The following is sponsored content from Lock Stock & Barrel Auctions.
A rifle attributed to Buffalo Bill Cody, a deluxe Winchester valued as high as $50,000 and one of the most recognizable early Winchester advertising displays ever produced will be among the headline attractions when Lock Stock & Barrel Auctions returns to the historic Cody Auditorium for a three-day fall auction.
The auction will take place Oct. 23–25, with bidding beginning at 9 a.m. each day. A public preview will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, when every item in the auction will be available for personal inspection.
Altogether, the sale will offer more than 1,500 lots of historic firearms, Western Americana, military artifacts, advertising art, knives, sporting arms and unusual collectibles.
For Wyoming residents, the event offers more than an opportunity to bid. It is a chance to spend a fall weekend surrounded by the people, objects and stories that shaped the American West.
Visitors entering the Cody Auditorium will find rows of lever-action rifles, Colt revolvers, military arms, cartridge boards, vintage advertising pieces and historic artifacts waiting to be examined. Collectors can compare notes, newcomers can ask questions and families can see objects that are normally encountered only behind museum glass or in history books.
Food and drinks will be provided throughout the event, allowing visitors to settle in, visit with friends and enjoy the rhythm of a traditional live auction as lots cross the block.
Bidding To Help Park County Animals
A special group of lots will also benefit the Park County Animal Shelter.
Consignor Rocky Orgill is donating 100% of his proceeds from the designated collection to the Cody-based nonprofit. The shelter provides food, housing, medical treatment and adoption services for abandoned, neglected, stray and surrendered animals throughout Park County.
The benefit lots include Colt and Ruger revolvers, Browning shotguns, sporting rifles, pistols and other firearms. For bidders, a raised paddle could help provide everything from veterinary treatment and vaccinations to warm beds and full food bowls for animals awaiting homes.
A Winchester Expected To Lead The Auction
The highest-valued firearm in the catalog is an engraved, case-hardened Winchester Model 1873 Deluxe rifle manufactured in 1884.
Chambered in .44-40 and built with a half-octagon barrel and half-length magazine, the rifle represents the Model 1873 in one of its most desirable configurations. Often called “The Gun That Won the West,” the Model 1873 remains closely connected with ranches, frontier towns and the settlement of the American West.
The rifle carries a presale estimate of $25,000 to $50,000.
Another important early lever action is a Civil War-era New Haven Arms Model 1860 Henry rifle manufactured in 1864. The Henry helped establish the repeating-rifle design that eventually evolved into the Winchester name. Its estimate is $15,000 to $30,000.
Other major Winchester offerings include a deluxe Model 1876 made in 1885, fitted with a set trigger and chambered in .40-60, estimated at $8,000 to $16,000; a rare factory-monogrammed and matted-barrel deluxe Model 1890, estimated at $8,000 to $16,000; and an unusual five-feature special-order Model 1885 Schuetzen target rifle, estimated at $7,500 to $15,000.
A Rifle Linked To Buffalo Bill
Few objects could be more at home in Cody than Lot 3105, a high-grade deluxe Marlin Model 1881 rifle attributed to Buffalo Bill Cody.
Manufactured in 1891 and chambered in the powerful .45-70 cartridge, the rifle carries a presale estimate of $12,500 to $25,000.
The Buffalo Bill connection gives the rifle special significance in the community that bears his name. It will be offered just a short distance from the places where Cody’s legacy remains part of everyday life.
The auction also includes a factory-engraved Marlin Model 1893 rifle from 1895, estimated at $6,000 to $12,000, along with a factory-engraved Marlin 1893 takedown rifle stocked in striking bird’s-eye maple. That rifle carries an estimate of $7,000 to $14,000.
Colt Revolvers, Military Arms and Rare Advertising
Colt collectors will find several notable revolvers, including a factory-engraved, nickel-finished first-generation Single Action Army made in 1924 and estimated at $7,500 to $15,000.
The military section reaches from the Civil War through the world wars. Highlights include a martially marked New Haven Arms Model 1860 Henry rifle dated 1864, a Winchester Model 1897 trench shotgun manufactured during World War I and estimated at $6,000 to $12,000, and an early Winchester-produced M1 Garand manufactured in February 1941, before the United States entered World War II.
The sale also includes a World War II Union Switch & Signal M1911A1 pistol, an Irwin-Pedersen M1 Carbine and a Dutch-contract Johnson Model 1941 rifle.
One of the most visually impressive pieces is an original 1902 Winchester “Double W” cartridge board measuring nearly 5 feet across. Filled with period cartridges and surrounded by classic Winchester imagery, the framed display is estimated at $8,000 to $18,000.
A rare 1901 Peters Cartridge Co. factory cartridge board is estimated at $6,000 to $12,000, while an 1890 print of William Trego’s dramatic Civil War painting “Battery—Forward!” carries an estimate of $8,000 to $16,000.
Other unusual offerings include a rare Smith & Wesson Model 320 revolving rifle — one of only 239 produced — estimated at $7,500 to $15,000, and an early New Haven Arms Volcanic lever-action pistol estimated at $8,000 to $16,000.
Collections Built By Firearms Authorities
Several groups of items come from people whose names are well known within the firearms community.
The auction includes material connected with Bob Templeton, founder of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows; longtime firearms writers John Taffin and Rick Hacker; custom gunmaker Joe Claridge; and Montana leather craftsman Rick Bachman.
Bachman founded Old West Reproductions and spent decades studying and recreating historically accurate frontier holsters and gun leather. His work has appeared in major Western films, including “Dances with Wolves” and “Tombstone.”
Together, the collections give bidders an opportunity to acquire objects selected, studied or used by people who helped shape modern firearms collecting.
An Auction With Something For Nearly Everyone
Although the rarest pieces are expected to command five-figure prices, the catalog is not limited to advanced collectors.
Lots range from affordable ammunition boxes, artwork, knives and accessories to hunting rifles, shotguns, modern handguns and investment-grade firearms. Some estimates begin below $100, giving new collectors and casual visitors a chance to participate alongside seasoned bidders.
That variety is part of the appeal of attending in person. On any given trip across the auction block, the room might move from a Civil War sword to a Winchester lever action, from an engraved Colt to a vintage advertising calendar or an affordable .22 rifle.
In Cody — where firearms, ranching, hunting and Western history remain part of the community’s living identity — the auction is as much a gathering as it is a sale.
The preview will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at the historic Cody Auditorium, 1240 Beck Ave. All cataloged items will be present and available for inspection.
Bidding begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 23, 24 and 25. Guests may attend and bid in person, while online and absentee bidding are available through Live.LSBauctions.com, with no additional platform fee. Telephone bidding is available by calling 307-527-8915.
Complete descriptions and thousands of photographs are available in the three-session online catalog. All values cited are presale estimates, and final prices will be determined when the auctioneer’s hammer falls
