I have been chasing a few guns for the past several years that a friend has and has shown interest in selling. I finally got one wednesday night. It is a nice 1866 SRC, and made in 1885, so it is a centerfire and can be shot. I am now headed to Mike Venturino's house to see if we can get this old beauty firing again...

cool!!!

Wow that is nice!
What caliber?

Always liked a 66 better than a '73.

Looks like you may have a decent shooter there.

Those not chambered in .44 Henry are pretty hard to find.

I don't know, I talked to Mike Venturino yesterday and he said he got a similar gun working for Hank Williams Jr. several years ago. He said 44 Russian cases were his starting point...

Wow! The action on that rifle is beautiful! It just doesn't get much better...and center fire too!

What an opportunity! Enjoy that old SRC. Any history with it?

Could it be a .44-40?

Very interesting rifle, BTW. Nice find!

That looks cool....and different. Never seen one like that.


What does SRC stand for?


D'oh. Never mind.

Too short for a 44-40. I was hoping, but it isn't 44-40...

I've had a couple. Mine were in original condition.

now that's a cool find, and Mike is just the fellow to get you going in the right direction. I am jealous.

Irrelevant observation...

Did it not look like that from the factory??

I like the engraving, cool mtn goat!

That is nice!!

It is hard to say without a letter. The only thing more rare than an engraved 1866 is a non-engraved 1866. Engraving was common in those days, but without a letter, you won't know if it is factory.

You have to forgive Ethan Edwards as he is used to finding out information on his guns from Mattel and Hasbro...

That is a beautiful rifle!

Cool. Thanks Shrapnel.


Hell of a looking rifle for being that old.


Initially I thought it was might have been an weathered Italian copy.

Yeah nice gun Shrappy but you damn well better let MLV do the loading for it.

Beauty!

Very Nice!

Wow......... I'm speechless..... What a nice snag. Thanks for posting that and keep us updated on what you and Mike V. find with it.

That's a nice rig. Possibly S&W 44 American?

As an aside, Cornell Publications has digitized many Winchester catalogs and sells reprints. They have the January and Sept. 1885 catalogs on file. Would probably list what rounds the '66 were chambered for at that time. About $17/ea. I bought the 1902 one for my shotgun and quality is topnotch.

I even pulled the stock to look at the assembly numbers and they match. The sight is also correct...

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. It would be neat to find out the life story of that rifle.

Nice laddersight..

Reminds me of that Gus in Lonesome Dove shot where he shot the guy acting like a chicken.

.44RF may not blow your guts out your backbone at over 600 yards, but it'll make you wish you hadn't been a fool!

I expect that was a pricey little gem. Really cool.

It is cool to see a piece of history that has been that well cared for. Looking forward to hearing about it being restored to critter gittin condition.


mike r

I have a 44 colt round if ya need one.

Should be 44 Henry Centerfire. This may help.
https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/44-henry-centerfire-flat-information/8914

I took it over to Mike Venturino's house and with some resizing brass and bullets, we got it shooting...

So...did you guys figure out the identity of the cartridge yet?

I've seen the conversion caliber called a "44CF" before.

Not sure there really is a name. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Turns out it was a 38 special.

Interesting thing about 1866 Winchesters..

Until about the time you didn't want to go into Mexico anymore, you could buy '66's pretty cheap down there.

When more modern rifles came about, the 44H 1866's were pretty much obsolete, and sold cheap. Lots of them found their way to Mexico (who liked cheap guns).

You could buy them for $100-200. But they were nearly always "very well used" condition.

But if you could get 'em back here, they would bring many times that.

6.5 Creedmoor short-straightwall necked up to 44 with the necking-up tapering straightly all the way back to the head of the case. The extra brass that flows back is then flattened out into a case-rim.

ttt

44 Russian cases and 200 grain 44-40 bullets seated to the crimping groove seems to work. I had to get home and left the job unfinished. We were going to finish another article on 222 magnum, then shoot the SRC some more today, but the sun came out and I went gopher shooting instead.

We will try again tomorrow...