Winchester Model 1873

Winchester rifle series
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1866–1940s (U.S)
Used by	United States Canada Mexico Ottoman Empire
Wars	American Indian Wars, Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, North-West Rebellion, French intervention in Mexico Spanish–American War, Mexican Revolution, World War I, World War II
Production history
Designed	1866
Manufacturer	Winchester Repeating Arms Company
Produced	1866–present
No. built	≈720,000
Variants	Full-stocked "Musket", Carbine, Sporting model
Specifications
Weight	9.5 lb (4.3 kg)
Length	49.3 in (125 cm)
Barrel length	30 in (76 cm)
Caliber	.44-40 Winchester, .38-40 Winchester, .32-20 Winchester, .22 Long Rifle
Action	Lever action
Feed system	15-round tube magazine
Sights	Graduated rear sights, fixed-post front sights

Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever-action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Model 1873 was particularly successful, being colloquially known as "The Gun that Won the West".

In 1848, Walter Hunt of New York patented his "Volition Repeating Rifle" incorporating a tubular magazine, which was operated by two levers and complex linkages. The Hunt rifle fired what he called the "Rocket Ball", an early form of caseless ammunition in which the powder charge was contained in the bullet's hollow base. Hunt's design was fragile and unworkable, but in 1849 Lewis Jennings purchased the Hunt patents and developed a functioning, if still complex, version which was produced in small numbers by Robbins & Lawrence of Windsor, Vermont until 1852.

Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson of Norwich, Connecticut, acquired the Jennings patent from Robbins & Lawrence, as well as shop foreman Benjamin Tyler Henry. Smith made several improvements to the Jennings design, and in 1855 Smith and Wesson together with several investors formed a corporation, the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, to manufacture Smith's modification of the Hunt-Jennings, the Volcanic lever-action pistol and rifle. Its largest stockholder was Oliver Winchester.

For the Volcanic rifle, Smith added a primer charge to Hunt's "Rocket Ball" and thus created one of the first fixed metallic cartridges which incorporated bullet, primer and powder in one self-contained unit. While still with the company Smith went a step further and added a cylindrical copper case to hold the bullet and powder with the primer in the case rim, thus creating one of the most significant inventions in firearms history, the metallic rimfire cartridge. Smith's cartridge, the .22 Short, would be introduced commercially in 1857 with the landmark Smith & Wesson Model 1 revolver and is still manufactured today.

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Wikipedia