Anyone know anything about a Winchester Hotchkiss Rifle ?

Earlier I had posted on this forum about a guy who wanted to sell me either a Trapdoor in .45-70 or a .50-70 Rolling Block. Well he changed his mind on the rolling block and wanted too much for the Trapdoor. That being said he has a Winchester-Hotchkiss Bolt Action Rifle made in 1881 it is an 1879 Model Rifle with a 6 round tubular magazine in the buttstock. It is chambered in .45-70 Government. He has always fired the Trapdoor load of .45-70-405 and has had good results and has taken 5 deer with it. He wants $650 for it and online says $700-$900 so the price is good. Anyone know anything about these rifles ? All I can find are vids of guys firing them but nothing about how sturdy they are. If anyone has any info it would be appreciated. I would like to make it a deer rifle.

I know the first two models suffered from problems with the stocks cracking. The first model has a round safety on the side of the stock creating a weak spot. The second (Navy) model has two levers at the rear of the receiver for the magazine disconnect and the safety. These tend to split long-wise at the rear of the receiver on each side. Because of that, the first two models should be treated with some care. The third model uses a two piece stock which was more sturdy. By that time though, there weren't any buyers for the rifle. Either way, $650 is a good deal if the bore is in good shape. If it's a second model in good shape and you're not interested in it, I certainly would be.

^^^^ what he said If it had a really great bore, I might restock it for shooting, some kind of laminated stock. Seems to be true of the Keene rifles as well.