Winchester Rifle is a comprehensive term describing a range of lever-action repeating rifles manufactured by Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed since 1860 by Henry Rifles, Winchester rifles were among the first repeaters. The Model 1873 was particularly successful, marketed by the manufacturer as "The Gun That Won the West".
Predecessors
Volcanic pistol.
1860 Henry and 1866 Winchester Muscat.
From left to right there are two carbines 1873/1894/92 / Trapper 92.
For the Vulcan rifles, Smith added Hunt's "Rocket Ball" primer charge and thus created one of the first stationary metal cartridges that incorporated bullet, primer, and powder in one self-contained device. Although so far with the company, Smith went even further and added a cylindrical copper housing to hold the bullet and primer powder in the case of the rim, thus creating one of the most significant inventions in history firearms, metal rimfire cartridge. The Smith cartridge, the +0.22 Short, was introduced commercially in 1857 with the landmark Smith & Wesson Model 1 revolver and is still in production today.
Vulcan rifles had only limited success, which was due in part to the design and poor performance of the Hunt-derived vulcan cartridge: a hollow conical ball filled with black powder and sealed with a cork primer. Although the Vulcan Follower's design was far ahead of rival technology, the poor power and reliability of the .25 and .32 caliber "Rocket Balls" were ill-suited to the competitors' larger calibers. Wesson left Vulcan shortly after it was formed and Smith followed eight months later to create the Smith & Wesson Revolver Company. Volcanic moved to New Haven in 1856, but by the end of that year became insolvent. Oliver Winchester purchased the assets of the bankrupt firm from the remaining shareholders, and reorganized it as the New Haven Arms Company in April 1857.
Benjamin Henry continued to work with Smith's cartridge concept, and developed the much larger, more powerful .44 Henry cartridge. Henry also oversaw the redesign of the rifle to use new ammunition, retaining only general view breech mechanism and tubular magazine. This became the Henry Rifle 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company, and was used in significant numbers by some Union army units in the American Civil War. The Allies called Henry "that damn Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week!"
development
After the war, Oliver Winchester was renamed the New Haven armory Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The company modified and improved the basic design of the Henry rifle, creating the first Winchester rifle: the Model 1866. It retained the .44 Henry cartridge, was also built on a bronze alloy frame and had an improved magazine and wood forearm. In 1873, Winchester introduced the steel-rimmed Model 1873 chambering the more powerful .44-40 Centerfire cartridge. In 1876, in an attempt to compete with the powerful single-shot rifles of the time, Winchester introduced the Model 1876 ( Centennial Model). While the chambered cartridges were more powerful than the Model 1866 and 1873, the toggle action was not strong enough for the popular high-power cartridges used in Sharps or Remington single-shot rifles.
From 1883, John Moses Browning worked in partnership with Winchester, designing a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever-action Winchester Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1894 and Model 1895 rifles, along with the Model 1887/1901 lever-action shotgun, pump-action models 1890 rifle, and pump-action Model 1893/1897 shotgun.
Winchester lever action repeating rifle
Model 1866
The first Winchester rifle - the Winchester Model 1866 - was originally chambered for the Rimfire .44 Henry. Nicknamed "Yellow Boy" due to its receiver being a bronze/brass alloy called bronze, it was known for its rugged construction and "repeat rifle" lever mechanism that allowed the user to fire multiple shots before having to reload. Nelson King's Improved Patent corrected the deficiencies in the Henry rifles by incorporating a load gate on the side of the frame and integrating a round, sealed magazine that was partially covered by the forend.
France acquired 6,000 Model 1866 rifles, along with 4.5 million .44 Henry cartridges during the Franco-Prussian War. The Ottoman Empire acquired 45,000 Model 1866 rifles and 5,000 carbines in 1870 and 1871. These rifles were used in the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, causing much surprise when the numerical superiority of the Turks at the siege of Plevna inflicted many times more casualties than their armed opponents with one - shot Krnka and Berdanna rifle. The Model 1866 forced the Russians to develop a new rifle, the Mosin rifle, after the war.
The Swiss Army initially selected the Model 1866 to replace the existing single-shot Milbank-Amsler rifle. However, subsequent political pressure to accept an in-house design led to the Vetter Model 1867, a bolt-action design, using a copy of the Winchester tubular magazine, being adopted instead.
Due to public demand, the Model 1866 continued to be produced and sold until 1899, mainly because they were cheaper than later model Centerfire steel frames. Later models were chambered for the Winchester .44-40 cartridge.
Model 1873
The Model 1873 was one of the most successful Winchester rifles of its time, with Winchester marketing it as "The Gun That Won the West". Still an icon in the modern era, it was manufactured between 1873 and 1923. It was originally chambered for the .44-40 cartridge, which was the first centerfire cartridge and which became very popular. The 1873 was later produced in .38-40 and .32-20, all of which later became popular pistol cartridges of the day, allowing users to carry only one type of ammunition. The Model 1873 came in three variants: a 24-inch barrel rifle, a 20-inch barrel carbine, and a "musket"—which was aimed at military contracts and only accounted for less than 5% of production. (Musket was a term that, at the time, denoted a full-size military-style stock, not to be confused with a true smoothbore musket). The standard length version of the rifle was the most popular in the 19th century, although Winchester would custom rifles in any configuration the customer desired, including longer barrels or baby carbines with barrels as short as 12 inches, octagonal barrel shape, color hardened receivers and fancy engravings.
The original Model 1873 was not offered in the .45 Colt military revolver cartridge, as it was a proprietary cartridge owned by Colt, although a number of modern reproductions are chambered for the round.
To both celebrate and enhance the prestige of the Model 1873, Winchester installed the coveted "One in a Thousand" class in 1875. Barrels producing unusually small groupings during test firing were installed on rifles with preset triggers and special finishes. Labeled "One One Thousand", they sold for a pricey $100 (equivalent to $2,300 in 2018). Popular 1950 Western leading role Jimmy Stewart, Winchester "73, was based on the coveted gun. Promotions are included in the "One in a Thousand" search for Universal Studios rifles, with advertisements in sporting magazines and posters in sporting goods stores.
The second class 1873 bbl model, producing above average accuracy, was mounted on rifles marked "One in a Hundred", and was sold for $20 above list. Approximately 136 One of a Thousand Model 1873s were sold, and only eight One of One Hundreds.
Overall, more than 720,000 Model 1873s were produced up until 1923. With a return to popularity thanks to the Cowboy action shooting game, "73 Rifles and Carbines" high quality were made in Italy by Uberti, encouraging a return to production under license from the Olin company in 2013, joining the Model 1892 and Model 1894. Made in Japan by Miroku Corporation for FN/Browning. The new ten shot Model 1873 is available only with a 20" round barrel chambered in .357 Magnum/.38 Special. Almost faithful in design to the original, including a safety shut-off trigger, sliding dust jacket and crescent buttplate, it includes two safety improvements : firing pin block preventing it from moving forward if the trigger is not pulled out and modifying the cartridge holder to remove spent cartridges from the shooters.
In 2014, a weathered Model 1873 was found leaning against a tree in Great Basin National Park. It became known as Forgotten Winchester and attracted media interest due to the mystery of who left it there and why they never returned to it.
Model 1876
Winchester Model 1876, or Centennial Model, was a heavier rifle frame than the Models 1866 and 1873, chambered for full powered Centerfire rifle cartridges suitable for large game hunting rather than the pistol sized Rimfire and Centerfire rounds of its predecessors, although similar in design to the 1873, the 1876 was actually based on the prototype 1868 lever-action rifle, which was never commercially produced by Winchester.
Introduced to celebrate the American Centennial Exposition, the Model 1876 earned a reputation as a reliable and powerful hunting rifle. Four versions were made: with a 22-inch (56 cm) barrel carbine, 26-inch (66 cm) barrel Express rifle with belt magazine, 28-inch (71 cm) barrel Sporting rifles as well as a 32-inch (81 cm) barrel Masketa. Standard rifles had a blued finish, but the deluxe model had a hardened finish. The collectors are identified by the first model with no dust cover, the second model with a screw-mounted rail dust cover, and the third model with an integral dust cover. Total production was 63871 including 54 One of the Thousand model 1876s and only seven of One in a hundred classes.
Originally chambered for the new .45-75 Winchester Centennial cartridge (designed to replicate .45-70 ballistics in a shorter case), versions in .40-60 Winchester, .45-60 Winchester and .50-95 Express followed; The 76 in the latest dispatch is the only repeater known to have been widely used by professional buffalo hunters. The Canadian North West Mounted Police used the 76 in .45-75 as a standard long arm for many years with 750 rifles purchased for the force in 1883; The Mountie-Model 76 carbine was also issued to the Texas Rangers. Theodore Roosevelt used the engraved, pistol-covered half-magazine 76 during his early hunting expeditions in the West and praised it. "76 was also found in the possession of Apache warrior Geronimo after his surrender in 1886.
The Model 1876 toggle link action receiver was too short to handle popular large game cartridges, including the .45-70, and production ceased in 1897. In big game hunters preferred the smoother Model 1886 action chambered longer and more powerful cartridges.
Model 1886
Winchester Model 1886
The Model 1886 continued the trend of chambering heavy rounds, and had an all-new and significantly stronger lock-block action than the Model 1876 plug-in tumbler. It was designed by John Moses Browning, who had a long and profitable relationship with Winchester from the 1880s to the early 1900s - X. William Mason made some improvements to Browning's original design. In many ways, the Model 1886 was a true American express rifle, as it could be chambered with the more powerful black powder cartridges of the day, such as the .45-70 government, Winchester's long target. 1886 proved capable of handling not only .45 government, but also .45-90 and huge .50-110 Buffalo Express cartridges, and in 1903 it was chambered for smokeless high speed.33 WCF. In 1935, Winchester introduced a slightly modified M1886 as the Model 71, chambered for the more powerful .348 Winchester cartridge.
Model 1892
To compete with Marlin's new offerings, Winchester returned to its roots with the Model 1892, which was chambered for the same low-pressure cartridges as the Model 1873. The Model 1892 included such a strong Browning action that it was downsized version of the Model 1886. It was also a much lighter rifle than the Model 1873, with which it was sold simultaneously for over twenty years, at the same price.
A total of 1,004,675 Model 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and it was exported to international level, is becoming very popular in South America and Australia. Although Winchester stopped production in 1941, today versions are still made by Brazilian gunsmith Amadeo Rossi, and Chiappa Firearms, an Italian manufacturer. In its modern form, using modern materials and manufacturing techniques, the Model 1892 is strong enough to handle pressure chamber pistol rounds such as the .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .454 Casull. The Winchester '92 was sometimes used in Hollywood Westerns and television shows from its correct period, achieving some fame as a "cowboy" lever-action, although this was historically too late.
Model 1894
Winchester Model 1894
The John Browning-designed Winchester Model 1894 is the most common of the repeating Winchester rifles. The Model 1894 was the first chambered for the .32-40 and .38-55 cartridges, and later, various calibers such as the .25-35 WCF, .30-30 and .32 Winchester Special. Winchester was the first company to produce a civilian rifle chambered for the new smokeless powders, and although delays prevented the 30-30 cartridge from appearing on shelves until 1895, it remained the first commercially available smokeless powder round for the North American consumer market, although it was originally too expensive for most shooters, the Model 1894 went on to become one of the best-selling hunting rifles of all time, it had the distinction of being the first Sporting Rifle to sell over one million units, eventually selling over seven million before US production ceased as of 2006, the Winchester .30-30 configuration is virtually synonymous with "deer rifle" in the United States. In the early 20th century, the rifle's designation was shortened to "Model 94", as was done with all older Winchester designs still in production (eg Model 97, Model 12, etc.).
Model 1895
The Winchester Model 1895 has the distinction of being the first Winchester lever action rifle to load from a box magazine instead of a tube under the barrel. This allowed the Model 1895 to be chambered for military cartridges with Spitzer (pointed) projectiles, and the rifle was used by the militaries of a number of countries, including the United States, Great Britain, and Tsarist Russia. Russian production models can also be loaded using charger clips, a feature not found on any other lever action rifle. Calibers included .30-40 Krag (.30 US or +0.30 Army), .303 British, .30-03 Springfield, .30-06 Springfield, 7.62×54mmR and .405 Winchester. Theodore Roosevelt used the Model 1895 B.405 on an African safari and called it his “cure gun” for lions. In 1908, 1895 Winchester became the first mass-produced chambered sporting rifle in the 30-06 (then "+0.30 Gov"t 06").
Model 88
Introduced in 1955, 60 years after Winchester's last all-new lever action designs, the Model 88 was unlike any previous lever action. The short throw lever controlled the three rotating bolt compartments and fed the cartridge vertically from the detachable box: in reality it was a lever that controlled the action of the bolt. These lever-action features allow the use of powerful modern shortcases with Spitzer bullets: .243 Winchester, .284 Winchester, .308 Winchester and .358 Winchester. The Model 88 was discontinued in 1973 and is the third best-selling lever action rifle in Winchester history, behind only the M1894 and 1892. The later Sako Finnwolf and Browning BLR have similar actions.
Model 9422
The Winchester Model 9422 was introduced in 1972. It was designed to capture the image of a traditional lever action with an open hammer, straight grip, underbarrel and strip barrel. Unlike the old Winchester lever action it came with grooves for mounting the sphere. It was offered in the .22 Long Rifle and
Long before the advent of reliably working automatic reloading schemes for long-barreled weapons, designers struggled to increase the rate of fire of military rifles. The unitary cartridge (a bullet, an igniter capsule and a powder charge are combined together using a cartridge case) gave a powerful impetus to the development of handguns.
Further improvement of hand-held firearms went in two directions: increasing the range of aimed shooting and, especially, the rate of fire. The rate of fire of a weapon is usually understood as the number of aimed shots that a trained shooter can fire in 1 minute. Despite the fact that the unitary cartridge made it possible to increase the rate of fire of the weapon almost 5 times compared to separate loading, the appearance on the battlefield of mobile artillery and, especially, the prototypes of the modern Gatling machine gun, forced us to look for new ways to increase the rate of fire of military weapons.
It should be said that exactly military weapon has had and continues to have an impact on hunting. All innovations were first used and further developed specifically on military small arms, since to this day small arms are used to solve large number tasks. If we talk about the 19th century, then perfection small arms any army could easily influence the outcome of an entire war with an enemy armed with less modern rifles.
The idea of making a multi-shot rifle suggested itself. Thus, various systems began to appear, the most famous of which was the bolt-action reloading system. However, the fastest-firing weapon was the one with the Henry bracket.
Powered by the shooter's muscular strength, the lever combined with the trigger guard made it possible to reload the weapon with a simple movement down, forward and back. The disadvantages of such a scheme could be attributed to the excessive complexity of the design and, as a consequence, its cost.
With the involvement of the most brilliant designer of weapon systems, John Modzes Browning, rifles with a Henry brace were constantly improved, becoming simpler, more reliable and faster-firing. However, this weapon was not adopted by any army in the world due to the high complexity of production and price. However, Winchester rifles and carbines were extremely popular among expeditionary forces, officers, sheriffs, and even bandits.
That is, among those who purchased weapons with their own money. By the end of the 1880s, Winchester carbines were rivaled only by revolvers in terms of rate of fire.
Introduced in 1892, the Winchester 92 model became the fastest-firing non-automatic weapon, maintaining its leadership to this day! The reason is simple: revolver ammunition is shorter than rifle ammunition. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the length of the bolt stroke, and with it the amplitude of movement of the Henry bracket. As a result of moving the hinge point to the front of the trigger guard and introducing vertical locking elements, the Model 92 began to outperform revolvers in rate of fire, and simply suppress them in firepower. If the revolver had only 6 cartridges, then the Winchester 92 (depending on the version and caliber) had from 7 to 14. Moreover, the carbine could be reloaded, while the revolver could only be reloaded when the cartridges were used up.
And the butt and longer barrel made it possible to reach longer targets. In fact, the Model 92 became a kind of prototype of a submachine gun, when a pistol (revolver) cartridge is used in a long-barreled weapon to suppress the enemy at short range.
Gradually, its glory began to remain in the past due to the advent of simple and cheap to produce self-loading weapon systems. For a long time, interest in the Model 92 remained only among fans of Western and cowboy-style shooting.
Beginning in the mid-1930s and especially in the 1950s, high-power revolver cartridges called “magnum” began to be developed and put into production in the United States. Their appearance was due to two reasons: strong competition from self-loading pistols and the desire to obtain a compact and very powerful weapon for penetration individual funds protection and, including, the capture of large animals while hunting.
It was during this period that the Model 92 found a second life. For some time it was produced directly by Winchester, but it became truly popular only thanks to the Brazilian company Rossi. The Rossi 92 model was able to win the hearts of gun lovers and hunters, mainly due to the ability to choose a caliber and an affordable price. It is worth noting that the original Winchester 92 and the modern Rossi 92 do not have a single stamped part. Everything is produced either using metal-cutting equipment or using high-precision casting. Rossi 92 has several differences from the original, designed to make the weapon safer and more technologically advanced.
The only difference visible from the outside is the firing pin locking flag at the top rear of the bolt. Many users consider it a fuse and are not happy with its slender size. However, the flag specifically has a small working platform, since it is intended only to block the firing pin while unloading the weapon. The thing is that the Rossi 92 can only be unloaded by working with the Henry clamp, sending the next cartridge into the chamber and removing it from there. The safety function is performed by the trigger, which can be put on the safety cock.
The rest of the differences are already inside.
A coil spring is cheaper to produce and more durable. Other innovations include a bright yellow cartridge feeder (so you can visually determine whether there are cartridges in the magazine or not) and 4 holes under the rear sight for installing an optional Picatinny rail.
Everything else (including the manual fitting of the parts of each instance) remained the same. But the main highlight of the Rossi 92 is the ability to use magnum class revolver cartridges. The margin of safety that Browning built into the design of the Model 92 allows the weapon to fire even ammunition such as .454 Casull. This cartridge with a bullet weighing up to 20 grams is capable of delivering muzzle energy up to 3200 Joules, which is comparable to the energy of the .308 Winchester cartridge with a much higher stopping power at short-circuit. Less powerful ammunition available is the .357 Magnum, .45 Colt and .44 Magnum. In a 50 cm long barrel, a revolver cartridge has a muzzle energy that is approximately 30-40% higher than that when fired from a short-barreled revolver. The flatness of the trajectory and killing power are quite enough for all types of hunting for medium and large animals at distances of up to 150 meters.
The undeniable advantages of the Rossi 92 in any caliber include its weight and size characteristics. Since the Rossi 92 is reloaded by the shooter’s muscular strength, the weapon does not have components and mechanisms responsible for the operation of the automation. The location of cartridges in the under-barrel magazine does not require the use of devices for connecting detachable magazines. Thus, a weapon that has the same cartridge characteristics as a self-loading one is noticeably smaller in size, more compact due to the absence of protruding parts, and significantly lighter. This is very important for those types of hunts where you have to overcome tens of kilometers of rough terrain a day.
The absence of a gas outlet or other automation simplifies the maintenance of the weapon - to service the Rossi 92 after shooting, it is often enough to clean only the barrel bore.
Rossi 92 is available in two types and three barrel lengths. Carbines have a round barrel and are 16 or 20 inches long. The rifles have an octagonal barrel and are 20 or 24 inches long. Rifles and carbines are available in all of the above calibers except .454 Casull. The latter is offered only in the form of a carbine with a 20-inch barrel and a modified magazine design with the ability to load and unload the weapon through the front end.
The excellent fighting qualities of the Model 92, laid down by John Browning, coupled with the ability to use powerful magnum class cartridges for hunting, allow the Rossi 92 not only to remain in service even after 125 years from the year of creation, but also to compete (and in some ways even exceed) modern systems hunting rifled weapons.
Although the Lord said: “Thou shalt not kill,” people have killed at all times, and they were also proud of the effective murder weapons created in their country.
In Russia, these were a three-line rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle, but among the Americans, perhaps the most famous weapon was the Oliver Winchester carbine, the famous “yellow guy,” or “yellow guy.” Many (and quite rightly!) consider it “the weapon that conquered the Wild West.” Yes, and the Russian troops suffered from him, read to the end and you will find out under what circumstances the Russian army suffered from his murderous fire.
Where did it begin?
However, one should not think that the hard drive came into existence just like that. No, this weapon had many predecessors and was improved rather slowly. First, the Hunt Repeater gun (1849) appeared; this model had two levers under the barrel: one for feeding cartridges, and the other for capsules, which was, of course, very inconvenient. But then there was an engineer, Lewis Jennings, who liked something about the Repeater gun, and he made his own from it - with a magazine under the barrel and a bolt controlled by a lever. Another engineer, Benjamin Tyler Henry, was assigned to create a prototype for the Robbins and Lawrence company, and it was he who finalized the rifle.
As for Mr. Oliver Winchester himself, at first he was generally engaged in the production of... men's shirts at his own factory in New Haven.
In 1850, Winchester decided to invest money in the newly founded Volcanic Rapping Ams company, which produced the same name self-loading rifles. Unfortunately, they had a drawback - a completely extravagant cartridge, which was a bullet with a powder charge inside. At the same time, he did not have enough strength; it was inconvenient to reload with the help of a bracket.
"Henry repeating rifle, model 1860"
By 1856, Winchester became the largest of the firm's co-owners, after which the company was renamed New Haven Ams, after the city of New Haven, Connecticut, where it was located, and then hired engineer Benjamin Henry, who became chief designer and director. new enterprise. At first they continued to produce the unsuccessful Volcanics, but in 1860 Henry finally abandoned the old cartridge and made the gun chambered for a cartridge with a metal sleeve and a magazine under the barrel that could hold as many as 15 rounds. These are the guns that have now begun to be produced. Loading them, however, was inconvenient, and the magazine was difficult, since it had to be filled with cartridges from the muzzle. However, the loaded weapon developed an amazing rate of fire - 25 rounds per minute! It was very expensive - 50 dollars (the size of a three-month salary for a soldier in the northern army), but as soon as the war between North and South began, people, despite the price, began to buy it, and then they went on to massive purchases of “Henry rifle, model I860” and the Northern States government.
"The Royal Innovation" by Nelson King
While the Civil War was going on, Winchester produced Henry's rifles without any changes, and Henry himself apparently believed that he had achieved perfection. However, then the development of the weapons market required eliminating the main drawback of the rifle, which was the difficulty of loading. This was eliminated by Nelson King, who proposed to install a window on the right side of the bolt box with a spring-loaded lid, through which the magazine could be filled from the breech, and not from the muzzle. The cartridges were pushed into the magazine, bullets forward, while the coil spring in it was compressed. In 1866, Winchester, appreciating King's development, purchased from him a patent for this improvement, called the “Royal Innovation.” At the same time, Oliver renamed the company itself, which became known as Winchester Repitings.
Apparently, not forgiving Winchester for improving his gun, Henry left the company that same year, and the new model was now called “Winchester, model 1866”, without any mention of Henry’s name.
"Yellow Guy" begins...
Because the Winchester had a brass receiver, it was nicknamed the “yellow guy,” or “yellow guy.” The magazine held from 13 to 15 rounds, depending on the length of the barrel and magazine. The new gun turned out to be very convenient for anyone who had to shoot from a horse, which is why many considered the Winchester the best cavalry carbine of its time. True, due to the not very strong cartridge, the gun’s firing range was short, but it had very accurate combat at short distances, and its lead bullet of 11.18 millimeter caliber was sufficient lethal force. A luxury hard drive model 1866 was also produced, decorated with engraving and the owner’s monogram.
And he wins!
In 1873, the hard drive was improved again. A 15-round model with a bayonet began to be produced for the army, and two models - 11 and 13 rounds - were offered as a carbine and sporting weapon. The caliber of the Winchester was unified with the caliber of the Colt Peacemaker revolver (also known as the Colt Peacemaker), which made it easier to supply it with ammunition. The range reached up to a thousand steps. Later, the number of produced hard drive models of different calibers and for different cartridges reached 12, which is why this rifle became widespread outside the United States.
However, the army did not like the new weapon, because they were afraid of an increase in ammunition consumption. The cavalry was armed with single-shot Sharp and Springfield carbines, and it was for this reason that in 1876, near the Little Bighorn River, Montana, General Custer's detachment was defeated by the Indians. After all, as excavations at the battle site showed, those who had Henry and Winchester rifles, and the American aborigines simply suppressed the resistance of Custer’s soldiers with their fire!
And finally, thanks to the Winchesters that were armed with the Turkish cavalry during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Turks managed to repel the superior forces of the Russian army, which stormed Plevna on July 30, 1877. Then the Turkish horsemen gave the Winchesters to the infantrymen, and they had 600 rounds of ammunition each. As a result, despite all their courage, our soldiers were unable to resist the wall of fire opened on our troops by the Turkish army. On this day, as well as during the assault on September 11, the total Russian losses amounted to 30 thousand people, almost exclusively thanks to the Winchesters.
Competitors
and followers
Winchesters sold so well that rifles with a lever-controlled bolt and an under-barrel magazine began to appear literally one after another. Some were better in some ways, others were just more original; there was enough space on the market for everyone. The Marlin, for example, ejected the spent cartridge case to the right and was therefore considered more convenient than the hard drive, which had serious competition. Borges' carbine differed only in the shape of the lever, but Bollard's bolt moved using gears and racks, which ensured greater smooth operation of the mechanism. Even the Colt company was seduced by the under-barrel magazine - its guns used a sliding forend, which is why their rate of fire surpassed lever systems. As for the Winchester company, it continued to improve its legendary rifle and produced the 1886, 1894 and 1895 models. The latter was designed for a powerful rifle cartridge and no longer had an under-barrel, but a middle magazine, like our “three-line” one. Interestingly, during the First World War, the latest model of hard drive in large quantities supplied to Russia, where it, however, was not successful. Lying down is not very convenient to operate the lever, and in addition, before reloading, the hard drive had to cock the hammer, which caused the rate of fire to decrease.
Be that as it may, hard drives with an under-barrel magazine are being produced even now, which is the best evidence of their perfection. And although the name of the real creator of this weapon - Benjamin Tyler Henry - has now been forgotten by many, it cannot be said that Oliver Winchester has nothing to do with the rifle. After all, he also put a lot of effort into improving the carbine, if only by buying the necessary patents and attracting talented specialists to the work.
Winchester shotguns, which served sheriffs and movie stars well, are gradually fading into history and ceasing to exist.
The city of New Haven closed the American arms factory producing this type of weapon. Along with its existence, the 140-year history of the production of famous guns also ended. During the Second World War, 19 thousand people worked at this enterprise, but in recent years less than 200 people have worked there. Outdated models, including the famous Winchester 1894, will be disposed of. Now the only rifles bearing the Winchester mark will be modern, improved models produced in Belgium, Japan and Portugal.
The plant is being sold, most likely to Smith & Wesson. And before it was owned by Winchester, Volcanic, and the same Smith... The current owner (or already former) is FN, i.e. Belgians. The production of such Winchester models as 1300, 70 and 94 is being discontinued. Although it is possible, they will remain in production, only with new owners under different designations. So, I think there will be another 1300th... But for now the plant seems to have been closed.....
In conclusion, a video of the hard drive in action.
Although the Lord said: “Thou shalt not kill,” people have killed at all times, and they were also proud of the effective murder weapons created in their country. In Russia, these were a three-line rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle, but among the Americans, perhaps the most famous weapon was the Oliver Winchester carbine, the famous “yellow guy,” or “yellow guy.” Many (and quite rightly!) consider it “the weapon that conquered the Wild West.” Yes, and the Russian troops suffered from him, read to the end and you will find out under what circumstances the Russian army suffered from his murderous fire. Where did it begin? However, don’t think that the hard drive is straight...
Review
On Wikimedia Commons
Winchester(English: Winchester rifle) - a general name for rifles and shotguns produced in the USA in the second half of the 19th century. Winchesters with reloading using a lever-trigger guard (Henry guard) and with an under-barrel tubular magazine were one of the first widespread repeating shotguns and were extremely popular, although their prevalence in the United States of that time was somewhat exaggerated thanks to the literature and cinema of the 20th century.
The most famous Winchester models
- Henry Rifle Model 1860 (English) Russian- the prototype of all subsequent Winchester rifles, the first rifle with a lever-brace and a tubular under-barrel magazine. It differed from subsequent models in a slightly different design of the magazine and reloading mechanism. Since 1864 it was produced by Winchester, but under the original name.
- Winchester Model 1866 (English) Russian
- Winchester Model 1873 is a lever-action rifle known as “The Gun that Won the West.”
- The Winchester Model 1887 is a lever-action shotgun designed by John M. Browning.
- The Winchester Model 1894 (known as the ".30-30") is one of the most famous and popular lever-action hunting rifles, produced until 2006.
- Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action model of 1895 (M1895) with a mid-magazine, specially designed for the Russian Empire chambered for 7.62×54R and equipped with a flat blade bayonet.
- Winchester Model 1897 is a pump-action shotgun designed by John Browning.
- The Winchester Model 1912 is a pump-action shotgun designed by Thomas Crosley Johnson.
- Winchester 1300 is a pump action shotgun, a development of the 1200 model.
Story
A rifle with a tubular under-barrel magazine, a longitudinally sliding bolt and reloading from a lever located under the neck of the butt was developed and released in the late 1850s by the American inventor Henry based on the Volcanic pistol from Smith and Wesson. In 1857, after the bankruptcy of the enterprise, businessman Oliver Winchester bought all the company's assets, reorganizing it into the New Haven Arms Company. The company continued producing Volcanic shotguns and pistols under the leadership of Benjamin Tyler Henry (English) Russian. In addition, Henry continued experiments with a new type of cartridge and successfully redesigned the gun for .44 caliber. This is how the Henry Gun appeared in 1860. (English) Russian. At the end of the Civil War, Oliver Winchester, who headed the company, renamed it Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and from 1866 the modified gun began to be produced under the name Winchester. The rifle has undergone some changes in the magazine - now it began to be filled through the side window, and not from the muzzle, as in the original model. True, the magazine capacity decreased from 15 rounds to 12, but at the same time loading was sped up.
Usually the name “Winchester” refers to the most popular model of 1866. The first advertisements stated that a skilled shooter could empty a rifle magazine in 15 seconds. This suggests that this rifle had a high rate of fire - about 60 rounds per minute. By the late 1860s, rimfire ammunition for rifles had largely fallen into disuse. With the advent of the central ignition cartridge, a new Winchester rifle was released - the legendary Model 1873. This model has an improved mechanism, and the brass lever is replaced by an iron one. The new .44-40 (10.2 mm) cartridge was a significant achievement, although it did not make an impression on the US Army Ordnance Service, since it was a rather weak cartridge, and the army needed a more powerful weapon. The civilian market, on the contrary, reacted very favorably to the new cartridge, and in 1878 Colt’s Manufacturing Company released a number of its “Peasemakers” and double-action army pistols chambered for the .44-1 inch cartridge. This weapon was named "Frontier Six Shooter". Winchester rifles were never adopted by the army, but were very popular among civilians as hunting weapons and self-defense weapons and remained in mass production until 1919.
Operating principle
In culture
Winchester lever-action rifles appear in almost all Westerns set during the corresponding period. For example, the plot of Anthony Mann's film Winchester "73" (1950) revolves around an 1873 model rifle, which is played as a prize in a shooting competition.
Due to their wide popularity, hard drives were used in films of other genres. In the science fiction film "Terminator 2", Arnold Schwarzenegger's character used a sawn-off shotgun Winchester model 1887, and in the film "Back to the Future 3" the Winchester rifle was used by Dr. Emmett Brown
The Winchester Model 1895 rifle is a lever-cocking repeating rifle designed and released by the Winchester Company in 1895. Unlike previous models, the rifle was purposefully created to use powerful hunting and military-style cartridges. Thus, during operation, modifications were created for cartridges 6 mm U.S.N., .30 Army, .30-03, .30-06, .303 British, 7.62×54 mm R, .35 Winchester, .38-72 Winchester, .40-72 Winchester and .405 Winchester.
The Model 1895 was the first Winchester rifle to feature a center-mounted box magazine rather than the tubular under-barrel magazine found in other models, remaining virtually unchanged since its first appearance in the M1866. The new magazine allowed the safe use of powerful centerfire cartridges with pointed bullets (in a tubular magazine this would lead to the bullet of the next cartridge piercing the primer, so Winchesters were traditionally designed for rimfire cartridges).
This model became the most powerful rifle from Winchester: its appearance was caused by the fact that powerful cartridges filled with smokeless powder became popular among hunters and in the armies of the world. However, this attempt to adequately meet new trends was not successful enough, since the M1895 retained the basic design solutions of the previous generation rifles. Also, the M1895 was the last lever-cocking rifle designed by J.M. Browning.
Starting from approximately sample No. 5000, the shape of the receiver was changed: previously smooth, it became grooved. This decision slightly reduced the weight of the rifle, but increased the thickness by 1.59 mm. The last examples of the M1895 with a smooth receiver were issued with numbers between 5000 and 6000. Early examples of the M1895 are considered quite rare.
In 1915-17, about 300 thousand M1895 rifles were manufactured for the Russian Imperial Army; this amounted to about 70% of all rifles of this model produced. These rifles have been slightly modified. The main change concerned the conversion of the weapon to the Russian 7.62x54 mm R cartridge, which required changing the shape of the magazine. The second change was special guides on the receiver, which made it possible to quickly equip the magazine with cartridges from a standard clip from three-line rifle arr. 1891. In addition, rifles made for Russia had an extended barrel with a bayonet mount. The new barrel length required lengthening the fore-end.
The first batch of rifles was delivered later than expected, as modifying the M1895 to Russian Army standards turned out to be more difficult than expected (the development of guides for the Mosin clip caused particular difficulties.
In addition, the Winchester company blamed Russian military inspectors for the delay in deliveries, who refused to accept rifles that did not pass standard tests for the Russian army (although they passed tests carried out by the manufacturer). In particular, the inspectors insisted that the tests should use cartridges made in Russia, not in the United States. They also rejected some rifles, citing insufficient quality of wood used for the stock. American sources say. that these were unfounded quibbles. The rifles, rejected by Russian inspectors, were later sold to private individuals in the United States.
M1895 rifles mainly entered service with units of the Russian Army located in Finland and the Baltic states (especially many M1895s went to Latvian riflemen). At least 9 thousand M1895 were transferred Soviet Union Spanish Republicans in 1936.
In other armies, the M1895 was seen very limitedly. Thus, the US Army ordered about 10 thousand M1895 caliber 30/40 Krag during the Spanish-American War, but the war ended faster than the first batch of rifles arrived. These rifles were marked ".30 U.S." Army" in the upper part of the receiver (above the chamber), as well as the presence of a bayonet similar to the M1895 Lee Navy.
One hundred of these rifles were issued to the 33rd Volunteer Infantry Regiment for testing during the Philippine-American War (a December 25, 1899 report on these tests emphasized that the .30/40 Krag cartridge was excellent for military use). The remaining 9,900 rifles were sold to the M. Harley Company, almost all of them going to Cuba in 1906. Later, some rifles from this batch ended up in Mexico, where they were very popular among Pancho Villa's rebels.
Future US President Theodore Roosevelt, while serving in the Rough Riders, personally purchased several M1895 caliber .30-40 Krag for himself and his fellow officers.
In 1896, the M1895 rifle took part in the competition for the best rifle for the National Guard, but took second place, losing to the Savage Model 1895 rifle. The Winchester company demanded that the results of the competition be reviewed, accusing the organizers of forgery; as a result, the contract for the supply of rifles was withdrawn.
The Winchester company traditionally did not use continuous numbering of weapons, but began numbering the rifles of each new model from No. 1. Thanks to this, we can say with certainty that a total of 425,881 M1895 rifles were produced, including military and civilian subtypes.
The hunting modification of the M1895 is often associated with the image of President Theodore Roosevelt, who adored this weapon. In addition to him, this rifle was preferred by other famous hunters, including Marty and Osa Johnson, Charles Cottar, writer Stephen Edward White, Garrit Forbes and Elmer Keith (a big fan of hunting weapons, who was the first to recommend the M1895 to the future President Roosevelt).
Theodore Roosevelt himself took two M1895s (chambered .405 Winchester) on his famous safari in 1909. He purchased two more rifles for the same trip for his son Kermit (one chambered .405 Winchester, the other chambered .30-03 Springfield). It is known that rifles chambered for .405 Winchester purchased by Roosevelt had serial numbers 63727, 63736 and 68180. Roosevelt was so delighted with the M1895 that he devoted a lot of lines to it in his book African Game Trails, often calling it a "talisman against lions."
The M1895 model (in both rifle and carbine versions, chambered for the .30-40 Krag and .30-06 Springfield cartridges) was very popular among Texas and Arizona Rangers.
After the official end of production of rifles, several small-scale and one-piece M1895s were produced. So, in 1985, Browning Arms Company released the M1895 chambered for the 30-06 Springfield cartridge. Winchester reproduced the M1895 model in the 2001 anniversary edition, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. The rifles were chambered in .405 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and .30-40 Krag calibers. Two more rifles were released in 2009 in memory of the famous African safari of 1909. The irony is that all of these M1895s issued with the Browning and Winchester hallmarks were actually manufactured in Japan by Miroku Corp.
Characteristics of the Russian Winchester 1895 rifle
- Caliber: 7.62×54R
- Weapon length: 1160 mm
- Barrel length: 712 mm
- Weight without cartridges: 4.1 kg.
- Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
Bolt-action repeating rifles
