Talk:Winchester Lever Action Rifle Models
round vs octagon
This is a quote from The Winchester Handbook by George Madis:
"Rifles have 24" round barrel as standard. Octagon barrels were considered an extra, but Winchester usually sold the guns with octagon barrels to dealers at the same price as round barrels."
This quote is from the section about the 1873 model.
Lastly, flintlock rifles made one at a time by craftsmen usually had octagon barrels. This is because the barrels were filed to shape by hand. It is easier to file an octagon shape than a round shape. Why they did not use a lathe I do not know, but that is how flintlocks were usually made. Perhaps this is where the mystique about octagon barrels came from. And yes, an octagon barrel is going to be heavier than a round barrel when the octagon is the same dimension across the flats as the diameter of a round barrel.
Just checked a reprint of the Winchester catalog for the year 1875, the first year the Model 1873 was cataloged.
Sporting Rifle, Octagon Barrel, Set Trigger, $55.00
Sporting Rifle, Octagon Barrel, Plain Trigger, $50.00
Sporting Rifle, Octagon Barrel, Set Trigger, Curled Walnut Stock, Checked with Extra Finish, $60.00
Sporting Rifle, Round Barrel, Set Trigger, $45.00
Sporting Rifle, Round Barrel, Plain Trigger, $40.00
All of these rifles had 24" barrels and were chambered for 44-40, the only caliber the 1873 was originally chambered for.
In addition, Musket with 30" Barrel, $42.00
Carbine, 20" barrel, $38.00
Winchester had several barrel tapers available. For octagon barrels, the standard octagon barrel measured 23/32" @ the muzzle, a slightly heavier version measured 27/32" and the heaviest measured 1" at the muzzle.
Comparative Rarity Model 1873 Winchester
Winchester had several barrel tapers available. For octagon barrels, the standard octagon barrel measured 23/32" @ the muzzle, a slightly heavier version measured 27/32" and the heaviest measured 1" at the muzzle. From The Winchester Book by G. Madis, and the chapter on 1873s.
