Win 73 in 38-70, ammo??

[10 ga]

dad divided up the heirloom firearms about 8 years ago and my brother got a "73 Winchester" and it is marked as 38-70 caliber. I once saw a single round of ammo for this very rifle that one of the distant cousins had. Not planning to shoot the gun but be nice to have a box or so of ammo just to know what they were like. As I remember they were very slightly shouldered but mostly tapered. Any information on where I might get some brass or loaded ammo for this gun or information on the cartridge and how long and when Winchester used it?? Thanks, 10 ga

[C. Latch]

https://www.buffaloarms.com/38-70-winchester-loaded-ammunition-375-255-grain-barnes-jacketed-bullet-box-of-20-amo3870win

http://www.gunbroker.com/Vintage-Ammo/BI.aspx?Keywords=38-70

[10 ga]

C. Latch, thanks for the info. Hoping to get a couple of rounds just to have. Like the possibility of getting real ammo that certainly would have been loaded with Holy Black under FN lubed lead.

[Speedo66]

Are you sure it's a Winchester '73? As far as I know, they only came in .44-40, .38-40, .32-20, and .22.

The cartridge you're talking about, .38-70, looks too long for the '73 action. Sure it's not a Winchester '86?

[reivertom]

Are you sure it's a Winchester '73? As far as I know, they only came in .44-40, .38-40, .32-20, and .22.

The cartridge you're talking about, .38-70, looks too long for the '73 action. Sure it's not a Winchester '86?

What he said^^^^

[KCSO]

If it is 73 it has to be 38-40. The 1886 had a late offering of a 38-70 about 1890's era.

[TNsailorman]

according to my Cartridges of the World reference book, the 38-70 was introduce by Winchester in 1894 using their 1886 rifle. It was suppose to be an improvement on the .38-55 but did not turn out to be much of an improvement in practice. It is a bottlenecked cartridge and the factory loading was with a 275 grain bullet. The factory load was stated as 1490 fps muzzle velocity. It uses the same bullets as the .38-55 (.375 diameter) and listed loads for it are a 250 grain lead bullet with 26 grains of 4198 and a muzzle velocity of 1710 fps; and a 265 grain lead bullet with 41 grains of 3031 and a muzzle velocity of 1700 fps. It should not get confused with the .38-72 cartridge introduced in the 1895 Winchester which was a slightly longer case that looks almost like a tapered case but actually does have a very small neck on it. james

[10 ga]

OK, I'm schooled. Must be an 86. I'm not a lever guy. Only one I had was a Browning lever top eject in 32-20 traded it for a Savage MLII. Brother has gun but next time at his house I'll get it out and check. It is steel, heavy, and old. Knew I'd get the straight stuff here. Thanks all. 10 ga