Early Winchester 1876

[Bigslug]

One of the engineers must have kept pestering Oliver Winchester about adding a dust cover despite the need for cost-saving measures. Out of frustration, Winchester dismissed him by pointing at the door while yelling, "OH PUT A LID ON IT ALREADY!!"

The rest is history.

I do have to wonder though. . .did the '73's have these "lids" from the start or did they and the '76 get them simultaneously?

[HWooldridge]

The '66 did not have a dust cover so I suspect the lid on the '73 was an intentional improvement to keep dirt out of the action. It was a smart solution since the cover could be kept closed until the user starting firing and ejecting shells. It is logical to assume the '76 benefitted from the same design changes.

[veeman]

I have 3 Uberti 76's with "lids", never used one. Course, I don't traipse around the country side with them either, so never had a need for them. Just wonder how often they were actually used back in the day?

[HWooldridge]

My son does a lot of work from horseback and keeps a '94 Winchester in 30-30 in a saddle scabbard. It gets absolutely filthy after a couple weeks out in the world of cow ranching - which leads me to believe the environment was just as dirty in the old days. A handful of grit inside any action will grind down the fit and function in short order.

[Bazoo]

Well that’s is a real dandy. I am just now getting around to catching up on this thread. I didn’t know that Winchesters ‘76s were made without lids in the beginning. Nor that they were called lids. I appreciate your sharing it with us all Kai.

Did they add lids to the ‘73 at the same time? Or did they have them from the beginning?

So it was a special order item at the time. Was lids ever available on the ‘66?

[indian joe]

Well that’s is a real dandy. I am just now getting around to catching up on this thread. I didn’t know that Winchesters ‘76s were made without lids in the beginning. Nor that they were called lids. I appreciate your sharing it with us all Kai.

Did they add lids to the ‘73 at the same time? Or did they have them from the beginning?

So it was a special order item at the time. Was lids ever available on the ‘66?

what i wanna know is how many lottery tickets Kai bought the day he took delivery of this "sight unseen" gem - its sort of find we all dream of and most never see

[ddixie884]

Such marvelous toys.................

[Kai]

Well that’s is a real dandy. I am just now getting around to catching up on this thread. I didn’t know that Winchesters ‘76s were made without lids in the beginning. Nor that they were called lids. I appreciate your sharing it with us all Kai.

Did they add lids to the ‘73 at the same time? Or did they have them from the beginning?

So it was a special order item at the time. Was lids ever available on the ‘66?

First off I have never heard of the covers on 1873s being called lids only referred to as dust covers. Then again because all 1873s all had dust covers from the beginning of production I have never seen one called out in a factory letter as was the case with the 1876. What differed was the style of dust cover and how it was held onto the gun. There were basically 3 different styles: round thumb print, oval thumb print, and plain covers. Early covers were held to the receiver in a mortise cut into the top of the receiver. Second models had a rail screwed to the top of the receiver that the dust cover rode on. Third models had the rail milled into the top of the receiver. Because the 73s had dust covers from the beginning of production it seems a bit odd that the 76s did not have covers from the beginning although I suppose it was some sort of cost savings since the rifle was so expensive to make.