Howdy dudes,
So.........
My bud and I cruise on into an estate auction here in Pa. that was from northern Delaware, in the DuPont area where people keep their houses at 70 degrees and humidity at 40%. 5,000 items of furniture and other junk---5 guns--------50 people bidding, 40 of them are there for the guns--most of them for the 1873. People are asking me questions on the '73--I tell 'em its been refinished-=--I lied--(white lie
)--knowledge is power. 
My bud Tom gets a pre-war Model 52 Winchester. I get this 1873 in 38-40 that if it had 10 rounds fired out of it, it was 9 too many. Like new, made in 1892. I cannot see any wear, only a few handling marks on the wood from the last 119 years. Tight action, sharp edges on the innards, loaded with case colors, fire blue on the loading gate, and that original high polish blue on the rest of the parts. Its a round barrel but I can live with that.
Nope, I ain't gonna shoot this one--safe queen
-------------SixgunHa! In all of the excitement, Lookee what I found in the buttplate! 'Ya know, being half Italian is not easy--I tend to let emotions rule over common sense and frequently overlook what I'm supposed to be looking for before I buy-but in this case, I lucked out.
The original 4 piece cleaning rod
buttstock
forend
Lookee at those case colors!
I just added this one---I was taking the pic "ala" Ysable Kid to show the interior of the gun and when I downloaded it, I noticed my reflection of my jeans on the receiver-----thats the quality of Winchester polishing in the 1873-1900 period.
Here--this one is a bit better--it shows the sharp lettering.
JK. Beautiful Gun, It makes My old Marlin 93 look like someone was mad at it and made it stand in the corner of the Barn. But I am well pleased as so should U be with Urs. 
