Cimarron 1873 Rifle

1873 Sporting Rifle vs. Saddle Ring Carbine: Choosing Your Configuration

The Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle uses a 24” octagon barrel, full-length magazine tube, and the full-size rifle stock of the original Winchester production. It is the most historically faithful configuration and the choice for collectors and traditional lever-action enthusiasts who want maximum period accuracy. The Saddle Ring Carbine uses a 19” round barrel, shorter magazine, and carbine-length stock with a saddle ring on the left side of the receiver—the configuration issued to cavalry and used for mounted carry. For SASS competitors and practical shooters who want the 1873 lever action without the rifle’s full length, the carbine handles more nimbly on stages.

Short-Stroke Competition Kits

Cimarron offers short-stroke action kits for the 1873 that reduce the lever travel required to cycle the action, enabling faster stage times in SASS competition. A short-stroked 1873 requires significantly less lever movement per round—the difference is immediately noticeable and measurable in stage times. Many serious SASS competitors run short-stroked 1873 carbines as their primary long gun. Cimarron also offers factory-short-stroked rifles for buyers who want competition-ready performance without gunsmith work. For buyers who plan to compete, the short-stroke option is worth the investment.

Caliber Matching: Sharing Ammunition with Your Cimarron SAA

The Cimarron 1873 Rifle in .357 Magnum matches the Cimarron Model P in .357 Magnum, creating a rifle-and-revolver pair that shares ammunition entirely. Similarly, .45 Colt rifles match .45 Colt revolvers, and .44-40 rifles match .44-40 revolvers. In SASS competition, stage planning is simpler when rifle and revolver share cartridges, and in historical or recreational use the caliber-matching combination recreates the practical reality of frontier life when cowboys could not afford separate ammunition supplies for different firearms. The .357 Magnum combination is the most practical for regular shooting; .44-40 is the most historically authentic for the 1873 period.

Winchester 1873 vs. Cimarron 1873: Why Choose the Reproduction

Winchester currently produces the Model 1873 in their US facility and it is an excellent rifle. The Cimarron Uberti-built reproduction typically offers more historical configuration options—octagon barrels, case-hardened receivers, period-correct sights—and the Uberti action is considered by many SASS competitors to be smoother out of the box at comparable price points. For collectors who want the closest possible reproduction of a specific historical configuration, Cimarron’s research into period specifications gives them an advantage. For buyers who want the Winchester name, Winchester’s domestic production is the alternative.

Related Pages

Match it with the Cimarron Model P SAA revolver in the same caliber, browse the full Cimarron lineup, or explore all lever-action rifles.