When were rifles first available in .45 Colt?

[.455_Hunter]

Simple question:

When were rifles first produced in .45 Colt (or Long Colt, if you prefer)?

I don't think military ever did anything in rifle form back in the late 1800's, so it was probably a commercial effort...

Maybe Winchester with the a variation of the post-'64 1894?

Maybe Navy Arms or Uberti with an 1873 or Rolling Block clone?

???

 

[jonnyc]

1873?

 

[.455_Hunter]

1873?

The "original" 1873 was not available in .45 Colt, only the WCF series- .44-40, .38-40, .32-20, and a few in .22.

 

[Tommygunn]

Originally cases were made in either balloon head case or folded head, and in .45Colt, the rim was very small as its original purpose was to simply keep the round in the chamber while the gun was holstered.

In a rifle like the Winchester and Marlin lever-actions, you have to consider extraction. You also have to consider that the gun gets dirty with use, and hot, and this may cause friction and binding. It was thought the thin rim of early .45Colt cases would allow the extractor to rip through in heated or dirty conditions.

This wasn't a irrational thought; on June 25th, 1876, Brevet Major General George A. Custer took five companies of the 7th U. S. Cavalry to their death at the Little Bighorn. Soldiers were using a single shot Springfield rifle in .45-70 , a caliber designed for extraction, but the rifles grew hot and dirty, and the ammo was cheap copper cased, and extractors ripped off the case head and jammed the rifles.

With the invention of the solid head case the .45 case changed and today Uberti and others make lever actions that work with the .45 caliber ....though some feel .44-40 is better as it obturates the breach better, sealing off the action from gunpowder residue.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Originally cases were made in either balloon head case or folded head, and in .45Colt, the rim was very small as its original purpose was to simply keep the round in the chamber while the gun was holstered.

In a rifle like the Winchester and Marlin lever-actions, you have to consider extraction. You also have to consider that the gun gets dirty with use, and hot, and this may cause friction and binding. It was thought the thin rim of early .45Colt cases would allow the extractor to rip through in heated or dirty conditions.

This wasn't a irrational thought; on June 25th, 1876, Brevet Major General George A. Custer took five companies of the 7th U. S. Cavalry to their death at the Little Bighorn. Soldiers were using a single shot Springfield rifle in .45-70 , a caliber designed for extraction, but the rifles grew hot and dirty, and the ammo was cheap copper cased, and extractors ripped off the case head and jammed the rifles.

With the invention of the solid head case the .45 case changed and today Uberti and others make lever actions that work with the .45 caliber ....though some feel .44-40 is better as it obturates the breach better, sealing off the action from gunpowder residue.

All true, but when was the first year you that you could go to the LGS and have them order that .45 Colt rifle for you?

 

[MAKster]

According to my research the first time Winchester chambered a lever action in 45 Colt was 1985.

 

[DocRock]

There were no production rifles chambered in 45 Colt in the 19th Century. I was under the impression that Marlin chambered the 1894 in 45 Colt in the late 70s but I am perfectly prepared to accept that Winchester did it first in the 1980s.