1873 Winchester rifle the gun that won the West

[GeeBee49]

Lever actions are certainly addictive and unfortunately so are replica single action revolvers. A lot of us grew up watching western movies and TV shows so we can't really help ourselves.

When I was a kid I played with things like this so the transition was natural.

[Darto]

Original '73s are almost all of them black powder only. The Italian replicas can take black or smokeless. Buds used to have good prices on Uberti replicas, whereas Dixie Gun Works usually cost more.

Before the 1960's Hollywood used Whinchester '92s because they could walk into a gunstore and buy new ones for their movie lot warehouses. In the late 1960's big Italian companies started making replicas and from then on all kinds of guns showed up in movies. Such as Clint Eastwood only used Colt SAA revolvers and Win 92's in Fistfull of Dollars, but in later sphagettis they had a variety of replicas.

[IrishJoe3]

44-40, isn't that essentially the original pistol caliber carbine?

[highpower]

44-40, isn't that essentially the original pistol caliber carbine?

Yes indeed. the 1873 Winchester with it's more powerful round was so popular that Colt began chambering it's Single Action Army revolver in .44WCF. But because it was a Winchester cartridge and not a Colt invention they started calling it the .44-40 instead.

Initially they changed the name of their revolver from the "Single Action Army" to the "Frontier Six Shooter" when chambered in .44WCF due to the fact that it was not chambered for the Army (.45 Colt) cartridge.

[TRAP55]

Colt did about 1800 1st Gen in .44 RF Henry too. Rare to find, most went south of the border.

[Croweman08]

Here's an original in 32-20. Half mag, made around 1888

[major burnout]

I noticed the same thing. Rural states don't have as many collectable firearms for sale as CA. For some folk, selling Grandpa's or Dad's firearms is unthinkable. The good stuff is passed down from generation to generation.

They can be had for less if you are patient enough, I paid $1200 for the one I bought. It has a decent bore and functions properly.

Funny story; I drove across the US a couple of times stopping along the way at gun stores and pawn shops in rural areas looking for a decent early Winchester. All I could find was AR's and late model hunting rifles.

When I got back from a trip last year, I found the rifle I picked up in a LGS about 20 miles from my home. At the same time they had a super nice Marlin 1893, made in 1900 in .38-55 sitting below it on the wall. It was so nice I bought both of them.




Just a couple of weeks ago they had another '73 Winchester that had been carefully refinished and chambered in .44WCF, for $1300. I passed on it only because I was looking for something else and I figured that I already had "my" 1873.