FALL 2019
nearly 1,200 fps. Colt’s 1878 decision to
chamber single-action revolvers in .44-40
boosted Winchester’s fortunes, too. The
frontier welcomed a cartridge that served
both rifle and handgun. In 1875, “Buffalo
Bill” Cody wrote, “For general hunting, or
Indian fighting, I pronounce your improved
Winchester [1873] the boss.” Carried by all
manner of characters, the 1873 served sher-
iffs and scalawags. It helped militias mold
nations from wilderness. The last of 720,610
Model 1873s was shipped in 1924.
Winchester’s Model 1876, essentially
a large-framed 1873, lasted but a decade.
Its weight and size belied a genetic weak-
ness, and it was upstaged by more powerful
single-shots from Remington and Sharps.
When Winchester Vice President Thomas
G. Bennett saw a used rifle from an obscure
Utah maker, he sensed opportunity. A six-
day train trip brought him to “the biggest
gun shop between Omaha and the Pacific.”
It was staffed by four brothers in their 20s.
John Moses Browning was one.
Browning Designs
Asked what he’d take for all rights to his
single-shot rifle, Browning said $10,000—an
astonishing sum in 1883. Bennett got the
rights for $8,000. Browning would eventually
design more than 40 firearms for Winchester,
with 11 coming between 1884 and 1886.
Even before the company produced the
single-shot as its Model 1885, Browning
delivered—for a $50,000 fee—a repeater with
the 1885’s vertically sliding lugs. It became
the Model 1886. Roosevelt used it afield.
A short-action version, the Model
1892, left Browning’s bench in just 30 days.
Chambered in .44-40, .38-40, .32-20 and
.25-20, the 1892 held up to 17 rounds and
weighed as little as 5.5 pounds. More than
a millionwouldshipbeforeproduction
officially ended in 1941.
The Model 1894 that followed fired mid-
length cartridges, notably the .30 WCF, or
.30-30, our first smokeless hunting round.
At its debut, the 1894 sold for $19.50. It was
produced in various forms until the New
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 31
in his 20s when Winchester’s Thomas G.
Bennett visited him at his Utah gun shop.
PROFESSIONALSERVICEANDEXPERTISE
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Gun Works, Inc.
First published in 1954 as a 12-page, pocket-sized booklet, the
2019 DIxIE GuN WORkS catalog has more than 600 pages
and more than 10,000 items—the world’s largest selection
of blackpowder replica arms, accessories, antique parts, as
well as muzzleloader hunting and sport shooting equipment.
We thank our more than 75,000 loyal customers, including
buckskinners, reenactors, modern blackpowder hunters
and sport shooting enthusiasts, for 65 wonderful years.
STILL ONLY $5.00!
FOR ORDERS ONLY (800) 238-6785
GUN WORKS,INC.
1412 W. Reelfoot Ave.
PO Box 130 Dept. 13
Union City, TN 38281
INFO PHONE: 731-885-0700
FAX: 731-885-0440
EMAIL: [email protected]
