FALL 2019
tory loads at a paper target 100 yards away
using a benchrest. The ladder sight has
“0-20” markings that don’t match up with
any particular yardage, so I needed to
experiment with each load to see if eleva-
tion adjustments were necessary.
That said, the carbine was dead on
with Black Hills’ 250-grain round-nose
flat-point (RNFP) ammo. With the ladder
folded down, my shots dropped roughly 6
inches below the point of aim. I obtained
similar results with Remington’s 250-grain
RNFPs, and the elevation stayed between 5
to 8 inches low with Sig Sauer’s 230-grain
V-Crown jacketed hollow points (JHPs),
Federal’s 225-grain semi-wadcutter hollow
points (SWCHPs) and Winchester’s 225-
grain Silvertip JHPs.
When using the “0” set-
ting on the ladder notch,
my impacts were very close
to the point of aim. I was
able to put three shotsinto
an inch at 100 yards, which
turned out to be the best
result of my range session.
Thus, the gun was regulated
for 50-yard shooting with
the ladder down and 100-
yard shooting with thelad-
der on its lowest setting.Moreexperimen-
tation was required, butI knewthatthe
Winchester could shoot lead and jacketed
ammo quite well. In fact, the carbine fired
everything I put through
it. It’s also worth noting
th at the hammer springis
noticeably heavier when
it comes to opening the
action than other imports
I’ve tried, and the rear
sight notches are pretty
tiny, which is good for
accuracy but not speed.
The gun seemed to
prefer lighter bullets but
didn’t show a major pref-
erence, which gives mea
wide range of optionsin
working up loads for it.If
youdecidetogowithquickersights,a more
openrearbuckhornwouldbea simple
swap, but with the front base soldered to the
barrel, it’d require technical skills to remove
it and cut a dovetail. As is, the
front brass blade makes a good
contrast in the black rear notch-
es in sunlight when it’s new, but
it’ll develop a patina as it ages.
If you want to keep a bright
contrast up front, it wouldn’t
take much to have a gunsmith
fabricate and install a German
silver blade to replace it.
Incidentally, the loading
gate is very thumb friendly.
Longrangesessionswithnewlever
gunsalmostalwayssendmehome
with a torn-up thumb, scraped by sharp
loading port edges and almost worn out
from forcing rounds in against heavy
spring tension. That wasn’t the case here.
The port edges aren’t
sharp,andthespringten-
sionis so lightI was able
toloadroundswithmy
lefthandwhileholding
thegunwithmyright.
Thisisalmostunheard
of. I’vehadto softena lot
oftheloadingportedges
onotherleverguns.
TheSmokeClears
Sure,I’dliketosee
Winchesterlever-gun
manufacturingreturnto
thelandofitsbirth,but
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 65
Winchester Model 1873 Carbine
Load Accuracy
Black Hills 250 RNFP 3.75
Federal 225 SWCHP 1.00
Remington 250 RNFP 3.25
SigSauer 230 V-CrownJHP 2.00
Winchester 225 Silvertip 2.31
Bulletweightmeasuredin grainsandaccuracy
in inches for best three-shot groups at 100 yards.
PERFORMANCE
The carbine has a pivoting lever-
locking stud (above) as well as a
block that must be depressed by the
lever (left) for the trigger to move.
