is milled closer to the receiver.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I could be mistaken, but was the forend an inch shorter on short rifles as they were on trapper carbines? Also I think generally the sight slot is milled closer to the receiver.

I believe Winchester shortened the forearm on their short rifles as well. The forearm in the picture looks regular rifle length.

[southfork]

The picture of that '76 brings back bittersweet memories. I was passing thru Billings, Montana a dozen or so years ago and happened to find a vintage Winchester '76 short rifle for sale in a gun shop. The price was very reasonable (around $700 I think), so I bought it and took it home happy as a kid on Christmas morning. About two weeks later a sheriff's deputy knocked on my door in Idaho and asked me if I bought a such-and-such Winchester rifle in Billings a couple of weeks prior. Long story short, several old Winchester lever actions had been stolen in a home burglary and sold to the gun shop. The cops collared the punk theives and tracked the stolen guns thru the gun shop to the subsequent buyers. I had to give up the '76 short rifle, and eventually did get my money back. But they had to pry the rifle out of my hands with a crowbar!

[Mike D.]

A few years ago I sold my 22" round barreled '76 .45-60 for three times what I originally gave for it($400). The barrel was surely cut down, but whoever did it had the tube hanger in the correct position. The gun had no remaining metal finish, but great wood and a nearly mint bore that shot like a dream.