La carabina Winchester 1873

La carabina Winchester è un tipo di fucile a leva a ripetizione manuale di fabbricazione statunitense.

Prodotto dalla Winchester Repeating Arms Company prima e dalla U.S. Repeating Arms Company poi, divenne famosa nel far west.

Storia

Il suo progetto, studiato dal famoso costruttore d'armi Oliver Winchester, risale alla metà del XIX secolo e fu ispirato dal similare Fucile a leva Henry che però presentava alcuni inconvenienti tecnici, risolti grazie all'adozione di un guardamano in legno, all'abolizione della fessura del serbatoio, all'adozione di una finestrella di caricamento sul lato destro del fucile e all'adozione di cartucce a percussione centrale. Quest'ultima modifica sortì anche l'effetto di migliorare le prestazione dell'arma. Le cartucce calibro .44 usate nel fucile Henry, infatti, erano a percussione anulare e quindi, per loro stessa natura, piuttosto deboli. Le prime cartucce a percussione centrale usate nel Winchester furono le .44-40, nate insieme all'arma stessa, e poi adottate anche per la rivoltella Colt Single Action Army che fu, insieme all'arma in questione, una delle protagoniste della conquista dell'Ovest americano.

A partire dal 1866 in poi furono costruiti in una grande varietà di calibri, dal piccolo .22 al potente .50-110 express. I modelli più famosi furono il mod. 1866 detto "Yellow Boy" a causa della cassa gialla, in ottone; i modd.1873 e 1892, in vari calibri (ma soprattutto nel già citato.44-40), ed il mod. 1894 in calibro .30-30.

Dopo l'acquisizione della Winchester Repeating Arms Company da parte di Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, ancora oggi la produzione continua; molte sono inoltre le ditte che ancora oggi producono repliche delle carabine Winchester, tra le quali le italiane Aldo Uberti S.p.A. di Gardone Val Trompia e la ditta Armi Sport, di Azzano Mella.

Descrizione

Si tratta di un'arma a ripetizione manuale attuata mediante un meccanismo a leva che si aziona tramite un prolungamento del ponticello del grilletto che può essere abbassato ruotandolo nel contempo in avanti e che permette prima l'espulsione del bossolo e l'armamento del cane, e poi (facendolo tornare in posizione) l'introduzione di una nuova cartuccia nella camera di scoppio e la chiusura dell'otturatore. Il caricamento avviene attraverso uno sportello a molla situato su di un lato della cartella. Le cartucce trovano alloggiamento in un serbatoio tubulare sotto la canna. Il numero di colpi varia a seconda del calibro e della lunghezza del serbatoio stesso.

Inizialmente usava cartucce a polvere nera, ma poi fu sviluppata la Winchester M1901, un modello rinforzato che usava cartucce a polvere infume calibro 10 (19,7 mm).

Il successo

Il modello più famoso e diffuso fu il 1873; ciò particolarmente popolare, oltre all'intrinseca validità, fu la possibilità di utilizzare le cartucce in calibro .44-40 per le quali la Colt aveva camerato il suo revolver Colt 1873 SAA. All'atto pratico, tale munizione essendo concepita per l'uso in armi corte (revolver) aveva scarse prestazioni balistiche, in particolare una gittata ridotta e una traiettoria poco tesa, e per tale motivo i militari rifiutarono sempre i fucili a ripetizione a leva, dominati com'erano dal culto della lunga gittata e della precisione a grandi distanze; ma entro i 200 metri la cartuccia .44-40 si rivelava invece ottima, e sparata nella canna da 24 pollici del Winchester 1873 dimostrò anche un'eccellente precisione intrinseca. In mani esperte il Winchester 1873 infatti poteva mettere 5 colpi in 4 pollici (10 cm) a 100 yarde (la distanza normalmente usata a caccia o in combattimento), dimostrandosi una delle armi lunghe più precise dell'epoca, alle brevi distanze. Oltre a ciò, l'arma offriva anche un volume di fuoco senza precedenti: un tiratore allenato poteva sparare 15 colpi mirati in meno di un minuto, una cosa mai vista fino ad allora. Non sorprende perciò che, malgrado l'elevato prezzo di vendita, il '73 Rifle divenne presto il favorito della Frontiera.

L'arma fu talmente popolare durante gli anni della colonizzazione dell'Ovest americano che venne soprannominata "the gun that won the West": "il fucile che conquistò il West”.

I modelli

1866

Il modello 1866 deriva direttamente dalla carabina Henry, della quale Winchester aveva acquistato i diritti. Questo modello, se marcato Winchester, era definito mod.1860. I tecnici della Winchester trovarono particolarmente critico il serbatoio dotato di fessura inferiore per far scorrere l'elemento che, tramite una molla, spingeva le cartucce verso l'elevatore. Il mod.1866 pertanto, pur mantenendo la stessa architettura interna, portava per primo lo sportellino (detto "King" dal cognome del tecnico che lo mise a punto) sulla cartella destra, consentendo di utilizzare un tubo completo per il serbatoio e di applicare un sottocanna in legno. Nel modello 1860, infatti, oltre la possibilità di ingresso di corpi estranei nel serbatoio, richiedeva di posizionare correttamente la mano debole per consentire alla leva di comando esterno dello spingicartucce di scorrere indietro senza impigliarsi su essa, senza contare che le cartucce a polvere nera in uso all'epoca scaldavano rapidamente la canna rendendo a volte doloroso reggere la carabina dopo alcuni colpi in sequenza.

1873

Del modello 1866 l'arma riprende la meccanica, la linea estetica e il funzionamento ma fu realizzata con alcuni accorgimenti che la resero più efficiente, affidabile e robusta. La più importante delle migliorie apportate fu la realizzazione della bascula in acciaio e non più in ottone come accadeva per il '66 (detto per il suo colore "Yellow Boy") in modo da renderla più robusta, resistente all'usura e agli urti. Venne poi anche aggiunto uno sportellino scorrevole sopra la bascula, il dust cover, che serviva a chiudere la finestra d'espulsione dei bossoli quando il fucile non veniva utilizzato in modo da evitare che polvere, sabbia o altri corpi estranei penetrassero nel meccanismo compromettendo il funzionamento della carabina. Il dust cover doveva essere chiuso a mano una volta terminato l'utilizzo dell'arma mentre poteva essere aperto automaticamente semplicemente azionando la leva del fucile. Altro miglioramento fu una speciale sicura dietro al grilletto, per evitare spari accidentali: consisteva in una piccola sporgenza metallica, disinserita meccanicamente con la pressione della leva una volta azionata e portata in posizione di completa chiusura.

Del modello '73 sono state prodotte due versioni base, la carabina ed il fucile mentre una terza fu destinata solo all'esercito: il moschetto. Il fucile aveva una canna da 30 pollici (76,2 cm.) che poteva essere a sezione circolare od ottagonale, legni in noce americano finiti a olio, calciolo a mezzaluna in ferro con sportello in ottone per l'inserimento della bacchetta per la pulizia nel calcio, anello da sella e tacca di mira Buck Horn. La carabina aveva una canna più corta, 24 pollici (60,96 cm.). Il moschetto aveva una canna a sezione circolare; calciolo dritto in ferro anch'esso con sportello per la bacchetta e tacca di mira a ritto e cursore, a sezione tonda da 30 pollici e un'astina un poco più corta, in modo da proteggere serbatoio e canna dagli urti; calciolo dritto in ferro e maglie per la cinghia da tracolla.

Nel corso degli anni son state prodotte diverse varianti del '73, tra cui le versioni Trapper con canne più corte da 12, 14 e 16 pollici, e le ricercatissime versioni "one of hundred" (1 di 100) e "one of thousand" (1 di 1000) che presentavano particolari incisioni e finiture sulla canna e sulla bascula.

1876

Stante la richiesta di armi a ripetizione in calibri più potenti, la Winchester mise in produzione il modello 1876 che risultava praticamente una versione ingrandita del precedente modello 1873, in grado di camerare munizioni a polvere nera con bossolo di lunghezza di circa 50/60 mm, tra cui il 40-65 ed il 45-70 Government.

1886

A dieci anni dalla presentazione del modello 1876, la Winchester cercò di superarne i limiti imposti dal meccanismo di chiusura a ginocchiello e dall'elevare/espulsore a corsa verticale; J.M. Browning progettò quindi una meccanica concettualmente differente in cui l'otturatore veniva mosso direttamente da un prolungamento della leva e la chiusura avveniva tramite due chiavistelli scorrevoli che si impegnavano ai lati dell'otturatore lungo due scanalature sul fusto dell'arma.

1892

La versione della carabina Winchester del 1892, progettata da John Browning, è una versione in scala ridotta della mod. 1886, idonea all'impiego di munizioni di potenza intermedia a polvere infume ma con bossolo di lunghezza limitata a circa 40 mm quali i vari .44-40, .38-40, .32-20 e .25-20, ed anche cartucce molto potenti di produzione recente come le .357 Magnum, le .44 Magnum e le .454 Casull.

1894

Questa versione, anch'essa progettata da John Browning, è esteticamente assai simile al modello precedente ma fu calibrata, secondo la tendenza alla riduzione dei calibri in favore di un aumento della velocità, nel .30-30 Winchester e più tardi in altri calibri come il .25-35 WCF, il .32-40 WCF, il .32 Winchester Special ed il .38-55 Winchester. Per consentire l'utilizzo di munizioni con bossolo di lunghezza di 2 pollici (51 mm), la leva venne imperniata su un piano mobile al di sotto della carcassa ed il sistema di chiusura fu modificato applicando un unico chiavistello posteriore che si abbassava per liberare l'otturatore e si rialzava per bloccarlo in chiusura, vincolato alla parte posteriore del piano mobile. Il chiavistello porta con sé una parte del percussore in modo da impedire partenze accidentali del colpo se l'otturatore non è perfettamente chiuso e bloccato.

1895

La meccanica modello 1895 ha visto l'abolizione del serbatoio tubolare parallelo alla canna, sostituito da un serbatoio prismatico (sempre inamovibile) posto davanti al grilletto. la meccanica permetteva di gestire munizioni a polvere infume con bossoli di lunghezza attorno ai 2 pollici (51 mm) tra cui, oltre al citato 30-30 WCF, anche il 405 Winchester ideato appositamente per quest'arma.

1915

Nel 1915 l'esercito imperiale russo commissionò alla fabbrica americana la produzione di questa carabina in 300.000 esemplari per dotarne le proprie forze di fanteria afflitte da una pesante penuria di fucili. Rispetto alle precedenti versioni, il modello russo implementava due blocchetti montati sulla parte posteriore della scatola di culatta che svolgevano la funzione di guida per la lastrina di caricamento ed adottava un tipo di munizione differente, in calibro 7.62x54R. Oltre ai fucili, vennero fornite anche le relative baionette.

ENGLISH

Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever-action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Model 1873 was particularly successful, being marketed by the manufacturer as "The Gun That Won the West".

Predecessors

In 1848, Walter Hunt of New York patented his "Volition Repeating Rifle" incorporating a tubular magazine, which was operated by two levers and complex linkages. The Hunt rifle fired what he called the "Rocket Ball", an early form of caseless ammunition in which the powder charge was contained in the bullet's hollow base. Hunt's design was fragile and unworkable, but in 1849 Lewis Jennings purchased the Hunt patents and developed a functioning, if still complex, version which was produced in small numbers by Robbins & Lawrence of Windsor, Vermont until 1852.

Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson of Norwich, Connecticut, acquired the Jennings patent from Robbins & Lawrence, as well as shop foreman Benjamin Tyler Henry. Smith made several improvements to the Jennings design, and in 1855 Smith and Wesson together with several investors formed a corporation, the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, to manufacture Smith's modification of the Hunt-Jennings, the Volcanic lever-action pistol and rifle. Its largest stockholder was Oliver Winchester.

For the Volcanic rifle, Smith added a primer charge to Hunt's "Rocket Ball" and thus created one of the first fixed metallic cartridges which incorporated bullet, primer and powder in one self-contained unit. While still with the company Smith went a step further and added a cylindrical copper case to hold the bullet and powder with the primer in the case rim, thus creating one of the most significant inventions in firearms history, the metallic rimfire cartridge. Smith's cartridge, the .22 Short, would be introduced commercially in 1857 with the landmark Smith & Wesson Model 1 revolver and is still manufactured today.

The Volcanic rifle had only limited success, which was partially attributable to the design and poor performance of the Hunt-derived Volcanic cartridge: a hollow conical ball filled with black powder and sealed by a cork primer. Although the Volcanic's repeater design far outpaced the rival technology, the unsatisfactory power and reliability of the .25 and .32 caliber "Rocket Balls" were little match for the competitors' larger calibers. Wesson had left Volcanic soon 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 bankrupt firm's assets from the remaining stockholders, and reorganized it as the New Haven Arms Company in April 1857.

Benjamin Henry continued to work with Smith's cartridge concept, and perfected the much larger, more powerful .44 Henry cartridge. Henry also supervised the redesign of the rifle to use the new ammunition, retaining only the general form of the breech mechanism and the tubular magazine. This became the Henry rifle of 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company, and used in considerable numbers by certain Union army units in the American Civil War. Confederates called the Henry "that damned Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week!”

Development

After the war, Oliver Winchester renamed New Haven Arms the 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 likewise built on a bronze-alloy frame, and had an improved magazine and a wooden forearm. In 1873 Winchester introduced the steel-framed Model 1873 chambering the more potent .44-40 centerfire cartridge. In 1876, in a bid to compete with the powerful single-shot rifles of the time, Winchester brought out the Model 1876 (Centennial Model). While it chambered more powerful cartridges than the 1866 and 1873 models, the toggle link action was not strong enough for the popular high-powered rounds 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 lever-action Model 1887/1901 shotgun, the pump-action Model 1890 rifle, and the pump-action Model 1893/1897 shotgun.

Winchester lever-action repeating rifles

Model 1866

The first Winchester rifle – the Winchester Model 1866 – was originally chambered for the rimfire .44 Henry. Nicknamed the "Yellow Boy" because of its receiver of a bronze/brass alloy called gunmetal, it was famous for its rugged construction and lever-action "repeating rifle" mechanism that allowed the user to fire a number of shots before having to reload. Nelson King's improved patent remedied flaws in the Henry rifle by incorporating a loading gate on the side of the frame and integrating a round, sealed magazine which was partially covered by a forestock.

France purchased 6,000 Model 1866 rifles along with 4.5 million .44 Henry cartridges during the Franco-Prussian War. The Ottoman Empire purchased 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 outnumbered Turks at the Siege of Plevna inflicted many times more casualties than their opponents armed with single-shot Krnka and Berdan rifles. The Model 1866 compelled Russians to develop a new rifle, the Mosin–Nagant, after the war.

The Swiss Army initially selected the Model 1866 to replace their existing single-shot Milbank-Amsler rifles. However, ensuing political pressure to adopt a domestic design resulted in the Vetterli Model 1867, a bolt-action design utilizing a copy of the Winchester's tubular magazine, being adopted instead.

Due to public demand, the Model 1866 continued to be manufactured and sold until 1899, mainly because they were less expensive than the later steel-framed centerfire models. Later models were chambered for the .44-40 Winchester cartridge.

Model 1873

The Model 1873 was one of the most successful Winchester rifles of its day, with Winchester marketing it as "The Gun That Won the West". Still an icon in the modern day, it was manufactured between 1873 and 1923. It was originally chambered for the .44-40 cartridge, which was the first centrefire cartridge and which became immensely popular. The 1873 was later produced in .38-40 and .32-20, all of which later became popular handgun cartridges of the day, allowing users to carry just one type of ammunition. The Model 1873 was produced in three variations: a 24-inch barrel rifle, a 20-inch barrel carbine, and a "musket"—which was aimed at military contracts and only made up less than 5% of production. (Musket was a term that, at the time, denoted a full length military-style stock, not to be confused with a true smoothbore musket). The standard rifle-length version was most popular in the 19th century, although Winchester would make rifles to order in any configuration the customer wished, including longer barrels or baby carbines with barrels as short as 12 inches, octagonal-shaped barrels, colour case hardened receivers and fancy engraving.

The original Model 1873 was never offered in the military revolver .45 Colt cartridge, but a number of modern reproductions are chambered for the round.

To both celebrate and enhance the Model 1873's prestige, Winchester established a coveted "One of One Thousand" grade in 1875. Barrels producing unusually small groupings during test-firing were fitted to rifles with set triggers and a special finish. Marked "One of One Thousand", they sold for a then pricey $100 (equivalent to $2,300 in 2019). A popular 1950 Western starring Jimmy Stewart, Winchester '73, was based on the coveted gun. Promotions included a search for "One of One Thousand" rifles by Universal Studios, with advertisements in sporting magazines and posters in sporting goods stores.

A second grade of Model 1873 barrels producing above average accuracy were fitted to rifles marked "One of One Hundred", and sold for $20 over list. Approximately 136 "One of One Thousand" Model 1873s were sold, and only eight "One of One Hundreds".

In all, over 720,000 Model 1873s were produced up until 1923. With a return to popularity due to present-day Cowboy action shooting, '73 rifles and carbines of a high quality have been made in Italy by Uberti, encouraging a return to production under license from the Olin company in 2013, joining the Model 1892 and the Model 1894 being manufactured in Japan by the Miroku Corporation for FN/Browning. Nearly faithful in design to the original, including the trigger disconnect safety, sliding dustcover, and a crescent-shaped buttplate, it incorporates two safety improvements: a firing pin block preventing it from moving forward unless the trigger is pulled, and a cartridge carrier modification to eject used casings away from the shooter.

In 2014, a weathered model 1873 was found leaning against a tree in Great Basin National Park. It became known as the Forgotten Winchester and sparked media interest because of the mystery about who left it there and why they never came back for it.

Model 1876

The Winchester Model 1876, or Centennial Model, was a heavier-framed rifle than the Models 1866 and 1873, chambered for full-powered centerfire rifle cartridges suitable for big-game hunting, rather than the handgun-sized rimfire and centerfire rounds of its predecessors. While similar in design to the 1873, the 1876 was actually based on a prototype 1868 lever-action rifle that was never commercially produced by Winchester.

Introduced to celebrate the American Centennial Exposition, the Model 1876 earned a reputation as a durable and powerful hunting rifle. Four versions were produced: a 22-inch (56 cm) barrel Carbine, a 26-inch (66 cm) barrel Express Rifle with a half-length magazine, a 28-inch (71 cm) barrel Sporting Rifle, and a 32-inch (81 cm) barrel Musket. Standard rifles had a blued finish while deluxe models were casehardened. Collectors identify a first model with no dust cover, a second model with a dust cover rail fastened by a screw, and a third model with an integral dust cover. Total production was 63,871 including 54 One of One Thousand Model 1876s and only seven of the One of One Hundred grade.

Originally chambered for the new .45-75 Winchester Centennial cartridge (designed to replicate the .45-70 ballistics in a shorter case), versions in .40-60 Winchester, .45-60 Winchester and .50-95 Express followed; the '76 in the latter chambering is the only repeater known to have been in widespread use 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 an engraved, pistol-gripped half-magazine '76 during his early hunting expeditions in the West and praised it. A '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 big-game cartridges, including the .45-70, and production ceased in 1897, as big-game hunters preferred the smoother Model 1886 action chambered for longer and more powerful cartridges.

Model 1886

The Model 1886 continued the trend towards chambering heavier rounds, and had an all-new and considerably stronger locking-block action than the toggle-link Model 1876. It was designed by John Moses Browning, who had a long and profitable relationship with Winchester from the 1880s to the early 1900s. William Mason made some improvements to Browning's original design. In many respects the Model 1886 was a true American express rifle, as it could be chambered in the more powerful black powder cartridges of the day, such as the .45-70 Government, long a Winchester goal. The 1886 proved capable of handling not only the .45 Gov't but also .45-90 and the huge .50-110 Express "buffalo" cartridges, and in 1903 was chambered for the smokeless high-velocity .33 WCF. In 1935, Winchester introduced a slightly modified M1886 as the Model 71, chambered for the more powerful .348 Winchester cartridge.

Model 1892

In order to compete with newer Marlin 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 incorporates a much-stronger Browning action that was a scaled-down version of the Model 1886. It was also a much-lighter rifle than the 1873 model, with which it was sold concurrently for over twenty years, for the same price.

A total of 1,004,675 Model 1892 rifles were made by Winchester, and it was exported internationally, becoming very popular in South America and Australasia. Although Winchester stopped manufacture in 1941, today versions are still being made by the Brazilian arms maker Amadeo Rossi, and by Chiappa Firearms, an Italian maker. In its modern form, using updated materials and production techniques, the Model 1892's action is strong enough to chamber high-pressure handgun rounds, such as .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .454 Casull. The Winchester '92 was often used in Hollywood Western movies and TV shows out of its correct period, achieving some fame as a 'cowboy' lever action, although it was historically too late for that.

Model 1894

The John Browning–designed Winchester Model 1894 is the most prevalent of the Winchester repeating rifles. The Model 1894 was first chambered for the .32-40 and .38-55 cartridges, and later, a variety of calibers such as .25-35 WCF, .30-30, and .32 Winchester Special. Winchester was the first company to manufacture a civilian rifle chambered for the new smokeless propellants, and although delays prevented the .30-30 cartridge from appearing on the shelves until 1895, it remained the first commercially available smokeless powder round for the North American consumer market. Though initially it was 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, ultimately selling over seven million before U.S.-production was discontinued in 2006. The Winchester .30-30 configuration is practically synonymous with "deer rifle" in the United States. In the early 20th century, the rifles designation was abbreviated to "Model 94", as was done with all older Winchester designs still in production (for example, 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 armed forces of a number of nations including the United States, Great Britain, and Imperial Russia. The Russian production models could also be loaded using charger clips, a feature not found on any other lever-action rifle. Calibers included .30-40 Krag (.30 US or .30 Army), .303 British, .30-03 Springfield, .30-06 Springfield, 7.62×54mmR, and .405 Winchester. Theodore Roosevelt used a Model 1895 in .405 on African safaris and called it his "medicine gun" for lions. In 1908 the 1895 Winchester became the first commercially produced sporting rifle chambered in .30-06 (then called ".30 Gov't 06”).

Model 88

Introduced in 1955, 60 years after Winchester's last all-new lever-action design, the Model 88 was unlike any previous lever-action. A short-throw lever operated a three-lug rotating bolt and rounds were fed vertically from a detachable box magazine: in effect it was a lever-operated bolt action. These features in a lever-action permitted the use of high-powered modern short-case cartridges 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's history, following only the M1894 and M1892. The later Sako Finnwolf and Browning BLR have similar actions. The Model 88 Carbine was offered with a 19-inch barrel.

Model 9422

Winchester's Model 9422 was introduced in 1972. It was designed to capture the image of the traditional lever-actions with exposed hammer, straight grip, tube magazine and barrel bands. Unlike older Winchester lever actions it came grooved for scope mounting. It was offered in .22 Long Rifle and .22 WMR, and was priced at the high end of the .22 LR sporting rifle market.

The 9422 action design was original and extremely reliable. The feed system handled the cartridge from the magazine to the breech face by its rim, and the slide cammed the rear of the breechblock up into the locking recess. A concealed polymer buffer above the breech gave a firm-feeling lockup and a very positive unlocking motion.

The 9422 had worldwide appeal to customers raised on Western fiction and to parents looking for a way to introduce their children to shooting. Over the course of production a higher-finished model called the 9422 XTR, a .17 rimfire model, and several commemorative models were offered. Production ended in 2005.

New production

In 2013 Winchester brought back the Model 1873, manufactured under license from the Olin company by FN/Browning in the Kōchi Prefecture of Japan by the Miroku Corporation. It joins the Model 1892 and Model 1894 as the third classic Winchester rifle model to be reintroduced. The new 1873 model is available with a 20″ or 24″ barrel, either round or octagonal, and a chambering of .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .44-40 Winchester, or .45 Long Colt. It is nearly identical in design to the originals including the trigger disconnect safety, sliding dustcover, and crescent-shaped buttplate, but with two notable exceptions. An additional safety mechanism, a firing pin block that prevents it from moving forward unless the trigger is pulled, was integrated, and the cartridge carrier was changed to eject used casings away from the shooter. The fixed, tubular magazine has a maximum capacity of fourteen rounds (thirteen for .44 and .45 caliber rifles).

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