Lever Gun Series: The 1876 Winchester 

Ian's cowboy cartridge catcher is functioning flawlessly.

A match with a Winchester and revolver against a Springfield and 1911 would be interesting

When i was a kid, i could spend afternoons with my grandparents watching movies, and it was not unusual to have a WW1 movie right after a western, wich left me wondering why wouldn't they have used winchesters if they were older and, by what i saw, better than the bolt actions. As i grew up i learnt about stuff like clip loading, spitzer ammo, the assumed lesser reliability of lever actions and other reasons to justify why they werent used, and i was satisfied with the explanation. Then you guys come along and i'm back at square one.

An era where the civilians had more firepower than the army

Hi, I'm here for the lever gats.

Something to mention, the US army never adopted the 76 but the RCMP did in 45-75. It was well liked by the mounties and still in service in the 20s in some remote places

"We could do the full 11+1, but we only have 10 rounds here today" Damn training budget! Was only able to get 10 rounds by grabbing some off the recruits

I'd like to see you gents build a 1880 "special forces" kit. Such as you don't have to wear blue wool tunics and such.

9:55 someone else spotted the brass on Ian's hat?

If the 45-60 was adopted by the military, i'm willing to bet it would still be in production and the 45-70 would not be as popular as it is. Being a military cartridge makes a big difference.

The ability to proactively reload the magazine I'm sure is more then helpful in a lot of combat situations of the period.

Love how the empty brass just flies over the shooter's head. Also it was pretty funny when one just plopped onto Ian's hat at 9:39

After a hard days work, new inrange posts are the only reason I stay awake until 10pm (aussie eastern time), keep up the choice work lads!

I'd love to see a series on "What if the US used lever action rifles in WW1?" as a followup after this series concludes. This series shows just how much the lever action rifle improved a soldier's effectiveness compared to the previous generation of single shot rifles. But WW1 would put the "proto assault rifle" up against some very modern small arms concepts. Could a Lever Action compete with the Chauchaut, BAR and other Automatic Rifles? Would it be better in a trench than a luger? Could suppressive fire and movement tactics been possible against HMG emplacements? I think there a lot of interesting questions that stem from the first, and would be worthy of exploration.

I can totally understand the issues cavalry had with resupplying when in the field. I've been in a modern cavalry squadron that was part of a light infantry brigade. Getting resupplied while operating far forward of the rest of the brigade is a constant struggle. Especially when you have to rely on your crew served weapons instead of artillery.

9:50 Ian has a spent casing ontop of his hat

The idea of fictional special cavalry force with big bore lever actions sounds neat. Would love to see this rifle in a match.

The production value is through the roof on this video

What you said about the lack of training ammunition must have meant that not only did the cavalry not have lever rifles but would have been ineffectual with the trapdoor rifles they did have. Would Little Big Horn have had a different result if the cavalry had been better trained with what they had, let alone equipped with better rifles? Train hard fight easy.

Great review on the 1876 rifle. Nice to see Ian's involvement. I love my new/old Chaparral 1876 rifle in 45-75. I have enjoyed the use of 45-70 for over five decades, and hope to enjoy the 45-75 for another five decades. Thank you both for a great video.

Awesome tutorial! Love the 76 and intend to own one. Keep up the informative insights on these weapons.

Just yesterday i remembered I haven't seen anything new from this series in a while and went back an rewatched the earlier installments, and you just so happen to post another today.

I think it was one of these that they found leaned against a tree in Great Basin National Park. It was there for like 130 something years lol

Do a control run at the 2 gun match with a 1903 Springfield and a large frame S&W revolver to see if what the army went to after was better or worse.

Thanks for addressing the black powder questions. I love the lever gun series!

Hi Lord Lovat is said to have come ashore at Normandy armed with a Winchester 1886 in 45/70

A most excellent presentation and discussion. Thank you, guys.

These lever action videos are awesome. Really hoping you do a video demonstrating a small squad armed with lever actions using these tactics. Would be cool with all 1860 Henrys and 1866/1873/1876 Winchesters or even throw in some lever actions that came later such as Winchester 1892/1894s and even more modern Marlin and new Henry PCCs such as the Big Boy Steel. Thanks and please keep the lever gun videos coming!

This is the content I live for, I find these old guns so much more interesting than the ones we have today.

Yes! I love this series! Great video, can’t wait for the next

Been waiting for more lever action series stuff; hope to see more soon.

These lever gun segments are so epic! There is nothing quite like shooting a Winchester toggle lever gun.

I have a Uberti 1873 .357Mag Trapper, little brother to the 1876, and it's a sweet shooting little carbine. Love the sound of a toggle link lever being worked.

Your camera work has really improved I really enjoyed all the angles of you two friring!

Splendid gentlemen. I so enjoy the history education and seeing the rifles being fired. Thanks

You guys are doing a great job. I really enjoy this series.

So what you're essentially saying is that a 45-60 is a circumcised 45-70.

Thanks for continuing your efforts in research on alternative equipment? Very much like looking at current military arms. Some 30-40 years ago I had the opportunity to hear a military historian who was a retired long time instructor at the USMA (West Point) and while he was not addressing the subject of weapons, he did spend considerable time on what frontier soldiers were, his point was the according to doctrine, the soldiers we think of as patrolling the west were not actually cavalry but “mounted infantry” where they normally fight on horseback, but rode into battle and dismounted to actually fight. Another important point stressed that cavalry were usually fairly accomplished horsemen, but you didn’t require considerable skill just riding into battle. This was considered important in that many of the soldiers in the army, all volunteers, who had enlisted from cities and didn’t own horses. The lecturer stated that the woeful quality of the horsemanship was noted in many reports. I’d imagine loading and shooting an even more unfamiliar firearm would be rather difficult. Which brings up something Karl and Ian have stressed - training.

There is a shop near where I live that specializes in old lever actions and military surplus firearms. The owner as 2 original 1876 Winchesters. The shop is Krausewerk Collectibles in San Mateo California

Your western vids are seriously my favorites. I love the old west and learn so much. I seriously want to move to the south west

Hooray! I've been waiting for more lever gun vids :)

Gun nerds in camo - still THE best channel out there 💪🏿

This video seems more pretty than the others: the angle changes of the camera, the image quality, the pacing... I'm not sure if it was on purpose though, but well done! (and as interesting as always, of course :) )

Loving this series. Such a beautiful rifle.

I've chimed in on some discussion, but I want to say this is a great series!

The 45-60 was popular with the ranchers here north of El Paso Ive found quite a few cases up and down the old trails

Another great video, you guys know your stuff, thank you!

I love this channel. It's just great stuff

This is my favorite series right now, been looking forward to this video for so long! I was kind of expecting you to at least dedicate one video individual to the 1866 and one to the 1873, even if they were short ones. Since you mentioned DMR use, one detail I'm curious about is the popularity of apertures vs notches on the tangent/ladder rear sights for the leverguns with the longer barrels and heavier cartridges, like an 1876 with 32" barrel in .45-75, or an 1886 in .45-70?

Excellent video, gentlemen. Thank you.

Loving the lever gun series. Great work, gents.

One of my neighbors when I was a kid was an old man named George Cook. By 1965, George was a widower in his 80s living on his small farm in the Cascades in Washington. I met him as a very small boy and used to go visit him just to hear the stories he could tell about coming into that country around the turn of the century. George had an original model 1876 Winchester in 45/70. I was with him one day when he shot a deer with it from his front porch. Big smokey boom and you could see the bullet fly. He said that in the early 1930s, federal agents came to confiscate his black powder Winchester model 1876, because the gub'mint was worried that he would try to fire it with smokeless powder rounds. He said he told them that they could have two pieces of it, if they stayed on his porch long enough for him to get it and fire it twice. After that, they decided they needed to be someplace else, and in a hurry. He still had the rifle when I left home to join the Navy 5 years after he told me that story.

You guys need to get some Ottoman uniforms and try a Winchester 1866 in a match, I believe that was the largest issue and use of lever actions in a real war, as opposed to an insurgency.

Ian, you always have a stylish and appropriate hat!

Great show .Thank you

What would be really interesting would be a "Pre-War" match, where the only real rule is that it has to have been made before The Great War. Be real cool to see how this stacks up against Enfields, Mausers, Mannlichers, Mosins, Carcanos, or heck even some of the civilian semi-autos. Also be cool to see what pistols get used.

Love that sound of lever action!!!

I noticed that you're experimenting with some different camera work in this, multiple cameras or multiple takes with the audio of one take overtop. While I appreciate the initiative to try and improve, I think that the framing of you two in a fixed frame or modestly following through a course does a lot for you. Not flashy, not overly dramatic, but consistent and clear in showing the information that you have to share. Even the handheld footage at trade shows where Karl is commenting on what is in frame feels very genuine. This is very much in line with the spirit of the content that you provide. As for that content, I once again enjoy what you've got to share and look forward to the next installment.

awesome video! I just noticed at the 9:55ish mark you can see a shell casing ontop of his head in the cowboy hat!

Schofield with speed loaders would be an appropriate sidearm. There were wood handmade ones before the 1880’s. If i ever find photos or drawings of a prototype I’m going to attempt to make some. Wish I didn’t live on the other side of the country in an anti gun state or I’d be at 2gacm. Especially the historically themed ones. Only thing we have here is high power, skeet and cowboy action. But I’m not a huge fan of cowboy action because the targets are so close i can almost touch them with my barrel and there’s no movement.

Can y’all put this together in a play list for the lever gun series. Please and thank you. Keep up the good work guys👍🏽

Love the series. You make great points, as always. The idea of special units so armed is a good one- either whole regiments, or 1 or more companies within a regiment. Logistics/resupply becomes an issue of course. The Spanish-American War probably would have put the kibosh on lever guns in intermediate chamberings, due to the demonstrated superiority of the 1895 Mauser (and that is even pre-spitzer- 173 gr round nose). Not sure about the trajectory of the 300 gr .458" bullet. Still a fascinating alt-history idea. We know that Teddy tried to buy enough 1895 Winchesters in .30-40 to outfit his volunteer cavalry. And he himself used one. So maybe he knew something. He certainly didn't want to go to war with a Trapdoor, which is what the second-line and state militia units were issued back then. He was a wise and savvy man when it came ro armaments

Glad I'm watching this in 2021 so I don't have to wait for the next episode.

This episode was.. exquisite

I love y'all. You come up with a Idea and follow through

Excellent video. Fascinating topic. Jeff Cooper would have thoroughly enjoyed the subject and discussion.

Nice shooting! Great video.

Yippie! The lever gun series continues. Was beginning to worry that it had died on the vine. As a child of the 50s and fellow CAS shooter I love my lever guns. If I could figure out the logistics and had the money to bring it about, I'd be sporting a pair of Volcanic pistols instead of SAAs. However, I believe that it would have taken a MAJOR shift in thinking and resourses for your levergun concept to have come about, what with the post war economic down turn the country was experiencing and their marriage to the trapdoor design. The trapdoor was not only an inhouse design but was cheap and reliable. From what I gather it's reiablity issues mostly stemmed from poor quality ammunition, which would cause problems in any gun even our beloved leverguns. As The bloke might note "poor primary extraction". Anyway, I love the levergun what ifs. Time for me to get on patreon, would love to think I had contributed a small piece of that Be A U tifull '76. Maybe the next one. Thanks for your great work and keep'm come'm.

Love this channel

Ian sure loves British kit. Rocking the interim CS95 MTP shirt!

I've got an 1873 in 32-20. Pistol for self defense close up, rifle for meat gun and defense at longer range. Came from Illinois when it would have been frontier/farm country.

I remember reading about Army Chief of Scouts Al Sieber using an 1876 in 45-75 at the battle of Big Dry Wash, Arizona in 1882. It served him well, he accounted for 6 to 8 of the 16 Apache killed by the Army in that fight . Great video ...now I have to buy one !

Great Video!

wow that is nice to use and love the feed back it is nice and recoil is none great stuff

I love that pattern so much, not only does it blend in great in my area but it reminds me of star wars.

When running tests of a lever gun vs. a Krag-Jorgensen or Mauser, be sure you try it while prone, behind cover, and awkward positions. My understanding of why the bolt gun beat the lever gun was that a bolt gun is easier to operate prone. (If anyone wants to talk about the strength of a bolt action vs. a lever action, just look at a Browning BLR for an example of what is essentially a lever-operated turn-bolt design).

Great video

Thank you fellows. It was extremely interesting.

It’s my 1911 of the rifle world , just love that lever cocking sound .

Steve McQueen used one of these when he played Tom Horn in the movie of the same name. He was around 50 years old and fired it from the back of a galloping horse. Great movie.

I learned with a marlin 39a. Will always love a lever action.

I ❤️ my 1873 Winchester. Fantastic and fun. All these old lever guns have historic charm.

I agree with Karl, you can definitely feel how much drastically harder the action is to run on the Browning designs than the toggle link designs.

I'm loving this lever gun series. :-).

I feel like this was a perfect chance to wear union blue cavalry uniforms

I put my dad's original 45-60 winchester round barrel in his casket with an original box of shells from the 1800's like the one in the movie tom horn.

This is so awesome, I've been anticipating the release of this video for a while. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment of this series. Now I really want a Winchester 1876. When you get to the DMR, will you be going with a .45 round like .45-90, .45-120, etc. or will you choose something more streamlined like the .40-65 or .38-55?

sweet piece

My grandfather had 2 Winchesters! One in 45-70 and one in 45-90 both with octagon barrels and just beautiful wood grain! He sold them in 1965 for $10,000! As I understand it, they where very rare and expensive! I was 16 years old at the time or I would have tried to buy them myself except he said he would not sell them to any members of the family (says my seven years older brother) because he couldn’t afford to just will them to one of us. I guess he got them in his younger days when he ran bootlegged liquor down south, but that’s a different story.

I remember Karl's match with a Henry. Can't wait to see that one in a 2 gun match. Although I can only imagine how much work it'll be for you just to produce enough ammo. :(

Need one, have all the others, have my 1860, ‘66, ‘73 then skipped to the 1892, ‘94 & 1895 (45-70). But know really want a 1876. Thanks 👍🏻🤠

You guys are rad! support this channel do it!

awesome video of a cool rifle!

Dog gone it, stop making me want a '76 even more than I already do. I have a bunch of the pistol cartridge lever guns (and some of the later smokeless 'intermediate rifle cartridge' guns), which are awesome, but there's just something about the bigger cartridge guns that just makes them so cool. Although, realistically, it wouldn't be that hard to come close to 45-60's ballistics in a modern model '92 or Marlin '94 in say .44 magnum and I do at least have them to work with. There is something to be said for magnum revolver cartridges out of rifles, especially compared to many of the old black powder rifle cartridges.

I love this video. I own an original 1876 in 45-60

I love lever action rifles and I’ve always thought them to be much better than most of today’s so called experts claim . Keep up the good work gentlemen.

Sure the lever gun is faster to cycle but once it’s empty I don’t think it’ll be much faster than a trapdoor. Would be an interesting video between the lever gun, the trapdoor and the SMLE with the first to load and fire 15 rounds

Luv this series :)

Around 15:00 when talking about possible use in WWI, it wouldn't be at much of a disadvantage in terms of range either considering most battlefields on the Western front had opposing armies only a couple hundred yards apart at the most. Well within range of even the '73 and practical fighting would be within range of even the Henry or '66 yellow boy

Karl, Ian, would love to see you rapidly shoot that thing with black powder, so we can see the smoke obfuscation of the "battlefield". I've heard (never confirmed) that was a reason given against the adoption of rapid fire small arms. Please test it for us. Love your work, Gus.