After a year of restoration and study, the famous Lost Winchester ’73 rifle is coming home to the Great Basin National Park next month.
Perhaps over 100 years ago but not before 1882 someone perhaps a hunter or a miner left a prized Winchester 1873 rifle against a tree in what would become The Great Basin National Park.
The rifle, known as “the gun that won the West” was found a year ago leaning against a juniper tree on a remote outcrop, by park archaeologist Eva Jensen.
Given that this particular firearm was considered the greatest rifle ever made, it is highly unlikely that its owner simply forgot where he put it and went on with the rest of his life.
According to Nichole Andler, Chief of Interpretation at Great Basin National Park, “The rifle, exposed for all those years to sun, wind, snow and rain, was found leaning against a tree in the park. The cracked wood stock, weathered to grey, and the brown rusted barrel blended into the colors of the old juniper tree in a remote rocky outcrop, keeping the rifle hidden for many years.”
Engraved on the rifle is “Model 1873,” identifying it distinctly as a Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle” continued Andler. “The serial number on the lower tang corresponds in Winchester records held at the Center for the West at the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming, with a manufacture and shipping date of 1882. But the detailed history of this rifle is as yet unknown.”
While the specific history of the aged Winchester rifle is as yet unknown, the opportunities for speculation are rich. Perhaps it belonged to a lone cowboy riding the high range. Perhaps it was set aside by a sourdough prospector in his search for a vein of rich ore. Whatever the actual story, it has the makings of a great campfire tale.
After museum conservation to prevent further deterioration, the rifle will be returned to the park on December 6 and displayed as part of the park’s 30th birthday and the National Park Service’s centennial celebration.
Winchester rifles were readily available on the frontier and became hugely popular, with over 720,000 produced. This popularity has led the Model 1873 to be credited as “The Gun that Won the West”, and inspired the 1950 Western film Winchester ’73 starring James Stewart and directed by Anthony Mann.
Since its discovery last year, x-ray of the legendary fire arm revealed a new clue that helps narrow down the time it was first lost. Experts at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming took an X-ray of the rifle and discovered a cartridge tucked inside its stock where cleaning rods normally were kept.
The .44-40 caliber bullet was carefully removed and traced back to its long-gone manufacturer: Connecticut-based Union Metallic Cartridge Co., which merged with Remington in 1912.
Jensen said the folks in Cody believe the cartridge was made sometime between 1889 and 1911.
They also were able to determine the rifle was manufactured in February 1882 and shipped from Winchester’s factory in New Haven, Conn., in June 1882. But the Winchester records kept at the museum did not reveal where the gun was shipped or what happened to it after that.
Jensen said it could have been left as far back as 1900.
The rifle spent the summer on display at the museum in Cody. Jensen and another park archaeologist traveled to Wyoming and returned with the Winchester on Nov. 6, one year to the day after she discovered it.
The park will celebrate the Winchester’s homecoming Dec. 5 at Lehman Caves Visitor Center, where the rifle will be placed on temporary display while a permanent exhibit is developed.
The event will feature a 1 p.m. question-and-answer session with Jensen and the rest of the archaeology team, followed by a 2 p.m. screening of the 1950 Western “Winchester ’73” starring Jimmy Stewart.
The screening is free but seating is limited, so ticket reservations are required by calling 775-234-7510.
As to who left it no one really knows, the area where the rifle was found was excavated but found no human remains and there are no missing person reports that survived to modern times.
