A Superb, Original, Antique 'Wild West' Period Winchester Cavalry Carbine. The Favourite Repeating Rifle of President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt and Cowboy Movie Star John Wayne. Probably The Most Iconic Rifle In the World

This is an absolute beauty one of the best we have seen in a long time
Good walnut stock and fine still with good natural age patination. Round barrel 20 in., half stocked with short tube magazine, ladder back sight, & saddle ring,

The world famous Winchester Lever Action Repeating Rifle was The weapon of choice of US President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt. Who was quoted as once saying,

"I don't know how to shoot well, but I know how to shoot often.”

Roosevelt’s deeds with his Winchesters are certainly the stuff of legend. You could hardly be expected to find a more colourful figure so strongly linked to something that is now, and in no small measure due to his patronage, considered a household word and so instantly recognizable. Once, while on a hunting trip, he led in the capture of three riverboat thieves with his Winchester at the ready. Another time while riding the perimeter of his ranch, he was set upon by a band of restless Sioux. One clear view of his Winchester across the saddle and they soon scattered. He would have been photographed holding a Winchester carbine atop San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War had he not given it to another trooper in his unit who was without a rifle at the time.
He was a human dynamo. He was the 26th and youngest President of the United States. He was a Medal of Honour winner, an avid hunter, a Nobel Prize winner, a wildlife conservationist, a war hero, a Life member of the National Rifle Association, the author of 39 books, a father of six and the most gun-savvy man to ever occupy The White House. When it came to gun knowledge or shooting skill, no chief executive, now or then, was his peer.

He special ordered his first Winchesters in the late summer of 1881, possibly to celebrate the publication of his second book, The Naval War of 1812. He ordered a pair of consecutively numbered Model 1876s, and these guns would be similar in composition to nearly every one of the next 20 Winchesters that he ordered.

There was one specific rifle John Wayne chose to use again and again in his cowboy appearances: The Winchester 1892 Rifle.
John Wayne was as prolific as he was iconic. He appeared in more than 170 movies, starred in more than 140 and often had several movies in theaters simultaneously. He could make almost any movie he wanted, with anyone he wanted, for any salary he wanted. Yet with all that flexibility, there was one specific rifle John Wayne chose to use again and again in his cowboy appearances.

It was the same rifle that had help make him a star. Director John Ford took the then-struggling actor and featured him in Stagecoach as Henry “the Ringo Kid,” the rifle-slinging criminal bound for revenge and redemption at the end of a dusty wagon trail. Wayne’s character was given a signature firearm: a big-looped Winchester Model 92 Trapper with the barrel chopped short.

Ford had the gun shortened so Wayne could swing it under his arm in a sweeping, theatrical motion when reloading. The move and movie were hits with audiences and forever changed Wayne’s career. The world had fallen for Wayne’s performance, and Wayne had fallen for the Winchester’s light, lithe design.

The Winchester was the byproduct of John Browning’s Winchester. The 1886 was a popular lever action among sportsmen, but it was chambered in .45/70 and required a substantial—i.e. heavy—gun. At 9 1/2 pounds, the 1886 was just that. Shooters who didn’t need bear-stopping power wanted a lighter rifle that came chambered for the pistol/rifle cartridge .44-40 and similar rounds of the day. The slimmer and sleeker 1892 was the result.

The 92 came in both a rifle and carbine configuration, each lighter than the 1886. Consumers wanted an even lighter version. Winchester responded by chopping the carbine down again to produce the special-order Trapper, available with 12- to 18-inch barrels.

Though lighter than the 1886, the 92 was still a solid machine that could handle strong cartridges. Winchester and Remington made special high-velocity, smokeless powder .44-40 offerings with the 92 in mind. Lesser guns that were accidentally fed the ammo buckled and caused the makers to take the loads off the shelf. The 92 had no problems.

Ranchers and riders like the ones Wayne would later portray fell in love with the 92 and gave it their cowboy seal of approval.
President Theodore Roosevelt, a former US Army 'Rough Rider', was a fan of the gun;
Rear Admiral Robert Peary took one on his successful North Pole expedition. Other movie icons used the gun as well:
Steve McQueen used a 92 in Wanted Dead or Alive, and
Chuck Connors carried one in The Rifleman.

In an era and industry that glamorized 1,000-yard revolver shots with guns that never needed reloading, Wayne was a firearms realist. Real cowboys would have used rifles whenever possible, and Wayne brought that level of authenticity to his films. He even used his own guns in his later career, preferring them to replicas that didn’t do the firearms world justice. The 92 was the kind of rifle cowboys used, so that’s the kind of rifle Wayne wanted.

Rooster Cogburn carried a 92 in one hand and a single-action revolver in the other, his horse’s reins in his teeth, in True Grit. The movie, in part thanks to that memorable scene, won Wayne the first Oscar of his long career in 1970. He later said that, if he had known the movie would have won him the award, “I’d have put that patch on 35 years earlier.” The Winchester would have been there too, ready to fire.

Fans clearly loved the man and the rifle. Numerous Wayne commemoratives and reproductions have been made over the years as a result. Winchester made several, including an appropriately chosen 92 on his centennial birthday in 2007, and, curiously, a Model 94 with his movie titles engraved on the decorated receiver.

Like Barbara Mandrell and country, Wayne had a big-loop lever action long before it was cool. Now function is following form: Shooters who wear gloves in cold weather or cowboy action shooting benefit from a larger loop like the Duke’s. Factory guns are being offered with the loop option and larger loops are being installed as an aftermarket feature on older guns.

Stagecoach (1939): Wayne's breakout role where he first debuted the famous lever-twirl.

El Dorado (1966): Used in the film's climax, famously employed one-handed because his character suffered from nerve damage.

True Grit (1969): Used heavily by his character Rooster Cogburn.

Rooster Cogburn (1975): The direct sequel to True Grit, in which he used the exact same rifle.

Original Hollywood prop rifles used by Wayne are highly sought-after collector's items; for example, a Model 1892 used in True Grit and Rooster Cogburn sold at auction for $88,500.

The US Army "Rough Riders" was the famous 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment that fought in the Spanish-American War. Formed in 1898, it was commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. The diverse, highly publicized unit gained legendary status for several key reasons: Diverse Ranks: The regiment was a colorful mix of cowboys, gold prospectors, miners, hunters, Native Americans, and Eastern Ivy League athletes.Action in Cuba: Deployed to Cuba, the regiment fought notably in the Battle of Las Guasimas and famously charged up Kettle and San Juan Hills near Santiago, securing a pivotal victory.Fought on Foot: Although organized as cavalry, the Rough Riders had to fight as foot soldiers because logistical issues left most of their horses behind in Florida.

"The Winchester stocked and sighted to suit myself is by all odds the best weapon I ever had, and I now use it almost exclusively ... .”

—Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman.

The British War Dept. purchased a few thousand of this Winchester pattern and we show in the gallery a super photograph of a RN gunboat crew displaying their Winchester rifles.

As it functioned with a calibre round still available today, like almost all Winchester rifles today, it had to be deactivated {with EU certificate} but the lever action still works just as it did, and all the work is achieved internally.

Code: 26249