Gun Reviews · Profile & review in progress

Winchester Model 1873

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The lever-action rifle marketed as “The Gun That Won the West.”

Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle — Photo: Hmaag / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Winchester Model 1873 is the lever-action rifle Winchester marketed as "The Gun That Won the West." It followed the Henry rifle of 1860 and the Winchester Model 1866, adding a stronger frame and centerfire chamberings such as .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20. More than 700,000 were made between 1873 and 1919 or so.

1860 Henry lever-action rifle — The 1860 Henry rifle, the lever-action ancestor of the Winchester line. Photo: Hmaag / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Design

A lever under the receiver cycles the action: down to eject the spent case and cock the hammer, up to feed a fresh cartridge from the tube magazine under the barrel. The 1873 came in rifle, carbine and musket configurations. Reproductions of the 1873 are widely used today in cowboy action shooting.

Ratings will be added only after the hosts have spent real time with one at the range.

Ratings

HistoryComing soonDesignComing soonShootabilityComing soonCollectibilityComing soonOverallComing soon

Ratings are editorial opinions and will be added once the hosts have spent time with this firearm. No scores have been assigned yet.

The verdict

Coming soon.

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