1866 Yellowboy or 1873?

W

Wobble

New member
Looking down the road to CAS, which would be the better rifle, an 1866 Yellowboy or 1873 Winchester? What caliber?

The only ones I've looked at so far are Uberti's, which come in a variety of lengths and calibers. Any other makers?
 
They're both the same toggle link action but the 73 is easier to clear jams with the removable side covers. I'd go with whatever caliber your pistols are. If you're intending to use black powder take a hard look at the bottlenecks like 44-40 and 38-40. They're much easier to clean with bp than straight walled cases are. Cheapest route would be .38 spcl.
 
if you're going to shoot it a lot, go with the 1873

reason- the forged iron or steel 1873, was way stronger than a cast brass 1866, which is why Winchester improved it and made the 1873 in the first place. also the cover over the action, and a stronger action

here's the "source" of that relevant information- make a wise purchase with your hard earned money- to read it easier, click on the magnifying glass with the "+" mark inside of it, and wait for it to magnify- click again until it just fills the page, not bigger

http://books.google.com/books?id=T-...zJzbDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1

can't be a 38 spl. for availability

here's more info on the advantage of the 1873- no doubt I'll now be accused of trying to corner the market on rifles as well, and perhaps get banned for posting my basic knowledge of metallurgy- but such is life here I guess... if you see "banned" by my name after this, it's because I answered your question

http://www.precisiongunstocks.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d11.html&lmd=39917.641146

Model 1873 Repeating Rifle

"The gun that won the West"

The Winchester Model 1873 features many improvements over the Model 1866. It is a stronger action able to handle heavier cartidges. First produced in September of 1873, it was a very popular rifle - favored by Buffalo Bill Cody and many Texas Rangers - with a total manufacturing run of nearly 721,000. The last Model 73 left the Winchester factory in 1925.
 
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Quote HH:
They're both the same toggle link action but the 73 is easier to clear jams with the removable side covers. I'd go with whatever caliber your pistols are. If you're intending to use black powder take a hard look at the bottlenecks like 44-40 and 38-40. They're much easier to clean with bp than straight walled cases are. Cheapest route would be .38 spcl.
Click to expand...

HH wouldn't steer you wrong. I've got one of each in 44-40 - '66 carbine & '73 short rifle. Of the two, i like the '66 best. The carbine stock mounts faster & fits better than the '73s rifle stock with crescent buttplate.

YMMV
 
The Winchester Model 1873 features many improvements over the Model 1866. It is a stronger action able to handle heavier cartidges.
Click to expand...

As to the 73 being stronger, maybe marginally. It's not enough to make any difference with the pressures the toggle link action can handle. Neither of these guns can handle high pressure loads because the toggles can't handle it not because the frames are weak.
 
I'd have to disagree with you on that, Hawg- the 1873 is a far better gun, than the 1866 ever was.

http://books.google.com/books?id=T-...zJzbDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1

"The Winchester 1873 was a great improvement over the Winchester 1866. Although built along the same general lines as the previous model, the principal changes were strengthening of the mechanism and the adaption of the parts to handle the heavier center fire cartridges. A sliding lid or mortise cover, to keep water and dirt out of the action, was added to close the ejection port in the top of the frame. The brass frame and butt plates were discontinued in favor of forged iron, changed to steel in 1884."
 
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Quote CC:
I'd have to disagree with you on that, Hawg- the 1873 is a far better gun, than the 1866 ever was.
Click to expand...

While that may have been true in the 1800s citing the differences - Dust cover, side plates, center fire - It is not necessarily true today. The action of the current '66s and '73s is identical - they use the same toggle links and bolt.

Yes, it's easier to take the side plates off of a '73 in case of something happning. But, I've never had to take my '66 or '73 apart at the range, and only take the side plates off once a year or so for cleaning.
 
I've got six 1866's in .38 spl, .38-40, .44-40, and .45 Colt and three 1873's in .38-40 and .44-40 and my preference might be very slightly in favor of the 1866 pattern. No particular reason.
 
Just an experience note. the only 1866 I ever saw run poorly was in 45 Colt. Smarter than me people suggest staying away from that cartridge if you intend to shoot black powder.

And... Fingers speaks the truth.
 
the OP asked, which one was better- sounds like he wants to buy just one- either or

not both

otherwise, there'd be no reason to start the thread and ask which one was better, in the first place- if he was buying both

given a choice of one, the 1873 wins hands down- stronger steel frame and mortise cover- those are the facts/specs

original or replica makes no difference- the 1873 has those advantages over the 1866, regardless of the vintage of the gun-the 1873 was an improved 1866, no matter how ya cut it
 
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Go with the 1860 Henry! It tends to be more accurate, it looks better to begin with, and when the brass gets tarnished from black powder smoke, it looks really good!
 
Winchester rifle

Hello
can anyone give any information about:

I just got a winchester rifle that reads pat. date 1884. it has a silver sight and the barrel reads 38WCF,
i've been looking all over to find what model it might be, but can't find anything on this date.
 
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