I thought that most of the other rifles used were actually the Model 1892 Winchchesters which were usually pressed into service in old movies to double for any lever rifle, because, being made far into the twentieth century by hundreds of thousands and being more robust than the '73 Model, examples in good working order were very easy to come by. They were used instead of the more hisorically accurate models for the reason you stated in paragraph five of your post. I am an antique gun nut myself, but I try not to pay too close attention to such details in old westerns. You can ruin a good movie for yourself by fretting over such.
I did notice that during the shooting match, one the the minor characters was using a hammerless, military stocked single shot that looked like a Peabody-Martini or perhaps a hammerless Sharps.
I should also like to point out that during the actual western period, some people refered to any lever action rifle as a Henry, because that was the original one, in the same way people used to refer to any copy machine as a Xerox. The model 1866 Winchester, the brass framed precursor of the '73, and the commonest lever action rifle in the late 1860's and early 1870's, was more often and more accurately refered to as a "Henry" because it used the same rimfire cartridge which was called .44 Henry rimfire. The Model l866 resembled later lever actions more than the original Henry, having a loading port and a forestock, so it doesn't seem too bad passing off a '92 or for that matter a '73 as one of those.
This is all a mute point anyway, because to most people who watch a movie, a lever action rifle is a lever action rife, and all old single action revolvers, whether cap-and-ball or cartridge models look the same.
I have gone on too long, but finally I would like to say that your comments were not "dumb", as another rude poster has claimed. At least you use proper capitalization and don't make yourself sound dopey by preceeding your every sentence with "Man..." as in "Man pass me that joint." A movie web site should be for fun, as movies are, and posters should keep their comments civil.
He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45
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jkholman
14 years ago
Very well put, Oldblackandwhite. I, too, noticed different types of lever-actions in the Contest. But in sympathy with the OP, I think the plot device of the film would have been stronger had the prized rifle of the story been the only '73 Winchester.
This is coming from someone who does not know Western films and am only beginning to really appreciate them. Many of the Westerns available I saw many years ago, but for the first time I am going out of my way to view them. Winchester '73 is turning out to be a favourite.
- JKHolman
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oldblackandwhite
14 years ago
jkholman:
Something I and apparently everyone else on this thread missed first time around is that the stated time frame of the movie was 1876. There could have been a lot of Winchester Model 1873's around. The prize rifle was not special because it was a Model '73, but because it was a select grade, gussied-up "One of a Thousand". These were actually more rare than the name indicates. According to Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms, Winchester made up only 136 One of a Thousand's out of a total Model 1873 production of 720,610 from 1873 to 1919 (most manufactured before 1900).
Winchester '73 is a good one all right. For me far below Red River, the standard by which all other westerns have to be judged. I saw Winchester '73 in a movie house when it was new in 1950. I was six years old. Maybe seven, as was released late in the year and may not have made it to our small town theater until '5l. For some reason I have missed it on TV all those years, except for seeing part of it once. Until I watched it the night of my last post on a pefectly restored DVD on my then new large screen digital TV. I always get a special thrill to see movies I can remember seeing as a kid again.
If you keep your interest in westerns from that era, be sure and check out Canyon Passage (1946). It is very different from the typical western and very good. Ramrod (1947) with Joel McCrea is another underappreciated gem.
He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45
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gschwertley
13 years ago
The relationship of the model rifle and the date of currency in the film hadn't escaped me. Putting aside historical accuracy as to weapons depicted in the film, there may not have been all that many Winchester Model 1873's in circulation on the frontier in 1876. The model year designation doesn't mean that there were suddenly many examples in use at that same time. The Win. Model 1873 made its debut in very late 1873, and at the end of the year there had been only 18 pieces released. Then there is the difference in shipment times then as to compared to now. Distribution of manufactured products was not very rapid and it took time for the then-new Win. Mod. '73 to get distributed and circulated in the west from the manufacturer in Connecticut. Distribution of the '73 by 1876 wasn't so sparse as to preclude the Indians from having them at Little Big Horn, which is alleged.
One bit of historical inaccuracy common to many westerns is that people on the frontier would use just about any old gun they could get their hands on and often kept them until they just fell apart. People didn't often trade up for a new model just because; most couldn't afford to do so.
I enjoy just about any old western movie and those films in the upper tier, such as this one in my opinion, are worth watching many times.
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Captain_Augustus_McCrae
12 years ago
By 1876 there had been enough Winchester 73s produced that several Indians at the Little Big Horn had them. This is a strong indication that there were many available for purchase. Serial numbers from the year 1876 are well over the 12,000 number, so it's clear that if you wanted a Model 73, there were plenty to go around.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
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dalbrech
12 years ago
That would not have been realistic;the Winchester 73 had become the rifle of choice by 1876. THe point about the rifle that the story centers about was it was a 1 in a 1000,a very special...and rare...Winchester.
I'll Teach You To Laugh At Something's That's Funny
Homer Simpson
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