The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Winchester 1873 Vs 1876 and other competition

mikthestick · March 9, 2012, 11:24 AM

Why was the Winchester 1873 in 38-40/44-40 so popular? It has to be more than cartridge comparability. I have written before that my choice would be 1876 model in 45-75.
One reason may have been Black Powder which limits Velocity to around 1600ft/sec, for lead unpatched bullets. The 1873 model has a mid range trajectory of about 15”at 200yds. Most people can't shoot well beyond that range. When you bought a Winchester you got whatever you wanted if you payed for it. Many carbines seem to have come with a ladder sight which went to 900yds. The 1876 carbine sight went to 1000yds. At 200yds the MRT for the 1876 model is about 13”, not a significant difference. At 1000yds the 1876 MRT is about 58ft. The 45-70-405 with about the same initial velocity would shoot about 50ft MRT at 1000yds. I haven't worked out the MRT for an 1873 at 900yds bit I recon it to be about 65ft.
What this means in practice is beyond 200yds the bullets angle of decent increases drastically, and range estimation is far more important. Beyond 200yds flatter shooting big bore rifles make over estimates of range less likely to go over the target's head.
There are a lot of cartridges .40cal+ which could rival or beat the 45-70-405 for flat shooting and power.
If you have a 40-90 Sharps and feel the need for a repeating rifle an 1873 Winchester in 38-40/44-40 (possibly the same as your Colt) makes sense.
I would be greatfull if anyone could post decent pictures of the 1873 model rifle or carbine with either ladder sight or buckhorn type. (the internet doesn't) Does anyone know the range limit on the buckhorn type sight.

March 9, 2012, 11:24 AM	#1
mikthestick Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2012 Location: Devon England Posts: 177	Winchester 1873 Vs 1876 and other competition Why was the Winchester 1873 in 38-40/44-40 so popular? It has to be more than cartridge comparability. I have written before that my choice would be 1876 model in 45-75. One reason may have been Black Powder which limits Velocity to around 1600ft/sec, for lead unpatched bullets. The 1873 model has a mid range trajectory of about 15”at 200yds. Most people can't shoot well beyond that range. When you bought a Winchester you got whatever you wanted if you payed for it. Many carbines seem to have come with a ladder sight which went to 900yds. The 1876 carbine sight went to 1000yds. At 200yds the MRT for the 1876 model is about 13”, not a significant difference. At 1000yds the 1876 MRT is about 58ft. The 45-70-405 with about the same initial velocity would shoot about 50ft MRT at 1000yds. I haven't worked out the MRT for an 1873 at 900yds bit I recon it to be about 65ft. What this means in practice is beyond 200yds the bullets angle of decent increases drastically, and range estimation is far more important. Beyond 200yds flatter shooting big bore rifles make over estimates of range less likely to go over the target's head. There are a lot of cartridges .40cal+ which could rival or beat the 45-70-405 for flat shooting and power. If you have a 40-90 Sharps and feel the need for a repeating rifle an 1873 Winchester in 38-40/44-40 (possibly the same as your Colt) makes sense. I would be greatfull if anyone could post decent pictures of the 1873 model rifle or carbine with either ladder sight or buckhorn type. (the internet doesn't) Does anyone know the range limit on the buckhorn type sight.