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Rare Whitney Kennedy Saddle Ring Carbine in 45-60 with Early S-Lever
Guns International #: 102321890 Seller's Inventory #:
Category: Whitney Rifles - Winchester Rifles - Antique Lever
Seller's Information
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Seller: Brent Wilburn
Company: Antique Arms, Inc.
Member Since: 11/19/15
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Wilburn
State: Georgia
Zip: 30052
Country: United States
Phone: (678) 471-1432
Phone2: (678) 471-1432
Premium Seller
Number of Active Listings: 36
Total Number of Listings: 580
Seller: Private Seller
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: Money Order, Certified Check
Description:
Large Frame Whitney Kennedy Saddle Ring Carbine in Caliber 45-60. Standard 22" round barrel, full magazine, saddle ring, and carbine sights. These were built by Eli Whitney Jr. in his plant in New Haven, CT. in the 1880's. At the time Whitney was one of the oldest gun manufacturers in the United States and was doing its best to survive in the very competitive lever action rifle market with Winchester Repeating Arms. Ironically, it was Whitney who put Sam Colt back in the Revolver game by building the 1847 Walker Dragoon and even rented space in his mill to accomodate an early startup called the Volcanic Arms Company...which would go on to produce the Henry rifle and eventually become Winchester Arms. Whitney did its best to keep up with the times with its involvement with the Burgess rifle until it re-designed it to become the Kennedy. While it initially had a smaller frame version in 44-40 to go against the Model 1873, the 45-60 was introduced to compete directly against the Winchester Model 1876. By most accounts, the Whitney was the better stronger gun and was less prone to break as it was built like a piece of industrial machinery. However, by the end of the 1880's, the now elderly Whitney Jr. was ready to retire and with nobody to take over the reigns, he sold out to Winchester which had been on a rampage gobbling up competitors to corner the market. The Kennedy was built from 1880 to around 1886 and by most accounts, the total production was around 23,500...or about 1/3 of the entire production of the Winchester 1876 which was only 63,000. This carbine is listed by Serial Number in Dale Olson's survey of the Whitney Kennedy in the book "The Burgess Long Range Repeating Rifle Model 1878". He has it listed as a carbine in 45-60 with an S lever. There are four of five similar carbines within a few digits of it also listed. See Photo. Serial Number is in the F Block range and according to Maxwell's fantastic book "Lever Action Magazine Rifles", it was built in March-April 1883 which is the first month Whitney brought out the 45-60 chambering in the Kennedy. It is also the month that they introduced the closed loop lever and began to phase out the open S shaped lever. The phase-out was complete by June of 1883 so this is kind of a rare bird to find a 45-60 Carbine with the early style lever. Not many of these carbines were built...some say 1000...others say a few thousand but either case, they are not very common and survey research indicates that approximately 75% of them were the smaller framed 44-40's. I'm not a Whitney collector but in 25 years of dealing with antique guns, this is only the second Whitney Carbine I've had in 45-60..the other one I found at the Las Vegas show at the Riviera Hotel in the early 2000's and that one had a closed loop lever. Interesting story...they say that most of these Whitney carbines were exported overseas and the guy who had it told me that he found it, in of all places, South Africa. This one is in much better shape than the last one I had years ago. It has sharp edges, great markings, great screws, a nice action, and better than average bore that I would describe as fairly bright with good rifling and a few minor spots of corrosion. No rings or bulges. Very Good overall. The metal is silvery grey with some spotting...very smooth and no pitting...maybe just a few tiny traces of original finish in protected areas The wood is in Very Good Condition with no cracks. Nice wood to metal fit and just a few handling marks...better than average wood for a carbine. Buttplate has the sliding trapdoor for a set of cleaning rods which are no longer present. Antique, Pre-1898. No FFL required. $50.00 shipping in lower 48. No sales to NJ, NYC, DC, Chicago, or HI. Sorry, no direct international sales unless we go through a licensed importer/exporter.
Price: $4,500.00
Antique: Yes
Rifle Caliber: .45-60 Winchester
Manufacturer: Whitney
Model: Kennedy Large Frame