Guns
Winchester Rifle; Price: 350 Frontier Dollars
One of the most successful, and certainly one of the most famous Winchester rifles was the Winchester Model 1873, originally chambered for the .44-40 cartridge, although it was later produced in .38-40 and .32-20, all of which also became popular handgun cartridges of the day. Having a common centerfire cartridge in both revolvers and rifles allowed the owner to carry two firearms, but only one type of ammunition. Interestingly, the original Model 1873 was never offered in the military standard .45 Colt cartridge; although a number of modern reproductions of the rifle are chambered for the round. There is a limited number (approximately 19,000) of 1873 Winchesters manufactured in .22 rimfire caliber, which lacked the loading gate on the right side of the receiver.
Henry Repeating Rifle; Price: 250 Frontier Dollars
The Henry rifle used a .44 caliber cartridge with 26 to 28 grains (1.7 to 1.8 g) of black powder. This gave it significantly less muzzle velocity and energy than other repeaters of the era, such as the Spencer. The lever action, on the downstroke, ejected the spent cartridge from the chamber and cocked the hammer. A spring in the magazine forced the next round into the chamber; locking the lever back into position sealed the rifle back up into firing position. As it was designed, the rifle was not a very safe weapon. A Henry rifle, when not in use, would either have the hammer cocked or resting on the rim of the cartridge. In the first case, the rifle had no safety and was in firing position. In the second, an impact on the back of the exposed hammer could cause a chambered round to fire.
Spencer Repeating Rifle; Price: 200 Frontier Dollars
The design was completed by Christopher Spencer in 1860, and was for a magazine-fed, lever-operated rifle chambered for the 56-56 Spencer rimfire cartridge. Unlike later cartridge designations, the first number referred to the diameter of the case at the head, while the second number referred to the diameter at the mouth; the actual bullet diameter was .52 inches. Cartridges were loaded with 45 grains (2.9 g) of black powder.
To use the Spencer, a lever had to be worked to extract the used shell and feed a new cartridge from the tube. Like the Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Rifle, the hammer had to be manually cocked in a separate action. The weapon used rimfire cartridges stored in a seven-round tube magazine, enabling the rounds to be fired one after another. When empty, the tube could be rapidly loaded either by dropping in fresh cartridges or from a device called the Blakeslee Cartridge Box, which contained up to thirteen (also six and ten) tubes with seven cartridges each, which could be emptied in the magazine tube in the buttstock.
There were also 56–52, 56–50, and even a few 56–46 versions of the cartridge created, which were necked down versions of the original 56–56. Cartridge length was limited by the action size to about 1.75 inches, and the later calibers used a smaller diameter, lighter bullet and larger powder charge to increase the power and range over the original 56–56 cartridge, which, while about as powerful as the .58 caliber rifled musket of the time, was underpowered by the standards of other early cartridges such as the .50–70 and .45-70.
1873 Single Action Army; Price: 150 Frontier Dollars
The Single Action Army became available in standard barrel lengths of 4¾", 5½" as well as the Cavalry standard, original 7½". The shorter barreled revolvers are sometimes called the "Civilian" or "Gunfighter" model (4¾") and the Artillery Model (5 1/2"). There was also a variant with a sub 4" barrel, without an ejector rod unofficially referred to as the "Sheriff's Model", "Banker's Special", or "Storekeeper". From 1875 until 1880 Winchester marketed a Single Action revolver in the .44 rimfire Henry caliber in a separate number range from no. 1 to 1,863.
Winchester Frontier Six Shooter; Price: 100 Frontier Dollars
The Winchester Frontier or Frontier Six-Shooter was a Winchester's 1873 "Model P" type revolver, manufactured in .44-40 Winchester caliber, so as to be cross-compatible with Winchester Model 73 ammunition. Winchester Frontier Six-Shooter was the actual name of the pistol model, and this was acid-etched on the left side of the barrel. After 1889, the legend was roll-stamped until 1919, when the caliber designation ".44-40" was added. Later WInchester's 1878 Double Action Army Model also wore this designation on the barrel when chambered in 44 Colt/44-40 Winchester.