Description
The 1866 Yellowboy Rifle was a marked improvement over the Henry rifle. It became a worldwide hit.
It had a convenient new type of loading gate devised by Winchester plant superintendent Nelson King. It passed cartridges through the side of the receiver. This improvement made the lever action more functional and allowed for the installation of a wooden forend.
At the end of the Civil War, Oliver Winchester set his staff to work improving the Henry rifle. Plant superintendent Nelson King devised a convenient loading gate that eliminated the Henry’s awkward split-tube magazine and allowed the addition of a wooden fore-end. Dubbed the “Yellowboy” for its bright brass frame, the new Model 1866 rifles and carbines gained immediate acceptance by lawmen, cowboys and Native Americans across the American frontier. Versions of the 1866 were used by Benito Juarez’s forces in Mexico and by the Turks against the Russians in the 1870s. Uberti recreates the “Yellowboy” in Carbine (19″ barrel), Short Rifle (20″) and Sporting Rifle (24-1/4″) versions. All are fitted with authentic crescent butt plates (carbine has musket style buttplate) and are offered in three calibers: .38 SP, .44/40 and .45 Colt.