Evans (rifle)
The Evans-gun was a 1873 to 1879 at the "Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company" in Mechanic Falls, Maine , United States manufactured lever action rifles . Its specialty was the Helix magazine , which held 28 to 34 rounds depending on the type of cartridge and served as the central part of the butt.
history
The weapon was based on patents (Evans Repeating Rifle / Pat. Dec 8, 1868 & Sept. 16, 1871) owned by Warren R. Evans, a dentist from Thomaston, Maine . Since the manufacturing company had no sales organization, the weapons for the civil market were sold through the company "Merwin & Hulbert". The military weapons, muskets and carbines offered for testing by the US Army Authorities were unsuccessful. A little over 12,000 weapons were produced in total. Since numerous rifles found their way from the army to the civilian market after the American Civil War , sales were poor. In December 1879, the Evans Repeating Rifle Company went bankrupt.
technology
The function and locking of the lever lock largely corresponds to that of the Spencer rifle . The magazine tube is screwed to the rear of the bolt housing. Inside there is a four-row feed mechanism in the form of an Archimedean screw , which turns 90 degrees when the shutter is opened and brings a cartridge into the loading position. When the breech is closed, the cartridge is placed in the chamber and the breech is locked.
The piston consists of the magazine tube, on which additional wooden parts are attached above and below.
ammunition
With the rifle, Warren Evans also developed the corresponding cartridges. The .44 Evans Short cartridge developed for the early models had a case length of 1 inch (25.4 mm), the .44 lead bullet weighed 220 grains (14.2 g) the black powder charge weighed 33 grains (2.14 g) . The case for the later New Model rifles was 1½ inch (37.6 mm) in length, the bullet weighed 300 grains (19.4 g), and the charge was 43 grains (2.8 g). Depending on the length of the barrel, the bullet reached an initial speed of 850 to 1200 fps (260 to 360 m / s). The Evans cartridges were later produced by Winchester until the early 1920s.
Models of the Evans rifles
The first rifle, now known as the “Old Model”, had a flat top, production ran from serial number 1 to approx. 500. The short cartridge fired. The loading capacity of the magazine was 34 rounds. The piston consisted of 2 components, the tubular magazine at the bottom and a wooden attachment at the top.
The "Transition Model", serial number approx. 500 to 2185, technically corresponded to its predecessor, but like the later models, the piston had two wooden parts. The weapons were offered as hunting weapons, civil carbines, muskets and military carbines.
- Running lettering:
- "EVANS REPEATING RIFLE / PAT.DEC.8.68 & SEPT.16.71."
- "EVANS REPEATING RIFLE MECHANIC FALLS ME / PAT.DEC.8.68 & SEPT.16.71."
The "New Model" rifle fired the later 1½ inch cartridge. Its magazine, which was adapted to the long cartridge, held 28 rounds. The new lock case was no longer flat at the top, but rounded. Between 1877 and 1879 a total of around 10,000 "New Model" hunting rifles, carbines and muskets were manufactured.
- Run lettering
- "EVANS REPEATING RIFLE PAT. JULY. 24. 1873 MONTREAL "
After the bankruptcy of the company, the remaining components of the weapons were taken over by the companies "Ridout & Co. New York" and "Turner & Ross, Boston", assembled and marketed under the name "EVANS SPORTING RIFLE".
literature
- Norm Flayderman: Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms . Krause Publications, Iola, WI 2001, ISBN 0-87349-313-3 .
- WHB Smith, Joseph E. Smith: The Book of the Rifles . Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, PA 1965, LCCN 63-012562 .
- John E. Traister: Antique Guns, The Collectors Guide . Stoeger Publishing Company, Hackensack, New Jersey 1994, ISBN 0-88317-175-9 .