Highlights of the 19 October 2024 sale
One particular gun that will be on sale in our Fine & Sporting Guns sale on 19th October, is a Winchester A Mod 1886 .45-90 underlever rifle, serial number 42918.
It’s already attracting a great deal of attention and so we thought we’d fill you in on the rifle’s back story.
Its origins began when John Moses Browning, America’s renowned gun designer, was asked if he could design a stronger action that could fire big game hunting ammunition such as the buffalo-stopping .50-110 Winchester cartridge. As a result he designed the Model 1886, which introduced a stronger, vertically sliding, locking-block action to replace the weaker toggle lock.
The Winchester 1886 was remarkable. It could be used to hunt huge game and was a constant companion of those settling the then ‘Wild West’.
President Roosevelt and the Winchester 1886
American President Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt was a fan of the Winchester 1886 and used to gift the gun to those he admired. He liked big-bore guns and the Winchester 1886 rifle was one of his favourites due to the powerful cartridges and rapid follow-up shots. He carried a customised .45-90 version which he used extensively. When his mother and first wife died on the same day in 1884, Roosevelt dealt with his sorrow over the next two years by living in the saddle, driving cattle and hunting big game on his ranch in Dakota Territory.
Presidents aside, the Winchester 1886 was also an instant hit with scouts, hunters, lawmen, bandits and Native Americans. It was a rifle made for the West and with its chambering could deal with big game such as bison, elk, grizzy bear, moose and more.
View the full 19 October auction catalogue here.
