Engraved Winchester Lever Action Rifle, USA 1873

Description of the Product

Winchester is a classic Wild West rifle that appears almost invariably in all Westerns. This rifle has been seen for example in the hands of John Wayne in dozens of films set in the classic Wild West era 1830-1860. The Winchester rifle was already during the 19th century originally advertised as a "weapon that conquered the West" and for a good reason. The Winchester rifle used bullets of the same caliber as the Colt SAA "Peacemaker" revolver, and these two weapons became commonplace side by side in the Wild West.

This piece is replica of a Winchester lever action rifle 1873 model, which even has a stylish decorative engraved picture on the side. The 1873 model was the first Winchester model in which the body of the gun was made of iron instead of gun metal (yellow bronze alloy). Overall, the 1873 model was the most popular of the Winchester models. 720,000 of these were produced between 1873 and 1923. This second Winchester model was based on a previous 1962 rifle called the Henry rifle from the same company and made small improvements to the 1966 model Winchester rifle. After this 1873 Winchester model the company made a 1876, 1886, and 1892 models, each new model making small detail changes and improvements. Visually and functionally, the different Winchester models are very similar and several different models were made and sold at the same time giving the buyer options to choose from.

Lever action repeater rifles could be loaded with several bullets at once. The tubular magazine under the barrel held typically 14 rounds. Turning the lever the spent cartridge was removed and a new bullet was loaded ready to fire. Repeater rifles were capable of significantly faster rate of fire than single-loaded rifles, and although these used less powerful bullets (same ones that were used in revolvers), the higher rate of fire more than offset the lower impact power of the bullets. The advantages of these rifles that could be loaded with several rounds was already discovered during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers watched with jealousy with their single shot muskets and marveled at the “damn Yankee rifle that could be loaded on Sunday and fired all week”.

Although Winchester is nowadays seen as the weapon of the US Wild West, the weapon was actively used also in Europe.

The receiver of this rifle has a saddle ring from which the user could tie his own rifle to a saddle or to a separate carrying strap. The idea was to make sure the gun never accidentally dropped and got lost.

• This gun is an exact replica of the original. The replica matches the original in size and weight. The mechanisms of the weapon are working. The weapon can be cocked and dry fired like a real one. Due to the materials used, the mechanisms cannot withstand continuous cocking and firing for long periods.
• Genuine wood and cast metal has been used to make this replica weapon. Zamac differs from steel in many respects, so the structure of the gun does not withstand pressure, it cannot be used to fire bullets, nor can it be converted to a functional weapon by any means.
• Replica guns such as this do not require permits in Finland, nor in many other countries. However, since the gun looks real, it should not be carried in public.
• A replica gun is perfect for historical re-enactment, on a theater stage, in film productions, for collectors of historical memorabilia, and as decoration.
• Length: 99 cm
• Weight: 2,65 kg
• Manufacturer: Denix, Spain

Due to the nature of this item please read about shipping options/restrictions if ordering outside Finland.   –More information about international shipping- 

Winchester '73 is such a classic rifle that the gun has even its own movie!