Winchester May Reintroduce The 1873

[Wes Tancred]

On the Leverguns forum, it was noted that Gallery of Guns list an 1873 Winchester short rifle in .38/.357 calibre. I did a little research using the product number (534200137) and found that Winchester appear to be about to reintroduce the Model 1873. Here is one of several listings on gun sale web-sites:

http://shop2.gzanders.com/win-1873-short-rifle-38-357-20-blued-walnut.html

A larger version of the picture:



From the picture, it can be seen that the butt-stock is shaped like the original, in contrast to the Uberti rifles. In some listings, the tang is described as drilled and tapped for an aperture sight; and although the rifle looks like a Miroku product, there does not appear to be a tang safety present.

If Winchester-branded 1873s actually reach the market, let us hope that they are faithful to originals, and offered in original calibres.

[dusty texian]

That would be great!Dusty.

[Shotgun Franklin]

Hopefully the prices won't be to bad. If they offer'm in .44-40, .45Colt and .38/.357 it would cover 95% of CAS Shooters, at least. Of course if ARs are banned they would come into a ready market.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
I sure hope they make a 44wcf . Now wonder where they are made ?

[Shotgun Franklin]

I kinda think they bring out a .357 and .45 Colt first with other calibers to follow.

[The Pathfinder]

Well we're looking at a 20" round barreled short rifle, probably a third model type, in .357. There is nothing on the Winchester site about it, not even under new items. You might think that if they were going to do it they would make a bigger todo about it.

[Shotgun Franklin]

As CAS Shooters get older there's going to be a smaller and smaller market for'm. I wish they had done it in '97.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
I called Winchester and it is on the list . They are offering the 38/357 first . Hopefully the 44wcf will follow .

[mr phil]

This is exciting news.     I wouldn't mind having one in 357 also. I had a HRAC in 357 that I sold to get my 73 in 45 LC . I did like having a lever in 357 'but not for cowboy shooting.

[MJN77]

In my humble opinion, I do not see what all the excitement is about. It will all come down to weather one wants an Italian copy or a Japanese copy of the 1873. This rifle will almost certainly have the tang safety and rebounding hammer that their current model 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895 rifles do. You will also have fewer choices of caliber, barrel length, stock etc. than you do with Uberti. This "winchester" will likely be a limited production rifle like the other "classic" guns they make now. I guess the only real difference would that this 1873 would have "WINCHESTER" stamped on the barrel, along with "made in Japan by Miroku". Also, as far as being "drilled and tapped for an aperture sight" I would bet they mean a receiver mounted one like the others are drilled for. Some of the listings for the 1886 I bought said it was drilled for a tang sight too. It has a tang safety. I'm not bashing current winchesters. I have 3 "Miroku-chesters" (1886, and two 1895s) and they are fantastic. Quality is top notch. Fit and finish are great. But so is my Uberti 1873 rifle. If this is what you would want, get one. I don't think you will be sorry as long as you don't mind the things I pointed out. Again, this is only MY POINT OF VIEW.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
Does the Rifle in the picture have a round barrel ? A short rifle in 44wcf with a round barrel , I want one .

[Wes Tancred]

On the Gallery of Guns listing—

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/defaitem=534200137ult.aspx?

—it is stated that the tang is drilled and tapped. The safety is described as a "firing pin striker block", and in the photograph shown above, no tang safety is visible. In contrast, the same site's listing for the Winchester Model 1892—

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=534190137

—mentions a "top tang safety", and this is shown in the photograph. (I don't like the idea of any added safety device; Winchester—and other manufacturers as well—seem never to learn that a sizeable percentage of potential purchasers of 19th century guns prize scrupulous fidelity to the original designs.)

The most notable positive features of the new rifle are the presence of the Winchester name and the butt-stock that has the unique shape of the original 1873.

I have Uberti rifles and find them excellent. Although Uberti do make some undesirable changes to original designs (perhaps most notably the Colt-style cylinder pin catch on the Remington Model 1875 revolvers), overall they do a wonderful job of keeping some of the best firearms ever devised in production, and in quite faithful forms.

The rifle in the picture above does indeed have a round barrel.

[MJN77]

Hope you're right. Would make for a better rifle without the lawyer devices included.

[Lumpy Grits]

Oh-dear God, PLEASE, PLEASE, no more 'tang-safeties'.
Or that 're-bounding hammer' crap too.
LG

[Long Knife Rich]

Howdy
I called Winchester and it is on the list . They are offering the 38/357 first . Hopefully the 44wcf will follow .

Rowdy, did they give you any idea when it would be introduced? I'd likely buy one of these rifles, especially if it's offered in the original calibers. I'm kind of partial to the 38-40.   

[Ranch 13]

Longknife, as Davidson's has the rifle on their gun genie, I'ld bet that right after the SHOT show the first of those 357's will be showing up. Hopefull the 38wcf won't be far behind..

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Long Knife
The 38/357 is for 2013 , that was all they would say . With other calibers POSSIBLE later . If I was a guessing the 45 colt would probably be the next caliber ?

[RickB]

Rowdy, any idea on price?

[Ranch 13]

Davidsons is showing the price at 1299 msrp, probably put the street value around 1100, and probably lower afte the initial rush is over.

[Wes Tancred]

Well, it's official now:

http://www.winchesterguns.com/library/articles/detail.asp?id=459

Click on the image for a high-resolution PDF version of the catalogue page. It appears that the 1873 short rifle will be part of the 2013 product line, in .38/.357. On the barrel of the rifle in the picture, it is stated that the gun was imported by the Browning Arms Company in Morgan, Utah.

Note the bizarre new arrangement of the firing pin, to make some sort of "firing pin striker block". Also note the position of the trigger, which implies that there is also a rebounding hammer safety.

It is incredible to me how thick-headed the management of some American firearms companies are. All over the internet, one can see endless extremely negative opinions about these ill-conceived and utterly useless modifications of elegant and timeless firearms designs. With the added modifications, this 1873 is perhaps more of a "copy" of an original than the Uberti versions, the correct butt-stock shape notwithstanding.

For decades, most of Winchester's lever-action rifles have been degraded by these unwanted safety modifications. There have been endless complaints about these features, and many shooters eliminate them—despite the fact that it is ridiculous to have to extensively gunsmith a brand new rifle to make it acceptable. The claim of liability concerns does not stand up to scrutiny. Countless replicas of Winchester lever action rifles, with no added safety features, have been imported for over forty years without incident. Perhaps more significantly, Winchester's own 9422, which was made in the U.S. until the factory closing in 2006, never had safety modifications.

Now, Winchester finally bring their most famous rifle back to the market, and miss the opportunity to produce the exact replica of the original, in design and finish, that aficionados of classic firearms desire.

Perhaps by the time they get to the .44-40 calibre and 24-inch octagonal barrel (which should have been features of the first version released), they'll have learnt their lesson. But I suspect that holding one's breath would be unwise.