Colt's · Rifle
Colt Burgess Rifle
Lever action · .44-40 Winchester · introduced 1883
Also known as Colt-Burgess, Colt Model 1883 Burgess
About the Colt Burgess Rifle
The Colt Burgess Rifle was a .44-40 lever-action repeating rifle and Colt's only lever-action long gun, produced briefly from 1883 to 1885 to challenge Winchester's dominance. Designed by Andrew Burgess, it used a toggle lockup and sliding loading gate and was considered slightly lighter, shorter and stronger than the rival Winchester 1873. Sharing the .44-40 cartridge with Colt's revolvers, it was a capable rifle that nonetheless had a very short production life.
Colt's only lever-action rifle was reportedly dropped after Winchester threatened to enter the revolver market in retaliation; the legendary 'gentleman's agreement' between the two firms is widely repeated but has never been documented.
Colt Burgess Rifle specifications
General
- Type
- Rifle
- Action
- Lever action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer-fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Calibres
- .44-40 Winchester
- Magazine capacity
- 15 rounds
- Magazine
- Tubular magazine
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 648 mm (25.5 in)
- Overall length
- 1086 mm (42.8 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 3.97 kg (8.75 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- blued
Performance
- Effective range
- 150 m
History
- Introduced
- 1883
- Discontinued
- 1885
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- US
- Designer
- Andrew Burgess
Features
- Toggle lockup
- Sliding loading gate
- Tubular magazine
- Straight grip stock
Safety
- Half cock notch
Made in rifle, half-octagon sporting rifle, and 20-inch saddle-ring carbine forms.
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