I'm not familiar with all the American gun manufacturers of the Old West Era. Were there any Winchester Saddle Ring Carbines made in .45 Colt during the actual Old West times? I think the Old West officially spans from 1865 through 1895. I think some old-time cowboys wanted a rifle in .45 Colt as a companion to their 6-shooter which shoots the same ammo. Were Colt coach guns common on stagecoaches? I read that a William Moore double-barrel shotgun was used by Doc Holliday in the Battle at OK Corral. I once had the notion that Colt Peacemakers were carried by the good guys while Remington 6-shooters were the guns of the bad guys. White Hats = Colts, Black Hats = Remingtons. I think of "original" cowboy guns as ones actually made during the Old West. I think most cowboy action shooters these days use cheap import reproductions for their sport. What do American cowboys usually carry for guns this day and age?
. View attachment 1073093
No lever guns were ever chambered in 45 Colt prior to the 1980s. The rim on the original Colt rounds was insufficient to work well with extractors. If one wanted a revolver / carbine combo in the same cartridge the hugely popular 44/40 was the way to go. And many did.
While Winchester effectively created the myth that the 1873 was “the gun that won the West”, it was more likely the side by side shotgun, many of them lower cost trade guns from Europe and CT, quite a few of them Remingtons.
I I once had the notion that Colt Peacemakers were carried by the good guys while Remington 6-shooters were the guns of the bad guys. White Hats = Colts, Black Hats = Remingtons. I think of "original" cowboy guns as ones actually made during the Old West. I think most cowboy action shooters these days use cheap import reproductions for their sport. What do American cowboys usually carry for guns this day and age?.[/ATTACH]
.38-40, is that what cowboys had mainly in lever guns prior to 1895? I have never associated Smith & Wesson with The Old West.
Then there were Marlin and Henry lever guns. The Savage lever gun didn't come along until just after the Old West.
Can't say I blame him for saying it's been refinished. Holy cow is it pristine looking. I probably would've said the same thing (although in a nicer tone and with an interrogation sign instead. ).View attachment 1073130 Remington 1875 revolver. I am the 6th owner. The 1st two were the father & son who owned the gun store in Sandusky, OH. The 3rd owner bought it sometime in the 1930s still in the original box. It went to the 4th owner in the late 30s or early 40s. My father-in-law traded a stock that he made for the 4th owner's shotgun in the middle 1940s. I bought it from my father-in-law in the late 1980s. It has been handled a lot, but the fellow my father-in-law got it from said it only had been fired on New Years and July 4th a few times. From what I have been able to determine, it is a later model because of firing pin and hammer style. Other than the top of the barrel - E Remington & Sons, Illion, N.Y. USA, there are no external markings. Under the left wood grip is hand stamped 574. I first thought it was in 44 Remington caliber since there are no external caliber markings, but since it appears to be a later style, it might be 44-40 caliber. A 44-40 cartridge will drop into the cylinder. Some late models were chambered in 45 Colt.
About 25,000 were made from 1875 to 1886 with somewhere around 10,000 ordered by the Egyptian Government. I have taken it to several gun shows and received very favorable comments except for one gentleman who immediately and loudly proclaims that it has been refinished and then briskly walks away.
NRA Benefactor Golden Eagle
The '73 was chambered in .44-40, .38-40, and .32-20, Colt revolvers were eventually chambered in those cartridges also.What is the quintessential caliber for an original Winchester 1873? What chambering would mounted cowboys have commonly in the scabbard carried from 1865 to 1895 in these guns?
View attachment 1073130 Remington 1875 revolver. I am the 6th owner. The 1st two were the father & son who owned the gun store in Sandusky, OH. The 3rd owner bought it sometime in the 1930s still in the original box. It went to the 4th owner in the late 30s or early 40s. My father-in-law traded a stock that he made for the 4th owner's shotgun in the middle 1940s. I bought it from my father-in-law in the late 1980s. It has been handled a lot, but the fellow my father-in-law got it from said it only had been fired on New Years and July 4th a few times. From what I have been able to determine, it is a later model because of firing pin and hammer style. Other than the top of the barrel - E Remington & Sons, Illion, N.Y. USA, there are no external markings. Under the left wood grip is hand stamped 574. I first thought it was in 44 Remington caliber since there are no external caliber markings, but since it appears to be a later style, it might be 44-40 caliber. A 44-40 cartridge will drop into the cylinder. Some late models were chambered in 45 Colt.
About 25,000 were made from 1875 to 1886 with somewhere around 10,000 ordered by the Egyptian Government. I have taken it to several gun shows and received very favorable comments except for one gentleman who immediately and loudly proclaims that it has been refinished and then briskly walks away.
NRA Benefactor Golden Eagle
Somebody else here might want to cite another pair of Old West cowboy companions. A SA revolver and a lever rifle of the Old West sharing a common cartridge.
Driftwood mentioned that the .38-40 was actually a .40 caliber. Similarly, the .44-40 was not a .44, but was actually a .42.