A buddy of mine called me about 2-3 months ago and said he had a Winchester 1873 I had to come and see. I got to his store and he had an amazing 95% 1873 made in 1888. It was the NICEST 1873 I had ever seen condition wise. He wanted a stiff price for it but we came to terms and I bought it. He then starts smiling and says that he needs to show me the OTHER one. Apparently the lady who brought the guns to him had a FSS and the 1873 that had been together and in the family since 1889! Needless to say, I didn't even have the money to offer on the Colt. Lucky for me he held on to the Colt until I had enough funds to make an offer and he took it! The 1873 was shipped in April 1889 and the FSS was shipped in August 1889. Like I said, the lady said they were passed down for a long time until nobody really wanted the guns, they wanted the money. Well, they are back together, I don't know what I'll do with them but they WILL stay together.
Few more pics. I hafta say also that the grips are 98% if they're anything! Flat out fabulous. The gun has 90% nickel on the frame and barrel. However the cylinder is about 50%. Still don't find em like this. Thanks for looking.
Congratulations on a fantastic find! It seems that great condition old guns can still come out of the woodwork. I'm assuming that the 73 is a .44-40 also?
Sorry. Can't think of adjectives to describe these! Someone bought them together and kept them together (until now almost!) and took that good of care of them. I've read somewhere that the 5 1/2" CFSS was the rarest, and this one is nickel with the original grips! Good for you to keep them as a pair.
Thanks. Like I said before, I haven't decided what to do but whatever it is I guarantee it will be as a group. I didnt get a closeup of it but the etched panel is almost perfect.
That is a superb pair of old west guns, congratulations. With them both being shipped the same year and coming out of the same family, it would be a crying shame to separate them now. However, I suspect many companion Winchesters and Colts have been separated over the years and these, sadly, will probably be separated by some collector at some point in the future!
I did a complete disassemble on the FSS to look for any crud and it looks just as good on the inside as it does out. Some of the screws still have a beautiful blue. Because of where I'm at with jobs these two will probably be going up for sale AS A PAIR soon as I can't think of any way to tie this kind of money up for right now. I'll get some better pics and post them on here soon.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could
be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Colt Forum
A forum community dedicated to Colt firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, gunsmithing, troubleshooting, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!