REVIEWS
Benelli 1873 .45 Colt Sporting Rifle
This repro of the "Gun That Won The West" has an intriguing twist on the original--a .45 Colt chambering.
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Along with "Who shot Johnny Ringo?" and "Did Butch Cassidy really die in Bolivia?" one of the great mysteries of the Old West is, "Why didn't Winchester chamber its Model 1873 in .45 Colt?"
After all, the .45 Long Colt (as it was originally called) has been the most popular caliber for the Single Action Army ever since its inception in 1873. But for the equally famous Winchester Model 1873--which also had its birth in 1873 and remained in production until 1919—it was undeniably the .44-40 that held the reins, far outdistancing the other chamberings of .32-20, .38-40 and the rarer .22 rimfire.
Of course, Colt saw an opportunity in 1878, when it chambered its ubiquitous six-shooter for the .44-40 (and a few years later for the .32-20 and .38-40) so it would be compatible with the Winchester '73. But Winchester didn't return the compliment. The1873 lever action—clearly as popular as the Colt revolver and undeniably "The Gun That Won The West"—was never chambered for the .45 round.
A number of suppositions have been postulated concerning this lack of teaming one of the frontier's most popular calibers with its most popular rifle. One theory is that Winchester was content selling its .44-40 Model '73s and didn't need a .45. Another is that the balloon-head case of the early .45 Colt blackpowder rounds wouldn't function in the Model '73's action. None of this, in my opinion, is valid.
I think a more likely reason is that Winchester didn't want anything stamped "Colt" on its guns. Consider that all three of the Model '73s' centerfire chamberings ended in "W.C.F.," which stands for Winchester Center Fire. It must be remembered that competition among these two companies was fierce, even to the point where, at one time, Winchester produced a brief run of single-action revolvers, which prompted Colt to tool up for a lever-action rifle. A "gentlemen's agreement" kept either of these two guns from being produced in any sizable quantities. Thus, a .45 Colt chambering in the Winchester Model '73 was never to be. Until now.
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